Tell us a bit about your background.
My name is Louise Doan and I am the President of Goldium FX, a Toronto based foreign exchange firm. My humble beginnings began with my mother, a single divorced woman who raised 3 kids all on her own. She had emigrated from Vietnam to Hamilton Ontario in the late 70's after she separated from my father. We moved to Toronto in the early 90's where she opened up a jewelry store which over the course of a few years morphed into the foreign exchange business that it is today. She had no basic knowledge of the foreign exchange sector but she was and still is very business savvy. At that time this sector was very small and only a hand full of these business existed in Toronto.
Money was tight growing up. My mother would be working 12-16 hrs a day and the only time we saw her was if we visited the office. At first, our currency cash float was only $2000. She would tell me "?trade it" with the walk-in customers and by the time I was 18, my mother had groomed me enough to confidently manage and operate the business full time. The great thing about Forex is that anyone can learn it. I'm the perfect example, coming from a self-taught immigrant with no background or formal schooling in this sector. Anything I needed to know or sparked my interests I read. I've been very fortunate to have inherited my mom's positive mental attitude and hard work ethics. Numbers are the universal language and even if you don't understand your customer, you can communicate through numbers.
I've read several of the articles on your site, Goldiumfx.com and I wasimpressed with the breadth of your financial knowledge. How did you get so involved in finance and the economy?
I read every morning, usually anything pertaining to the USDCAD our most traded currency pair and I love Forex. Its bit easier to learn something you love. I don't believe one person can know it all. This financial field is constantly growing and changing. Sometimes I revisit past articles to refresh. Being self-taught you should always widen your knowledge.
Being a Canadian, I would imagine your insights in the US economy differsomewhat from that of an American-based economist. Do you feel that being based in Canada allows you to evaluate things from a different perspective, especially as they relate to the USD?
I find both similar. There is more of a herd mass group mentality of ongoing trends with a currency such as the USD and combined with some economic data this allows me to make better decisions. Besides the obvious difference in government policies, interest rates and just the sheer population size of the US being nine times larger than Canada, I find that Canada generally follows the American monetary policy.
Have you meet with any notable financial figures? Was there anyone that stands out from all the others?
If I could meet just one notable financial figure of course hands down it would be the current Fed Chair, Janet Yellen. It's very inspiring to have such an influential figure with her vast experiences as the first women to hold head of chair. It is truly impressive. She is a level headed good leader; I think she adds more excitement to the scene generally dominated by males.
There aren't many women in the Forex industry, especially one who is so prominent on the financial scene. How do you feel about this exclusivity?
Very fortunate. The currency exchange business is only a small fraction of the whole forex market, we have been prosperous combining online trading with cash settlements, helping our clients save money from a sector that is dominated generally by the banks. I have been blessed from the early age to be able to experience firsthand Forex combined with entrepreneurism – testing out theories at free will and learning from mistakes which some people do not have the opportunity to do. These experiences have helped me shape and hone my own instincts that I probably could never experience anywhere else.
GoldiumFx goes all the way back to 1991. How instrumental were you in getting the company up and running?
As the old saying goes, parents build it and the children expand it. My brother and I now operate and run 4 branches across the greater Toronto area. My mother does not handle daily operations but she still mentors us. She has built the foundation for us to continue its growth.
How do you see the currency markets doing in the next few years? Which currency do you think is the one to watch?
The Russian Ruble. It will be very interesting to see how oil prices affect the currency combined with the extreme outflow of capital and as more pressures from economic sanctions unfolds for Russia. The Japanese Yen will also likely continue on its depreciative trend. Even with the slight rebound lately we still have Abenomics cheapening the Yen in order to boost exports while trying to create inflation and giving a better chance to delay the tax hike. Lastly, the USD will keep the bull run consensus of strength still intact, while Europe will remain stagnant and the global recovery will continue to be very uneven and sluggish at times.