Cyprus-based Retail FX and CFDs broker Capital.com has secured a license for its UK subsidiary Capital Com (UK) Limited from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The license received, a “125K” matched principal limited license, required Capital.com’s shareholders to inject an additional £679,000 of capital into the UK company at the beginning of October. The broker had raised $25 million last summer to fund its operations, including $1.5 million to acquire the capital.com URL.
Capital.com is now controlled by Larnabel Ventures, the investment arm of Russia’s Gutseriev family, with VP Capital, a tech and real estate investment company founded and run by Belarusian online entrepreneur Viktor Prokopenya, taking a minority stake in the company.
Ivan Gowan, CEO at Capital.com, commented on the FCA license:
“This is a really important step for us as a business, as we continue to expand our global footprint. The FCA is the most experienced and knowledgeable financial regulator in the world, so having its stamp of approval is particularly meaningful. As an FCA-regulated trading provider, we are now subject to the Financial Ombudsman Service, so customers can always feel confident that any issue will be resolved in a fair and impartial manner.”
Capital.com’s main feature is its machine learning-based platform that can detect and analyze biases in trading behavior which lead to sub-optimal investing. The platform provides users with relevant and targeted information that helps them to make informed decisions about their trading, rather than relying on human instinct.
The retail broker also launched its web platform to help its traders invest more successfully, presenting data in more detail and giving users the flexibility to view that data however they want.
“At Capital.com, we are committed to providing a responsible trading experience for our customers. We have rolled out a number of initiatives in recent months to support this. Our Investmate app, available for free from any mobile store, is an educational resource to help people understand trading and improve their risk management through interactive courses, quizzes, and articles. We have also integrated our platform with the leading global payment service provider WorldPay and established a new banking relationship with RBS to serve our UK customers”, Gowan added.
The Cyprus-based company has also used the $25 million raised to hire a number of trading veterans in preparation for the FCA license and the UK launch. The broker appointed David Jones, a former BBC radio presenter as its Chief Market Strategist. Jones held that title in high profile brokerages in the UK.
At CMC Markets, Jones was elevated to Chief Market Strategist and was responsible for client education, market commentary, and public relations. In 2007, he moved on to join IG Group as Chief Market Strategist, on a similar role.
