IG Group
“Can IG Group leverage its global derivatives trading infrastructure and regulatory footprint to become the go-to multi-asset investment platform for ambitious retail investors, competing with neobrokers while defending its leveraged-trading core?”
Founded1974
HQLondon, England, United Kingdom
FoundersStuart Wheeler
Valuation£4.5 billion market cap (January 2026)
IndustryFintech / Investment
The story
Founded in 1974 as a spread-betting firm on gold, IG Group evolved into the world's largest CFD and spread-betting provider, expanding to 19 countries and 18,000+ markets. Over the past decade it has broadened from pure derivatives into stock trading, FX, and cryptocurrency offerings to capture retail investing demand. The 2025 acquisition of Freetrade signals an accelerating push into mainstream retail investing and direct-to-consumer channels beyond its traditional leveraged-trading base.
Last 12 months
Product timeline
1974
Founded by Stuart Wheeler as IG Index, pioneering spread betting on gold.· pivot
2003
Reincorporated as IG Group Holdings Limited ahead of stock market listing.· pivot
2005
Listed on the London Stock Exchange.· ipo
2014
Expanded into stockbroking and share dealing, broadening beyond derivatives.· banking
2022
Breon Corcoran (former WorldRemit CEO) appointed CEO, signalling digital growth push.· pivot
2025
Acquired UK stock trading app Freetrade for £160 million to expand direct-to-consumer investing.· acquisition
2025
Partnered with Alloy for identity and perpetual KYC / fraud prevention.· banking
Regulated entities
3
regulatory licences held by IG Group
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
The stack
1 layer disclosed in IG Group’s embedded-finance stack
Crypto
Accounting gap: none