IG Group strengthens institutional sales with appointment of Glen Hastings
IG Group, Europe’s largest online trading platform, has onboarded Glen Hastings to the role of its institutional sales manager. He joins the FCA-regulated broker with immediate effect, based out of its offices in London.
Most recently, Hastings served as institutional business development at Finalto, the financial trading division of Gopher Investments, for nearly four years. His departure comes a few weeks after a consortium of Asian and American investors completed the long-mooted purchase of Finalto, nearly 7 months after the company approved the deal for $250 million.
Playtech’s former trading technology division has become a lucrative target last year as increased market volatility, led by Covid-19 chaos, boosted revenue. However, before that Playtech trimmed its profit guidance due to highly challenging trading conditions and a regulatory crackdown on risky trading products.
Prior to Finalto, Glen spent a short stint as an FX institutional liquidity manager at FCA-regulated broker Price Markets UK. His background in financial markets had originally begun in 2016 when he was working a consultant for EC1 Partners.
The experience he accrued during his nearly 6 years tenure in the prime brokerage field likely influenced IG’s decision to hire him to guide its institutional sales department. Britain’s biggest player in the spread betting sector, which has a 40 percent share of the market, has undergone several management changes over the last few months.
The move to hire Hastings is clearly intended to boost bottom-line sales and expand the reach of IG Group operations in the prime brokerage field. The UK spread better targets mid-sized hedge funds and family offices with a dedicated institutional offering that IG expects to yield a potential market opportunity of around £500 million.
Per its latest financial reports, the UK online trading leader said its “high-quality client base” continues to provide an enduring revenue stream, with client retention rates in line with historical averages.
IG Group stated its revenues were £972.3 million in the twelve months through May, higher 16 percent than £837.3 million in the same period in the prior year. The FTSE 250-listed firm added that excluding the FX hedging gain associated with the tastytrade acquisition, adjusted net trading revenue increased 14% to £966.5 million.
On an adjusted basis, which includes interest on client money, total revenue was also up 14% to £967.3 million from £845.5 million in the FY 2021.
