IG Group, originally founded as IG Index (Investors Gold Index), was founded in 1974 by British financierStuart Wheeler with an initial investment of £30,000 from six friends.[2][3][4][5] It became the first company to offer spread betting,[6] allowing investors to speculate on gold prices rather than buying physical gold, which was restricted by UK exchange controls at the time.[7]
In 1993, IG Group expanded into spread betting on sports events, and in 1996, it started offering foreign exchange trading.[3]
In July 2000, IG Group was formed as the parent company of IG Index, and its shares were listed on theLondon Stock Exchange, making it the first company of its kind to go public.[8][9]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.[10]
IG Group entered theAustralian market in 2002, marking its first international expansion.[11] In 2003, founder Stuart Wheeler sold his 23.68% stake in the company, netting £90 million.[3][2] He was joined by some other major shareholders, so a total number of shares to be sold reached 30%.[9] Amanagement buyout backed byCVC Capital Partners valued the company at £143 million.[12] 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.[13]
The company continued its global expansion, entering theUnited States market in 2007 with the £2.9 million purchase ofHedgeStreet, an online derivatives trading platform,[14] later rebranded asNadex.[15] In September 2008, IG Group acquired FXOnline, aJapanese trading firm, for £112 million.[16]
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.[17]
In September 2014, IG Group launched an online stockbroking platform, offering access to 4,500 stocks.[18] In September 2016, it acquired the financial news and research portal DailyFX fromFXCM for $40 million.[19] However, the same year, IG Group's shares fell 38% following theFinancial Conduct Authority's (FCA) announcement of new industry regulations, wiping £1 billion off the company's market value.[20][21] In response, IG withdrew its binary options product in early 2017.[21]
In 2017, IG partnered withBlackRock to launch the IG Smart Portfolio, marking the company's entry intowealth management.[22] In 2019, IG launched a new U.S. subsidiary, IG US, which offers foreign exchange trading[23] (in June 2024, IG US rebranded to tastyfx[24]).
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 theCOVID-19 pandemic.[25][26][27]
In January 2021, IG Group acquiredChicago-based online brokerage Tastytrade for $1 billion, enhancing its offerings for retail investors. The company, founded in 2011 byTom Sosnoff, included the brokerage arm tastyworks, which was rebranded as tastytrade in 2023.[28][29][30]
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.[31][32]
In the first half of the 2024 fiscal year, IG Group reported a 32% drop in after-tax profits compared to the previous year.[33] 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.[34] In response, the company announced plans to cut 10% of its workforce[35] and launched a £150 million share buyback program, starting with a £75 million tranche in August 2024.[36][37]
IG Group offers a range of leveraged and investment products, varying by region due to differing national regulations.[47] In EU, the company providesturbo warrants,[47] while in the United States, through its acquisition of tastytrade, it offers options, futures, and cryptocurrency trading tailored to individual investors.[48][49][39]
Tim Howkins, who served as Chief Financial Officer before becoming CEO in October 2006, led the company for nine years before retiring in 2015.[50] 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.[51]
In October 2018, IG Group appointed June Felix as CEO.[52] Felix had previously served as a non-executive director for three years before joining the board.[53] Due to health issues, Felix resigned in December 2023, andBreon Corcoran was appointed as the new CEO.[54]
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.[55]
In March 2021,FinanceFeeds andFinancial Magnates reported frequent outages of IG Group's trading system during periods of high trade volume.[56][57] 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.[58]
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.[59][60]
IG Group's founder, Stuart Wheeler, was actively involved in politics and made several notable donations. His financial contributions, particularly to theBrexit campaign, earned him a nickname of a "a leading disrupter in British politics".[3][2][61]
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.[62][63] 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.[64] The claim was dismissed in 2020.[65]
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, theSwiss National Bank (SNB) unexpectedly removed its minimum exchange rate for theSwiss 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.[55][66][67][68] 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.[67][69][70] In June 2015, the Financial Ombudsman Service ordered IG to compensate affected customers £1 million.[71][68]
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 promotingContracts for Difference (CFDs) to inexperienced traders without proper safeguards.[72] 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 theAustralian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The legal action is being funded by Woodsford.[73][74]
In November 2010, IG Markets signed a sponsorship deal to supportTeam Sky professionalcycling team in 2011.[76]
In December 2010, IG Markets announced sponsorship of two stages ofSantos Tour Down Under cycling race in 2011.[77]
In October 2013, IG signed a sponsorship deal withHarlequinrugby team for the next three years.[78] In September 2014, the deal was updated to make IG one of three major sponsors for the team.[79]
£852.4 million (2024 FY)[1]