Trading 212 hires Andrew Rydon as non-executive director

Andrew is a seasoned financial services industry professional with over 27 years’ experience cutting across several industries. He has strong networks with local and international financial institutions, corporate clients, and peers in the sector.

Prior to joining Trading 212, he spent nearly five years at Investec Wealth & Investment UK, which provides investment management and financial planning services for individuals, intermediaries and institutions. There he spent nearly five years as chief technology officer and was then promoted to serve most recently as chief operating officer, a position he held until he landed at Trading 212.

Rydon spent the bulk of his career at Janus Henderson Investors, where he held many roles during his nearly 15-year tenure.

Trading 212 was the first retail UK broker to offer commission-free trading and its core product portfolio consists of stocks, ETFs, FX, and derivatives products.

In terms of CFD products, the company operated from January 2021 to May 2021 on a spread revenue model, profiting from the difference between the prices offered to clients and those on which hedging trades were conducted via a back-to-back hedging agreement with a group affiliate. From May 2021 onwards, T212 opted to end this arrangement to manage its own risk based on defined parameters for each product and asset class, hedging exposures outside of these with third parties.

For the stock trading business, the company operates a zero-commission model where clients do not pay commission for trading nor custody fees for the assets held. Instead, T212 earns fees from clients when they trade in a currency different to that in which their cash was deposited, and through a collateralised stock lending program.

While operating both a CFD and a stockbroking platform, T212 continues to shift focus towards stockbroking with the growth strategy delivering increases in client money and asset balances from £2.1 billion to £2.9 billion.

T212 said it has invested significantly in the UK entity and its operating model. This included increasing its share capital by an additional £19.8 million and cash reserves by over £90 million. The FCA-regulated brokerage has significantly boosted its headcount in the City, with further recruitment plans to grow to circa 70 by the end of Q3 2022.

Outside of the UK entity, and following Brexit, Trading 212 revealed that it plans to transfer some of its clients around the group. This will see the UK entity transferring circa 14% of its clients (all being EU clients) to the new Cyprus entity, while the Bulgarian entity will also be transferring its client to either the Cyprus or UK entity.