When FI removed their backing to IS & left it down to traders to provide the depth & liquidity the market needed to function via OB’s it left lots of traders holding mid/lower end players with a couple of unpalatable options; sell where possible, often at a huge spread/loss or hold for a better exit opportunity. Now many months down the line some of us are still in that same holding pattern, so I propose at least a partial solution; A non-market IPD refresh option, basically an option to IPD refresh players by paying the relevant commission directly to FI without the need to go via market.
Why will this help such players?
It would provide a reason to buy & hold the 85% of the players on the index that have very little chance of threatening PB/MB/TOTM wins, IPD's are the ONLY thing that gives them their value (without IPD chances they are essentially worthless). Currently the whole market is suffering from lack of liquidity & depth which means that IPD trading is slowly dying due to lack of opportunity to economically refresh eligibility (huge spreads & lack of liquidity). This is an unhelpful by product of the removal of FI backed IS but given it won't be reinstated we now need an alternative. Traders can & will provide it, as demonstrated by the 5X promo, just not under current normal market conditions.
Obviously the ideal scenario would be plenty of liquidity & everyone trading in/out of the market but there's currently insufficient money in the market to facilitate this across every player, the mid/lower end IPD types are amongst the worst hit by this lack of market depth. If you wait long enough & try hard enough you can probably trade a few hundred or less but to refresh hundreds or thousands is simply impossible at prices that make it economically viable. Given this why would anyone buy these players?, as after the initial 30 days you are effectively trapped in an unsaleable player except at huge loss. All players have theoretical IPD value but if the cost of accessing it is so high as to be a disincentive to buy them in the first place then they are in reality worthless, does FI or anyone else want the platform to simply be a game of swapping between the Top 300/400 most valuable players?
Providing a non market refresh button means buyers can hold players in the knowledge of being able to renew IPD eligibilty at anytime (without the risk being stuck in a worthless hold) & have the incentive to buy & hold such players without the need to find an exit after only 30 days (that often doesn't exist) THIS INCREASED DEMAND WILL ALLOW CURRENT HOLDERS A FAIRER EXIT PRICE. FI would benefit from both the increased demand & refreshing; more commission from increased refreshing & from the market purchases (which are also someone's sales, so paying commission). FI could also probably charge a premium for the ease & certainty of using the button (as opposed to the cheaper market option) which would be set at a level to help balance the increased payout liability. Buyers, sellers & FI will all benefit from this proposed solution.
In time as the market grows more money, liquidity & demand will filter down to all players & market recycling will become the norm but we are several years away from that IMHO, so either FI facilitate easier refreshing or risk seeing IPD trading die forever. Currently traders are improvising a solution; "agreed swaps" without which IPD trading would be almost non existent but this is both an unacceptable & unsustainable solution, as well as possibly infringing the platform T&C, so FI need to be proactive & provide traders a bespoke solution like my proposal IMHO.
THIS WILL NOT JUST HAPPEN ON IT’S OWN – YOU NEED TO ACT; lobby FI via CS, twitter, Podcast, Trader panels & any other legitimate communication channel is the only way to get some action. I appreciate FI have a lot of ongoing projects atm, most only making painfully slow progress, but rejuvenating the market needs to be their top priority IMHO which is why I think this proposal carries such merits. If like me you want to see FI grow & succeed for everyone’s benefit please help & if you simply want an exit from your nightmare trades this helps you too, so please help yourself & support this proposal. It might not be the silver bullet or the entire solution but it will certainly help IMHO.
Many thanks