The popular analyst provides a take on the markets for the leading Swiss online bank Swissquote. And it can get pretty hectic, as finews.asia recently witnessed.

It is just before 8 in the morning. It is time for Ipek Ozkardeskaya to give her view of the equities market for the day. A short title and a few brief texts overflowing with opinion. «The ECB Must Act, Now!», she writes, or: «Not My Problem, Mate.» and «Now What Christine?».

The senior analyst has already been working for a good two hours when the morning newsletter reaches subscribers. During that time, she has looked at equity prices and indices and kept the news ticker in view. She has taken in a few other comments from analysts at the other banks before she hears the gong and presses the send button.

Every Second Counts

The gong goes off at 10 AM again. Ozkardeskaya talks in front of the camera on YouTube's «Market Talk» (see below), a program aimed at providing a summary of what is going on. While watching it you are almost unwittingly catapulted into a trading floor frenzy. The financial expert talks surprisingly quickly. She gesticulates as if the purpose of every second is to serve up an additional piece of critical information. And she maintains that it is actually like that in an interview with finews.com. «All the numbers that I mentioned have changed in the meantime.»

The show is undeniably watched by Swissquote's many traders. No one gets angry or irritated when her market views are off. «People fully understand the limits of what I am doing here», Ozkardeskaya says. But she does see it as her responsibility to answer every question that comes in from the over 12,000 YouTube subscribers.

Rise of the Machines

Personal interactive analysis: That is something not often found and the polar opposite of traditional quantitative research, which is usually hidden behind mountains of numbers and complex forecasting models.

But this world has changed immeasurably over the past few years. Or at least since the introduction of the requirement that costs for research in Europe be disclosed. There are very few people willing to pay for the large piles of reports. In the meantime, intelligent machines are surpassing analysts when it comes to interpreting market data.

«This time it’s different»

It is not only her work that is changing. It is also the content of the work, the Swissquote expert believes. «I submitted my master's thesis in 2010. I belong to the generation that has never seen central banks raise interest rates», Ozkardeskaya says. That is changing very fundamentally right now. «Because of inflation, you can't ease monetary policy anymore with every problem that comes up», she says. She expects a significant correction in the equity markets as do many other market observers. But «This time it’s different» could actually prove to be true this time, the analyst says.

There is a great deal of hot air in the markets at the moment - but is it the same for crypto? Swissquote has a big stake in the comings and goings of the market. In one of her morning comments, Ozkardeskaya briefly looked at the tech shares listed on Nasdaq and the prices for digital assets, as they seem to have become increasingly intertwined with each other.

Absurd Correlation

The financial expert has noticed it but she thinks it is «absurd». The risks for crypto assets are not the same as they are for traditional investments, she indicates. «Regulation, technology, and the dangers posed by hackers should be price determinants», she believes. adding that crypto-assets do have a place in portfolios as a diversification tool.

There is something that won't change. People will advise people when it comes to the markets. Ozkardeskaya is sure of that. «Naturally, artificial intelligence will make machines smarter about deciphering market movements. But traders will still want to hear it from another person in the flesh, the financial expert says. Before working for Swissquote, she did stints at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva and London Capital Group.

Life in the Bubble

She brings her work home with her. The only time she is not thinking about numbers and facts is when she is about to go to sleep. «You are living in a kind of bubble with this job», Ozkardeskaya says. But she has to be in a position to answer any and every question that comes her way.

The only thing that is really stressful are the deadlines - or when that gong threatens. «That is why I can imagine that I will still be doing the same thing in 30 years' time.»