FX week in review: Broker results (IG, NAGA, Livemarkets…), more sports sponsorships
It was bean counting week at FXNewsGroup.com, with result reports for a number of large and small Retail FX brokers.
The theme of FX brokers putting their cash into sports sponsorship / brand ambassador deals continued, including yet another English Premier League front-of-shirt deal for an online trading firm.
Some of the most read and commented-on FX industry news stories to appear over the past seven days on FNG included:
IG shares rise 4% after reporting second half 2021 results. Shares of UK online trading leader IG Group (LON:IGG) traded up by more than 4% on Thursday, after IG reported second-half 2021 results (the company has a May 31 fiscal year end), as well of course as FY2021 numbers. In the “big picture” shareholders seem to be focused on the continued revenue growth, with IG avoiding a letdown observed at some of its retail online brokerage competitors after record trading seen by retail financial brokers through most of calendar 2020. Another thing which we believe is driving the stock was IG’s strong new-customer acquisition effort in FY2021. At 860p, IG shares are still well off their 52 week high of 960p set in April.
Exclusive: Livemarkets posts £255K loss in first full year of operations. FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned via regulatory filings that FCA regulated CFDs and spread betting broker Livemarkets Limited has posted a loss of £255,545 for 2020, its first full year of operations. Livemarkets Limited provides investment services for Contracts for Difference (“CFDs”) and Spread bets, executing clients’ orders on a matched principal basis (no portfolio management or investment advice services). The Company is acting as a provider of regulated products and services under its registered trade name TRADE.com and websites trade.com and livemarkets.com.
NAGA Group reports Q2 Revenues of $15.3M, up 12% QoQ. Hamburg, Germany based social trading focused broker NAGA Group has released preliminary unaudited figures for the second quarter and first half of 2021, indicating continued growth although at a slower pace than in the previous year. NAGA Group, which operates the NAGA.com website under a Cyprus CySEC CIF license, said that it brought in revenues of more than USD $15 million in Q2 – up 12% from Q1’s $13.7 million and more than double last year with Q2 2020 at $6.3 million. Total group sales for the first half year 2021 amounted to $29 million, which is a +85% increase to the $15.7 million of the first half year in 2020 and almost the entire revenue of 2020 at $30 million.
Spreadex becomes shirt sponsor of EPL team Burnley FC. UK financial trading and sports betting firm Spreadex has announced that it has “reached the Premier League” by becoming the principal front of shirt partner of Burnley Football Club for the coming season. Burnley FC placed 17th in this past year’s Premier League standings narrowly avoiding relegation. The Spreadex Sports logo will be worn by Clarets players across the home, away and third kits during Burnley’s sixth consecutive top flight campaign. The new 2021-22 kits will be revealed later this week, while Spreadex said it will work closely with the club on a range of community and charity-based initiatives across the course of the season.
InstaForex signs Olympic swimmer Yuliya Efimova as Brand Ambassador. CySEC licensed Retail FX and CFDs broker InstaForex has announced that legendary swimmer Yuliya Efimova has become a brand ambassador for the company. Yuliya Efimova is a 6-time World Champion, 10-time European Сhampion, and holds an impressive collection of 41 medals in all major events. She won Olympic medals in breaststroke at the 2012 and 2106 Olympics. InstaForex has made other investments in brand ambassadors and sports sponsorships, including World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen, biathlon legend Ole Einar Bjørndalen, as well as Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool FC.
Top FX industry executive moves reported at FNG this week included:
❑ Mohamad Daher named Chief Executive Officer of CFI UK.
❑ Exclusive: ETX Capital hires Swissquote alum Juan Amiguet as Head of Data.
❑ Bridget Messer to step down as IG Group exec director.
❑ Rohit Verma to join LCH as Head of Asia Pacific.
❑ MarketAxess appoints Charles Li to Board of Directors.
❑ Clearwater Analytics names Joseph Kochansky its President, Product and Technology.