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IG Group

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IG Group plc
Company typePublic Limited Company
LSE: IGG
IndustryFinancial Services
Founded1974
HeadquartersLondon, UK
Key people
Andy Green, (Chairman)
Peter Hetherington, (CEO)
ServicesOnline Forex trading, CFDs, spread betting, shares trading
Revenue£427.0 million (2015)[1]
£169.6 million (2015)[1]
£131.9 million (2015)[1]
Websitewww.iggroup.com, www.ig.com

IG Group is a UK-based company providing trading in financial derivatives such as contracts for difference and financial spread betting and, as of 2014, stockbroking to retail traders. While the majority of the company's activities are based in the UK, the company has expanded internationally. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.[2]

History

Founding and early years (1974-2000)

The company was founded in 1974 by Stuart Wheeler as a spread betting business under the name IG Index (an abbreviation for Investors Gold Index) which allowed people to trade gold prices as an index instead of buying the physical commodity. In July 2000, shares in the newly named IG Group plc were first listed on the London Stock Exchange.[3]

Expansion (2001-2010)

In July 2002, IG Group commenced trading in Australia after a change in the country's financial services legislation made it possible to offer Contracts for Difference to Australian residents.[4]

IG Group took the opportunity to acquire its founder's shares, and those of certain other long-standing shareholders, in a management buy-out (backed by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners) which valued the company at £143 million; IG Group plc's listing on the London Stock Exchange was subsequently cancelled on 7 November 2003.[5]

In May 2005, after two years of private ownership, IG Group and CVC Capital Partners re-floated the company on the main list of the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £393 million.[5]

In October 2008, IG Group acquired fxonline, a Japanese retail FX business.[6]

IG Group has been trying to gain access to the potentially lucrative US market where IG Group's main products, contracts for difference and financial spread betting, are currently not legal. In 2007, it purchased HedgeStreet, a small US based company that developed an electronic marketplace that allows online retail investors to trade financial derivatives. It renamed this the North American Derivatives Exchange or (NADEX) and has been attempting to use this to develop a product that looks like its binary option product but that meets the US financial regulations and can be offered to retail traders. In May 2010, it obtained permission from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to make various technical changes that move in that direction.[7][8]

Recent developments (2011-present)

Cannon Bridge House, IG Group's head office in London

In June 2011, IG Markets shut down its traditional fixed-odds sports service extrabet, which had an emphasis on in-play betting. The fixed odds sport service was shut down to focus on financial wagers, after failing to find a buyer for the whole unit.[9]

In September 2014, the company started its own online stockbroking platform offering prices on some 4,500 stocks.[10]

In January 2015, the Swiss National Bank announced that it would be discontinuing its minimum exchange rate policy. In October 2015, IG "accepted a ruling by the UK’s Financial Ombudsman Service that it should compensate some customers that lost money during a rapid appreciation of the Swiss franc in January".[11]

Peter Hetherington was appointed CEO in December 2015 when Tim Howkins retired after nine years in charge.[12]

Operations

In 2012, IG Group consolidated its business in the UK under one brand, IG. IG Group is now, therefore, the sole trading name of the operating companies:[13]

  • IG Index, which offers spread betting on financial markets as well a binary options under the supervision of the UK Gambling Commission. [14]
  • IG Markets, which offers CFDs on a similar range of financial markets.

Sponsorship

During its history, IG Group signed some notable sponsorship deals:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Annual Report 2015" (PDF). IG Group. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  2. ^ "FTSE 250 - Indicative Index Weight Data as at Closing on 31 December 2014" (PDF). FTSE. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Spread bets firm IG Index holds £110m market slip". The Telegraph. 10 June 2000. Retrieved 31 January 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ "IG chief predicts end of market tranquillity". The Telegraph. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b "IG Group confirms LSE float". Financial Times. 1 April 2005. Retrieved 31 January 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "British spread-better buys FXOnline". China Post. 25 September 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  7. ^ "CFDS illegal in the USA not much longer". blogspot.com. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2010.[dead link‍]
  8. ^ Nick Hasell (10 June 2010). "Why IG Group is still worth a bet". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  9. ^ David Altaner (19 July 2011). "IG Logs Full-Year Loss After Taking Japan-Unit Charges". Bloomberg. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  10. ^ "IG launches online stockbroking platform". The Telegraph. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  11. ^ "IG Group Repays $1.5 Million to Clients Over Swiss Franc Turmoil". Bloomberg. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  12. ^ Sarah Spickernell (4 December 2015). "Peter Hetherington appointed chief executive of online trading firm IG Group". City A.M. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  13. ^ "IG Markets Review". Spread Betting Daily. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  14. ^ "IG Binary Review". BinaryOptions-Broker. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  15. ^ "IG Markets, patrocinador del Getafe CF SAD". Rankia.com (in Spanish). 23 August 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  16. ^ Kröner, Hedwig (18 November 2010). "Sky announces new co-sponsor". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  17. ^ Noble, Kelly (10 December 2010). "IG Markets Sponsors Two Stages of Santos Tour Down Under". Glam Adelaide. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  18. ^ Dormio, Nunquam (16 October 2013). "Quins sign new sponsorship deal". RugbyNetwork.com. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  19. ^ "Harlequins announces IG as Principal Partner". Quins.co.uk. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  20. ^ Nikolova, Maria (5 May 2015). "IG partners with Melbourne Football Club". LeapRate. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
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