CFI.co Meets Citygate Securities

Citygate adheres to a strong belief in long-term client relationships and our team reflects that: It is made up of high-caliber and experienced professionals who work in close coordination to deliver excellent services. Our commitment to the customers’ best interests makes us go the proverbial extra mile to deliver exceptional results.

Perfect synchronization between each of the team’s members results in a truly efficient workflow and fosters an exceptionally high team spirit. Despite the pressures present in our daily jobs, we all enjoy working at the company. The team shares a common objective and this is key to our enduring success.

One of the founders of Citygate Securities is James Bishop – a qualified chartered accountant with broad investment experience. After identifying the need for an independent stockbroker to serve offshore clients, James and his partners started Citygate in 2010. In this regard, the firm is a niche player providing independent services to this particular segment of the market. Before Citygate, Mr Bishop held various senior positions at a number of larger financial institutions including NatWest, RBS, ICAP and Standard Bank. Despite his tight work schedule, he always finds time to dedicate to his family and to his hobbies: sailing and snow skiing.

Overviewing the daily running of the business is Laval Law How Hung, the director of Citygate Securities. He is a member of the Association of Accounting Technicians, UK and also an associate member of the Society of Trusts and Estate Planners, UK. He spent 30 years working in the accounting and taxation fields, gathering experience across a large spectrum of industries ranging from commercial, manufacturing to financial services. Mr Laval also spent seven years in a medium-sized audit firm in the Britain. His last 13 years have been spent in the sector of global business companies and investments funds. Here he held functions in accounting, tax, treasury, human resources, and business development. Mr Laval also holds various directorships at global business companies.

The Trading team at the firm is divided into two groups: One deals with listed securities and the other with non-listed ones.
Kristelle Babet is chief trader on the listed securities team and also one of the directors of Citygate Securities Limited. Kristelle is responsible for the effective execution of clients’ transactions and for monitoring the trading team as well as the daily operations of the middle and back offices. She must also ensure that the trading team adheres to regulatory and compliance requirements and meets the aims of the fund management team. She is furthermore responsible for the management of relationships among the different stakeholders: clients, counterparties, fund managers, brokers and regulatory bodies. Kristelle is a professional with nine years of experience in finance and seven years of trading experience at Superfund Asset Management where she was involved in the execution of proprietary trading models across equities, commodities, fixed income and FX (spot and futures markets). The latter also ensured proper training of the trading team to updated systems and processes. In Mauritius, she led the trading team involved in the development of efficient and cost-effective strategies for automated trading algorithms. She also managed the set- up of an offshore relocation of the middle office department for Superfund Assets Management in Seychelles and Grenada, Treasury and Cash Management. Kristelle holds a BSc(Hons) in Economics and is a member of the ACI Association in Paris and holds a Dealing Certificate. She is also pursuing the CFA designation.
Seated on the listed side, is Govinden Vyapooree, a senior trader who is responsible for the execution of client orders across different asset classes. Moreover, he manages clients’ currency exposures and has experience in middle office and back office. Mr Vyapooree has been working for Superfund Asset Management for more than seven years and has gained good knowledge of, and experience in, derivatives products like CFD, options, forwards, swaps, futures, etc. Govinden has also acquired experience on fundamental and technical analysis, proprietary trading, risk management, credit risk management and portfolio management. Mr Vyapooree holds an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School and is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He also holds the ACI dealing qualification.

On the FX side is the seemingly timid and quiet Sharon Monneron, who is fully fluent in several programming languages and is particularly savvy with numbers. As a senior trader, she executes FX trades and handles appropriate FX hedges for fund companies as a currency overlay manager. She maintains and disseminates FX exposure and manages day-to-day operational FX and treasury system activities of the company. Sharon has been an FX trader at Tokiwa in Tokyo, Japan and has also served as client portfolio manager at Credit Agricole CIB in Paris, France. She holds a Master’s Degree in Finance and a BCom from Lyon2 University France. She also completed a BSc in Computer Science and is currently a CFA level 2 candidate.

Assisting the listed team is the trader Rahul Desai. He is responsible for the execution of client orders across different asset classes. Rahul worked at Bramer Capital Brokers as an equity research analyst where his main duty was to perform research as well as carrying out fundamental and technical analysis on listed stocks. His other duties also included trading on the stock exchange of Mauritius, advising clients on their investments and actively managing the portfolios of high net worth clients. Rahul holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University College London and is currently pursuing his CFA designation.

Heading the non-listed team is Preety Bugwan Bheenick, a senior trader responsible for executing client orders in instruments like mutual funds, structured notes and bonds. She also looks after the smooth and efficient running of daily operations. Preety has a professional experience spanning ten years in the financial sector, ranging from audit and business advisory to global businesses. She is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Mauritius Institute of Professional Accountants (MIPA). Preety also holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University, UK and has passed Level I of the CFA program.
Also active on the non-listed team is Rishi Ladkoo, administrator of Prime Brokerage Services at CityGate Securities Limited where he administers clients’ accounts and investments into Mutual Funds. Rishi has intensive experience in the global business sector. He worked as a fund administrator at a number of leading management companies in Mauritius such as Deutsche Bank (Mauritius) Limited where he managed a portfolio of global business entities consisting of collective investment schemes, private equity companies, pension trusts and other global business companies having aggregate AUM of over USD3 billion. Mr Ladkoo holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from the Management College of Southern Africa.

Last but not least is Vikesh Bulee who is in charge of the accounting department of the firm since 2012. His main responsibilities are to keep control and records of transactions processed by the Trading and Mutual Fund Department. He also oversees all other accounting duties of the company. He is currently pursuing towards ACCA qualification and has eight years of experience in the financial sector. Mr Bulee has worked for a couple of years as senior accountant with an offshore management company where he acquired a wealth of experience in dealing with various types of businesses such as local companies, offshore companies, funds and stockbrokerages. This avid reader, and indeed aficionado, of business magazines also boasts considerable expertise in control systems set-up and shows excellent mastery of spreadsheet functions.