IG Group

IG Group Holdings plc, trading as IG Group, is a United Kingdom-based online trading provider, offering access to spread betting and CFD trading, which allows traders to bet on the direction of equities, bonds and currencies without owning the underlying assets.

Established in 1974 by Stuart Wheeler, the company is headquartered in London and operates in Europe and the USA. , it had a market value of £3.4 billion and offered trading in 19,000 investment markets. IG is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

Early years (1974–2000)

IG Group, originally founded as IG Index (Investors Gold Index), was founded in 1974 by British financier Stuart Wheeler with an initial investment of £30,000 from six friends. It became the first company to offer spread betting, allowing investors to speculate on gold prices rather than buying physical gold, which was restricted by UK exchange controls at the time.

In 1993, IG Group expanded into spread betting on sports events, and in 1996, it started offering foreign exchange trading.

Market expansion and IPO (2000–2010)

In July 2000, IG Group was formed as the parent company of IG Index, and its shares were listed on the London Stock Exchange, making it the first company of its kind to go public. Sports betting surged with the rise of the internet, bringing the company more than £10 million in revenue in the second half of 2001, nearly triple its earnings from the first half of 2000.

IG Group entered the Australian market in 2002, marking its first international expansion. In 2003, founder Stuart Wheeler sold his 23.68% stake in the company, netting £90 million. He was joined by some other major shareholders, so a total number of shares to be sold reached 30%. A management buyout backed by CVC Capital Partners valued the company at £143 million. In April 2005, IG Group returned to the stock market with a valuation of £1.3 billion, and CVC sold off £58 million worth of shares.

The company continued its global expansion, entering the United States market in 2007 with the £2.9 million purchase of HedgeStreet, an online derivatives trading platform, later rebranded as Nadex. In September 2008, IG Group acquired FXOnline, a Japanese trading firm, for £112 million.

Challenges and diversification (2011–2020)

In 2011, IG Group reported a net loss of £25.5 million, largely due to regulatory changes in Japan that restricted leverage to 10 times, significantly lower than the 100 times or more the company previously offered. The company also shut down its sports betting service, extrabet, due to declining revenues, incurring £5.3 million in closure costs.

In September 2014, IG Group launched an online stockbroking platform, offering access to 4,500 stocks. In September 2016, it acquired the financial news and research portal DailyFX from FXCM for $40 million. However, the same year, IG Group's shares fell 38% following the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) announcement of new industry regulations, wiping £1 billion off the company's market value. In response, IG withdrew its binary options product in early 2017.

In 2017, IG partnered with BlackRock to launch the IG Smart Portfolio, marking the company's entry into wealth management. In 2019, IG launched a new U.S. subsidiary, IG US, which offers foreign exchange trading (in June 2024, IG US rebranded to tastyfx).

In 2020, IG Group launched its environmental, social, and governance ( ESG) strategy, "Brighter Future." As part of this initiative, the company established a £2 million fund to support education and development programs for young people, particularly in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent developments (2021–present)

In January 2021, IG Group acquired Chicago-based online brokerage Tastytrade for $1 billion, enhancing its offerings for retail investors. The company, founded in 2011 by Tom Sosnoff, included the brokerage arm tastyworks, which was rebranded as tastytrade in 2023.

In March 2022, IG Group brokered a deal to sell the North American Derivatives Exchange (Nadex) and a 39% stake in the Small Exchange to Foris DAX Markets Inc, which trades as Crypto.com, for $216 million.

In the first half of the 2024 fiscal year, IG Group reported a 32% drop in after-tax profits compared to the previous year. By the end of the 2024 fiscal year, pre-tax profits had fallen by 11%, annual revenue had dropped by 10%, and the number of active clients had decreased from 358,000 to 346,200. In response, the company announced plans to cut 10% of its workforce and launched a £150 million share buyback program, starting with a £75 million tranche in August 2024.

Markets

IG Group is headquartered in London, and operates in multiple regions, including the United States, European Union, Australia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Japan, and Dubai. The company manages 18 sales offices worldwide, providing clients with access to 19,000 financial markets. IG Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. As of October 2024, the company's market value is £3.4 billion.

IG Group offers a range of leveraged and investment products, varying by region due to differing national regulations. In EU, the company provides turbo warrants, while in the United States, through its acquisition of tastytrade, it offers options, futures, and cryptocurrency trading tailored to individual investors.

