GFI Group Inc. (GFI) is a financial services company that through its subsidiaries provides brokerage services, trade execution, market data, trading platforms and other software products. Clients are

institutional customers Institutional customers is a term used in the financial services industry to differentiate customers that are financial institutions or financial advisors, such as banks, insurance companies, and investment management Investment management (so ...

in markets for a range of

fixed income Fixed income refers to any type of investment under which the borrower or issuer is obliged to make payments of a fixed amount on a fixed schedule. For example, the borrower may have to pay interest at a fixed rate once a year and repay the pr ...

financial Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

, equity and

commodity In economics, a commodity is an economic goods, good, usually a resource, that specifically has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the Market (economics), market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to w ...

instruments. GFI is headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and operates from New York,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and 15 other smaller financial centres such as

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Nyon Nyon (; historically German language, German: or and Italian language, Italian: , ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Nyon District in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometer ...

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. GFI operates a hybrid brokerage approach, combining a range of telephonic and electronic trade execution services, depending on the nature of the products and the needs of the individual markets. The company complements its hybrid brokerage capabilities with decision support services, such as data and analytics products, research, real-time auctions and post-transaction services, such as

straight through processing Straight-through processing (STP) is a method used by financial companies to speed up financial transactions by processing without manual intervention. Background Straight-through processing exists in numerous areas of financial services, such as ...

(STP), clearing links and trade and portfolio management services. The company was listed on

NYSE The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

under GFIG until March 2015 when it was majority bought by

BGC Partners BGC Group, Inc. (formerly BGC Partners) is an American global financial services company based in New York City and London. Originally formed as part of the larger Cantor Fitzgerald organization, BGC Partners became its own entity in 2004. Hist ...

History

GFI Group Inc. was founded by Michael Gooch in 1987. GFI was the first broker to offer

over-the-counter Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid pres ...

(OTC) US government bond options to the industry. In 2001, GFI acquired FX analytical software company FENICS Software Ltd. In 2005, GFI acquired the North American operations of Starsupply Petroleum LLC, a broker of oil products and related derivative and option contracts. In 2006 the firm acquired the North American brokerage operations of Amerex Energy, a wholesale broker of electric power, natural gas and emissions products. In 2008, GFI acquired Trayport Ltd, a leading provider of trading software for OTC energy products and other markets. On September 28, 1999, the GFI group established a new venture to offer an online spot market for international telecommunications minutes, according to Michael Gooch, GFI President and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

. In 2010, GFI Group moved its listing from

Nasdaq The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

to the NYSE. In March 2015, GFI delisted from the NYSE following a 56% share buyout by

in February 2015. Since the takeover, GFI operates as a division of BGC. In April 2018, a federal judge threw out a lawsuit against GFI Group by former GFI Group shareholders, who claimed a statement by the CEO had resulted in them selling their shares too early.

Operations

GFI Group provides execution services for institutional wholesale customers by either matching their trading needs with counterparties having reciprocal interests or directing their orders to an exchange or other

trading venue An exchange, bourse (), trading exchange or trading venue is an organized market (economics), market where (especially) tradable securities, commodity, commodities, foreign exchange market, foreign exchange, futures contract, futures, and option ...

. Its operations focus on a wide variety of assets: credit, financial, equity and commodity instruments, including both cash and derivative products. In recent years, it has developed cash equity and cash bond brokerage business that complement its brokerage of OTC derivative products, as well as expanding its services for cash instruments, such as corporate fixed income and equities products. In essence, GFI's primary role as a wholesale broker is to enhance trading

liquidity Liquidity is a concept in economics involving the convertibility of assets and obligations. It can include: * Market liquidity In business, economics or investment, market liquidity is a market's feature whereby an individual or firm can quic ...

Philanthropy

GFI Group supports the Bob Woodruff Foundation in its work educating the public about the needs of service members returning from war. GFI has supported both the foundation and its campaign ReMIND.org. The company was a founding funder of the 13th Stand Up For Heroes Benefit held in September 2019.

Competition

Tullett Prebon TP ICAP Group plc is a financial services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its stock is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The company was founded by Derek Tullett in 1971 as a ...

* ICAP *

Tradeweb Tradeweb Markets Inc. is an international financial technology company that builds and operates electronic over-the-counter (OTC) marketplaces for trading fixed income products, ETFs, and derivatives. Its customers include banks, asset manage ...

References

External links