The week’s developments included brokerage acquisitions, market expansion, regulatory proposals and financial results. European data showed a decline in CFDs’ share of cross-border retail investment products.

In Australia, ASIC proposed extending CFD restrictions and consulted on rules for digital asset platforms. In Europe, ESMA examined social media’s influence on retail trading and reported shifts in investment product holdings.

London's trading industry is coming home!

Brokers also announced acquisitions, rebranded businesses and entered new markets, while company results and an opinion on AI investment provided further developments.

FxPro Agrees to Transfer European Client Book to Capital.com

FxPro has agreed to sell the client book held under its Cyprus entity to Capital.com, subject to approval from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. FxPro Chief Operating Officer Peter Aust described the transaction as a strategic adjustment rather than a retreat from the market.

The broker said its Cyprus business represents a limited part of the group and that its ownership, leadership, UK headquarters and Financial Conduct Authority licence will remain unchanged. Capital.com will assess clients against its own onboarding, risk, categorisation and appropriateness requirements before accepting transfers.

The deal follows other recent transactions involving established CFD broker client books, as firms adjust their European operations and pursue expansion in other markets.

CXM Group Agrees to Acquire TD Markets

CXM Group has agreed to acquire South African broker TD Markets, which serves more than 50,000 active clients across Africa. The financial terms have not been disclosed. TD Markets will retain its brand, chief executive Amar Ramith, team and Financial Sector Conduct Authority licence.

Its South African clients will continue using the existing local entity, with their accounts, funds and regulatory arrangements unchanged. Introducing broker and partner agreements will also remain in place. The acquisition gives CXM a regulated South African operation, complementing its existing licences in the Seychelles, Mauritius, the UAE and Cambodia.

Following completion, CXM plans to introduce 24-hour gold trading and TradingView connectivity and invest in TD Markets' Johannesburg team.

ASIC Proposes Extending Australia's CFD Restrictions

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has proposed extending its CFD product intervention order for another decade, beyond its current expiry date of 23 May 2027. Subject to approval, the revised restrictions would remain in force until 2037.

The draft clarifies that CFDs can be settled in cash, digital assets or through set-off arrangements. It also proposes margin requirements for CFDs over options, restrictions on netting opposing positions when calculating initial margin, and a seven-year record-keeping requirement for certain discounts.

For CFDs over options, initial margin would depend on whether potential losses are limited to the option premium. The proposals would amend ASIC Corporations Instrument 2020/986, which established the existing CFD order.

Australian Crypto Platforms Face 27 November Deadline

ASIC has opened a consultation on proposed guidance for digital asset platforms and tokenised custody services ahead of new Australian laws scheduled to commence on 8 April 2027. The framework would require covered businesses to obtain an Australian financial services licence, provide customer disclosure documents and establish platform rules.

• FCA Flags High Overnight Fees as Only 12% of CFD Firms Change Charges
• MFSA Bans Trive Shareholder for 10 Years, Freezes Client Transactions
• CMC Markets Rebrands Institutional Business After Expanding Prime Services

Firms would also face requirements covering asset holding, transactions, settlement and, where applicable, net tangible assets. The proposals cover platforms holding digital tokens for clients and arrangements that represent underlying assets as tokens.

ASIC is proposing a streamlined licensing process for existing licence holders and certain firms that have already applied for relevant authorisations. Responses must be submitted by 5pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time on 27 November 2026.

CMC Markets Rebrands Institutional Business

CMC Markets is replacing its CMC Connect brand with CMC Markets Institutional, bringing its business-to-business services under the group's main name. The division serves banks, brokerages, family offices, hedge funds and dealing desks, offering multi-asset liquidity, trading technology, API connectivity and white-label solutions.

The rebrand follows the launch of Prime Services in May, which added cash and synthetic prime brokerage, financing, multi-asset execution and post-trade support. The offering includes access to cash equities, exchange-traded funds and synthetic single-stock exposure.

CMC Markets said the name change would not affect services available to existing clients and partners. The group reported record client assets of £46.3 billion in July and has also announced a technology partnership with Westpac in Australia.

Trade Nation Launches Regulated CFD Trading in Poland

Trade Nation has launched CFD trading in Poland under its Portuguese licence from the Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários, using European passporting arrangements to enter the market. The offering includes Polish-language onboarding, customer support and access to the TN Trader platform, TradingView and MetaTrader 4.

Clients can open accounts denominated in Polish złoty, while the available instruments include Poland 20 Futures, shares in companies such as Allegro and CD Projekt, and EUR/PLN, GBP/PLN and USD/PLN currency pairs.

