Further to the report put out on the UK online trading market by research firm Investment Trends, LeapRate has learned that in the fast-growing CFDs sector there has been some movement among the top brokers providing CFDs trading.
Not surprisingly, continuing to lead the sector is IG Group Holdings plc (LON:IGG), which was named by 29% of traders as a ‘primary relationship’ for CFD trading in the UK, providing a good approximation of overall CFD market share.
The largest gain in the group from the last UK figures we saw at the end of 2013 was from Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS), placing second with 14%. In 2013 Plus500 was in fifth spot with 5%, a figure which at the time surprised many in the industry as Plus500 came virtually out of nowhere to claim a spot in the UK Top 5. Now they’re second only to IG, a key reason they’ve been reporting great financial results lately.
Rounding out the Top 5 were the same providers as in 2013 – Saxo, CMC Markets and City Index.
Although the names do remain the same, there has been a lot of change at virtually all of the providers in the Top 5:
- IG has had a changeover in management, with new CEO Peter Hetherington taking the helm at IG at the end of 2015.
- Plus500 was the subject of an attempted $700 million takeover by Markets.com parent Playtech PLC (LON:PTEC), although that deal was nixed by regulators late last year.
- CMC Markets is now in the process of going public, and will likely look to use its increased public profile to challenge IG for the top spot in the UK.
- City Index has been acquired by Forex.com parent Gain Capital Holdings Inc (NYSE:GCAP).
The UK CFD market share figures, and how they compare to 2013, are as follows:
Source: Investment Trends.