Aspiring for more – this is the philosophy that Sigma Capital has adopted with the start of 2011, aiming to broaden its share in the Egyptian brokerage and trading market by diversifying its services and extending beyond the Egyptian stock exchange.

The end of 2010 marked a decade since Sigma Capital’s inception as an entity that continues to build and grow through focusing on customer trust and excellence in online brokerage services within the Egyptian market. As pioneers of online trading and banking in Egypt, the company’s vision is that brokerage and trading online are the future of the stock market. Sigma Capital were the very first to make an electronic trading transaction available in Egypt in 2000. The company now benefits from the leadership and vision of this decision.
 
A vision of excellence
Sigma Capital’s founder, Ahmed Ashraf Marwan, was ahead of the game when he and the co-founders of Sigma Capital decided to utilise the web as a safe and effective trading tool in Egypt. Mr Marwan and his team looked upon the coming decade with optimism, believing that the web should always adapt to its users as new online services are introduced. Proud of their achievements to date, Sigma Capital’s team is determined to retain its position as key innovator in online trading services market in Egypt.

To maintain its dominant position, Sigma Capital is preparing to launch a completely made-over online trading platform and streamer during 2011 that relies on state-of-the-art technology to enhance the platform’s usability.

“Since its inception, Sigma Capital has always made staying on top of technology one of its priorities,” says Mr Marwan. “Having the most cumulative experience in online brokerage in Egypt simply means that we not only know the relevant technology, but also know how to use it in a manner that optimises its benefits.”

“As the internet becomes a vital part of our daily lives, online trading customers need to have access to the latest that technology has to offer,” says Mohammed Hammam, Managing Director. “Consequently, our clients experience a distinctive quality from their online experience with transactions and investments carried out easily, securely and with utmost speed.”  

Currently, 30 percent of Sigma Capital’s trading is executed online. This is expected to increase substantially with the launch of the new online trading platform, especially with the growing trend of clients who find online trading to be a more convenient solution. Winning the World Finance award for Broker of the Year – Africa in both 2010 and 2011 has further endorsed the company’s position in this area.

The ambition that drives Sigma Capital towards enhancing online services for its clients, coupled with the company’s firm policies of transparency and integrity, have been an integral part of building client loyalty. It has also encouraged the company to reach and maintain its position in the top 10 percent of securities brokerage companies in Egypt. Sigma Capital ended 2010 at 11th place in the official ranking of Egypt’s Capital Market Authority – an enviable position in a competitive market of 148 licensed brokerage firms. It remains among the leaders of trading in Egypt, largely through a customer-centric approach that promotes customer retention as a priority over acquisition.
 
Diversification and expansion
As a brokerage business, one of the philosophies that Sigma Capital has adopted over the years is offering financial services to customers of all portfolio size, an extension of Sigma Capital’s focus on customers. For this reason, it has remained one of the very few top brokerage companies in Egypt to accept customers of all portfolio sizes without setting a minimum. This philosophy of championing the small investor has now been extended to SMEs.

During 2011, Sigma Capital plans to play a major role in facilitating investment opportunities for SMEs through providing them with strategic and financial consulting services. As part of this, Sigma Capital will introduce SMEs to the equity market through sponsoring them to list on the Nile Stock Exchange (Nilex), the first stock exchange in the Middle East that endorses small and medium-sized businesses. This service will provide businesses with the opportunities they need for financing and growing in their relative sectors.

Sigma Capital’s ambitious vision includes the effort to broaden its scope and geographical presence, and to be among the most recognised names in the stock exchange market regionally. As such, expanding beyond the boundaries of Egypt constitutes a pillar of Sigma Capital’s growth strategies in 2011 and in the years to follow. This two-pronged international expansion relies on bringing international markets to Egyptian customers and introducing the international market to the Egyptian stock market.

To facilitate this, Sigma Capital is to launch a comprehensive online trading platform that allows customers to access multiple world markets and to trade a multitude of financial instruments. To introduce international investors to the Egyptian stock market, Sigma Capital will focus on extending its customer base throughout the Gulf region, thus relying on the robustness of its online trading platform as well as the investment opportunities that Sigma Capital continues to identify in the Egyptian stock market.
 
More than technology
While Sigma Capital firmly believes in the importance of technology as the basis for excellence in brokerage services, the company also understands that a solid brokerage service relies on the wealth of information in the form of data and analysis provided to customers. It is for this reason that Sigma Capital was a pioneer in providing stock market knowledge in the form of Technical Analysis, and was the founder of the Egyptian Association for Technical Analysis. During 2010, Sigma Capital also restructured its research and news division, gearing its work towards identifying superb investment opportunities for their clients.

The guardians of Sigma Capital’s customer-centric approach remain its workforce, selected for their integrity, experience and professionalism. Through a staff of over 230 and a management team with an average 10 years of experience in the field, the company prides itself on its ability to align the entire team towards adopting its values of integrity, service excellence and customer satisfaction. To ensure that Sigma Capital’s team is always up to the challenges related to the ebb and flow of the stock market, employee development has always been an integral part of Sigma Capital’s strategy. This is achieved through a combination of training, coaching and on-going evaluation and ensures Sigma Capital remains competitive throughout the markets it serves.

 As Sigma Capital embarks on a new decade, the future continues to look bright in terms of its prospects for growth. Having laid the foundation on which the company can build towards its vision, Sigma Capital continues to reap the benefits of its guiding principle: to always do its best. This simple formula provides Sigma Capital’s stakeholders with the reassurance that Sigma Capital will continue to maintain the success it has enjoyed over the years and continues to be a pioneer of innovation in brokerage services in the Middle East region, as well as a beacon of service excellence for its customers.

For more information: Tel: +20233355353, email: info@sigma-capital.com