The launch follows the firm's expansion into Europe through Portugal and comes shortly after its agreement to acquire the UK client book of legacy broker FXCM. The Polish operation adds another market to Trade Nation's European business.

NAGA Revises First-Half Net Profit to €1.1 Million

NAGA Group revised its first-half 2026 net profit to €1.1 million, up from the preliminary figure of €0.9 million and compared with a €2.6 million loss a year earlier. Revenue remained unchanged at €27.7 million, down 14% from €32.3 million in the same period of 2025.

EBITDA increased slightly to €4.5 million from the preliminary €4.4 million, lifting the margin to 16.3%. The broker retained its full-year guidance of €68 million to €75 million in revenue and €10 million to €15 million in EBITDA. Meeting the sales target would require second-half revenue of €40.3 million to €47.3 million, substantially above first-half performance.

Plus500 Plans US Super-App and Agrees to Acquire Hedge Capital Markets

Plus500 plans to launch a US super-app in the first quarter of 2027, bringing futures, prediction markets, stocks, options and exchange-traded funds into one platform. The broker has conditionally agreed to acquire US broker-dealer Hedge Capital Markets, providing access to the Securities and Exchange Commission-regulated securities market.

Hedge is registered with the SEC and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. Plus500 intends to fund the acquisition from existing cash, which exceeded $860 million at the end of June 2026.

Completion remains subject to customary conditions, including FINRA approval. The company already operates in the US futures and prediction markets through its existing regulated business.

ESMA Study Links Social Media Sentiment to Poor Retail Trading Decisions

A study by the European Securities and Markets Authority found that social media sentiment can influence retail investors' trading decisions, even when online posts are legal and accurate. Researchers analysed 235 million posts from X, Reddit and StockTwits alongside anonymised transaction data reported under MiFIR.

The findings indicate that retail investors tend to sell too early when sentiment turns positive, limiting their participation in further price gains. When online opinions conflict, investors tend to become net buyers while realising losses.

The study suggests that the influence of social media extends beyond misinformation and market manipulation to the way traders respond to collective sentiment. ESMA highlighted the findings as relevant to efforts to protect less experienced retail investors.

CFDs Lose Ground as Crypto and Equities Gain European Market Share

CFDs accounted for 6.7% of reported cross-border retail investment product holdings in ESMA's latest annual report, down from 11% in the previous report. Europe's cross-border retail investment market expanded by around five million reported clients during 2025, rising from 10.5 million to 15.5 million.

Shares added 2.7 million clients, while UCITS funds gained 2.1 million. CFD client numbers fell to approximately 1.3 million, putting the product category behind crypto-assets regulated under the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework in ESMA's sample.

The regulator's figures are rounded, meaning the implied decline of roughly 100,000 CFD clients is an estimate. The data show that CFDs captured little of the overall increase in cross-border retail investment participation.

IC Explains How It Rolled Out Its New Brand Across Multiple Entities

IC Group Chief Marketing Officer Tony Philip outlined how the company moved from testing its new identity through its Haas F1 Team partnership to implementing the rebrand across multiple regulated entities. The former IC Markets business shortened its name to IC, with the rollout requiring changes to client-facing materials and coordination across its operations.

The company used the Formula 1 sponsorship as an initial setting to test the new identity before extending it more widely. Philip also pointed to a centralised masterbrand and client data platform as important elements of the process.

The account highlights the operational work involved in implementing a brand change across a multi-entity brokerage group, beyond the visible logo and name updates.

AI Investment: Retail Opportunities Beyond Nvidia

An opinion article by Paul Golden examined whether the artificial intelligence investment theme has become crowded and where retail investors might find exposure beyond Nvidia and other heavily traded technology stocks. The piece considered concerns about AI safety alongside the commercial opportunities created by expanding adoption.

Elon Musk is warning about an “exponentially increasing risk” from artificial intelligence and calling on major tech competitors to test and peer-review one another’s security models. Speaking at the All-In Summit in Los Angeles, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO echoed growing concerns about AI safety. He’s urging leading AI companies to strengthen their safeguards before the technology gets out of control. “What I think would be wise to do as soon as possible, if not immediately, would be to have the major AI competitors test each other’s models so that you'd have everyone's security test harness testing everyone's models.”

— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 15, 2026

It identified several areas linked to the sector's development, including semiconductors, power infrastructure, cybersecurity and businesses monetising AI applications. The discussion reflects the spread of the AI investment theme beyond chipmakers into companies supplying the infrastructure and services needed to support adoption.

Rather than focusing solely on Nvidia, the article explored how investors might assess other parts of the AI ecosystem as the market continues to develop.