Management

Tim Howkins, who served as Chief Financial Officer before becoming CEO in October 2006, led the company for nine years before retiring in 2015. Peter Hetherington succeeded him as CEO in October 2015, having initially joined IG Group as a graduate trainee in 1994. Hetherington stepped down in September 2018.

In October 2018, IG Group appointed June Felix as CEO. Felix had previously served as a non-executive director for three years before joining the board. Due to health issues, Felix resigned in December 2023, and Breon Corcoran was appointed as the new CEO.

Controversy

Violations of customers' rights and system shortages

IG Group has faced criticism in the media regarding its handling of customer losses. Natalia Chumak, a partner at litigation City firm Signature Litigation, noted that customers trading with IG Group can incur unlimited losses, while the company does not always make this risk clear. She also pointed out that IG Group may avoid certain risks but benefits from any gains.

In March 2021, ''FinanceFeeds'' and ''Financial Magnates'' reported frequent outages of IG Group's trading system during periods of high trade volume. These outages left clients unable to manage their positions, resulting in financial losses. ''FinanceFeeds'' also reported that during a significant outage in January 2021, IG Group did not provide adequate customer support, although it responded promptly to media inquiries to address public concerns.

In April 2024, another system failure led to funds being mistakenly withdrawn from the accounts of over 50 customers. The issue remained unresolved for more than a week until it gained media attention. In contrast, the company has been reported to correct over-credited funds in client accounts on the same day.

Controversial political donations

IG Group's founder, Stuart Wheeler, was actively involved in politics and made several notable donations. His financial contributions, particularly to the Brexit campaign, earned him a nickname of a "a leading disrupter in British politics".

Lawsuits

In 2010, IG Index, IG Group's spread betting firm, faced a £21 million (€25 million) lawsuit filed by three former clients of the defunct Scottish trading firm Echelon Wealth Management. The clients believed that their funds had been ring-fenced in segregated IG deposit accounts. However, following Echelon’s collapse, IG used these funds to cover other Echelon clients' losses. The claim was dismissed in 2020.

In January 2015, more than 370 clients incurred significant losses following a failure of IG's trading platform during a volatile market event. On 15 January, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) unexpectedly removed its minimum exchange rate for the Swiss franc, causing a 30% drop in EUR/CHF. IG delayed its response by 10 minutes, attempting to hedge its own exposure while competitors acted immediately to protect their clients. Additionally, technical issues on the platform required manual execution of stop-loss orders, further amplifying client losses. Some affected clients were left with substantial debts, with one teacher on a £18,000 salary losing £280,000. Despite these incidents, IG maintained that it had fulfilled its contractual obligations. In June 2015, the Financial Ombudsman Service ordered IG to compensate affected customers £1 million.

As of October 2024, IG Group faces two lawsuits in Australia, alleging misleading and unconscionable conduct. In May 2023, the law firm Piper Alderman filed a class-action lawsuit against IG Markets, accusing the company of promoting Contracts for Difference (CFDs) to inexperienced traders without proper safeguards. A second class action was filed in August 2023 against IG Markets Limited and IG Australia Pty Ltd, alleging that from May 2017 to August 2023, IG misled retail investors by promoting high-risk financial products, such as CFDs and binary options, which were deemed unsuitable and harmful by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The legal action is being funded by Woodsford.

Sponsorship

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

* The company sponsored Getafe CF football club in the 2010–2011 Spanish season.
* In November 2010, IG Markets signed a sponsorship deal to support Team Sky professional cycling team in 2011.
* In December 2010, IG Markets announced sponsorship of two stages of Santos Tour Down Under cycling race in 2011.
* In October 2013, IG signed a sponsorship deal with Harlequin rugby team for the next three years. In September 2014, the deal was updated to make IG one of three major sponsors for the team.
* In May 2015, IG Group became a partner of Melbourne Football Club for 2015 and 2016.
* In May 2021, IG Group became a partner of England Cricket Club for 2021 and 2022.
* In February 2024, IG Group entered into a 10-year naming rights agreement for an upcoming sports and entertainment arena in Nagoya, Japan.

See also

* FTSE 250 Index
*Forex

References

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Financial services companies based in the City of London
Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange
Companies in the FTSE 250 Index
Financial derivative trading companies
Financial services companies established in 1974
Foreign exchange companies
Online brokerages
1974 establishments in England
CVC Capital Partners companies