Anatoly Knyazev EXANTE is one of the founders and Managing Partners of EXANTE, which is a Malta-based investment company that boasts clients from more than 100 countries. The brokerage firm currently has $2 billion in assets under management (AUM), and it operates across continents, with offices in London, Hong Kong, Malta, and Cyprus.

Early years and education background

Anatoly Knyazev received his master’s degree in mathematics and computer science, and he further has a strong background in statistics and computation. In fact, it was during his university years when he studies mathematics that he developed an interest in computer science as well. As a result, he quickly gained his expertise in software development. This, therefore, laid the foundation for Knyazev’s future career in the financial sector as an expert in investment and trading software.

Career and work before EXANTE’s establishment

Shortly after graduating from university, Knyazev began working as a software developer atNetcracker Technology Corporation – a multinational provider of business support systems (BSS), software-defined networking (SDN), operations support systems (OSS), and network functions virtualisation (NFV) solutions.

His early career and experience allowed Knyazev to develop his practical and professional skills, which were already based on his extensive academic knowledge. This later became a key reason as to EXANTE’s technological supremacy in the investment broker landscape.

It was also during this time that Knyazev began to apply his expertise in mathematics to trading. As he specialised in cybernetics and computational mathematics, Knyazev then dove into arbitrage trading of derivative products. Knyazev further found wide application in practice regarding algorithmic trading, letting him meet a community of like-minded investors and traders. He also managed to create a counterparty network that led him to meet EXANTE’s other co-founder Alexey Kirienko.

Knyazev and Kirienko both have a comprehensive knowledge of statistics and probability theory, and they tried to find any patterns in financial market behaviour. They further experimented with creating their own trading software in 2007. Over time, the two gained an understanding of how they could create proprietary solutions for the wider investing community. This then launched the idea of founding their own brokerage firm EXANTE, which the duo then did in 2011, alongside third co-founder GatisEglitis.

Working at EXANTE

Kirienko, Knyazev, and Eglitis founded EXANTE with the aim that it would provide a sophisticated yet accessible way for investors to participate in global markets. One of the key differences between EANTE and other brokers, according to the founders, is that EXANTE mainly focuses on providing lasting investment infrastructure that can help make a difference in the sector. This means having its own bespoke trading solutions, including a bespoke trading platform.

The EXANTE trading platform was then developed in-house, and it provides clients with direct access to over 600,000 financial instruments in more than 50 markets worldwide – all from a single multi-currency trading account. The trading platform can be used on both desktop and mobile devices, and traders can switch between the platforms seamlessly. Some of the products the broker offers include stocks, ETFs, currencies, metals, bonds, and derivatives such as options and futures. The trading platform further provides an outstanding network of more than 1,100 servers around the world to ensure the lowest latencies and the safe transfer of data.

Staying true to the mission of increasing accessibility for all, the broker caters to retail trading of all skills. It provides transparent pricing models on trade execution with competitive spreads and no hidden fees. EXANTE also works with professional investors, wealth managers, family offices, banks, and other financial organisations. It is even a partner to some of the biggest names in the field such as the Bank of China, ING Group, HSBC, and Santander.

EXANTE is regulated globally, by the MFSA in Malta, the SFC in Hong Kong, the CySEC in Cyprus, and the FCA in the UK. It also undergoes regular auditing by a Big Four company to make sure it can protect its client’s funds and data.

Other interests and achievements

In addition to founding EXANTE, Knyazev is a passionate advocate for cryptocurrencies, and he has a keen interest in unifying and homogenising global financial systems. He has also founded the world’s first cryptocurrency hedge fund called Bitcoin Fund, which ties its shares to the market price of Bitcoin. It also has an altcoin index fund called XAI Fund. According to Bloomberg, Bitcoin Fund even became the world’s most profitable hedge fund in 2013 and had a cumulative growth rate of 10,000% by 2017.

Moreover, Knyazev has written several journal articles and participated in a plethora of conferences worldwide. These conferences mainly discuss the benefits, potential and relevance of cryptocurrencies. He has also been invited to comment on other similar topics such as Bitcoin dynamics and adoption, in established and well-respected newspapers such as The Independent and the Financial Times.