CFD Brain Drain? Prop Firms Continue to Attract Top Talent, Ex-Equiti Exec Latest

A new trend has emerged in the retail trading industry: executives from contracts for differences (CFDs) brokers are transitioning to proprietary trading firms. The latest to join this shift is Yassin Mismar, who moved from Equiti Group to FundingPips as Head of Sales and Retention.

“Grateful for the journey at Equiti—the experiences, the growth, and most importantly, the amazing people I had the privilege to work with,” he noted in a LinkedIn post. “Now, I’m incredibly excited to join the talented team at FundingPips and contribute to shaping the future of trading in this next chapter.”

Mismar has spent nearly two decades in the FX industry, most recently serving as SVP of Sales at Equiti Group.

CFD Executives Moving to Prop

Just weeks before Mismar’s move, Zoltan Nemeth joined FunderPro, another prop trading firm, as Head of Business Development. Prior to that, Nemeth was Head of Growth at ZuluTrade for a year, working in a hybrid setup based in Cyprus. He also spent over two years at Swissquote, where he served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director in Limassol, and earlier worked at Orbex for nearly three years.

Meanwhile, several CFD industry executives are launching their own prop platforms. Andreas Andreou, who left BDSwiss last year, founded thePropTrade.com and now leads it as Co-CEO alongside Md Hazly, the former Regional Manager at HF Markets.

Other notable moves by CFD veterans into the prop trading space include the launch of Fuze Traders by Brian Griffin and Ryan Nettles. FinanceMagnates.com recently reported that Fuze Traders merged with Kubera Markets, a Labuan-regulated CFDs broker.

Joining Props to Run Brokerages

At the same time, several proprietary trading firms are entering the brokerage space and hiring experienced CFD executives to lead their new ventures. One of the most high-profile hires is Michael Kamerman, who was appointed CEO of FTMO’s brokerage division. Months after his appointment, the Czech-based prop firm acquired OANDA in a landmark deal.

Riana Chaili, who previously worked at 26 Degrees, IC Markets, and TechFinancials, now also serves as Chief Operating Officer of FTMO’s brokerage arm.

FundedNext is another prop firm that has recently launched brokerage services under a Comoros licence. It has also appointed George David Elkanisvili, a former executive with several CFD-related firms, as Head of Product for its brokerage division.