Interactive Investor

interactive investor
Interactive Investor Trading Limited
Private
Industry financial services
Founded August 1995 (1995-08)
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Products execution-only online trading, ISAs, SIPPs, spread betting, CFD, Forex, etc
Services market analysis & tools, community & discussions, virtual portfolios, research account
Subsidiaries Moneywise, Money Observer, SharePrice, Motley Fool Share Dealing Service
Website www.ii.co.uk

Interactive Investor (II) is an online trading and investment platform based in London. The group offers retail investors an investment service to manage and trade shares, funds and bonds via trading accounts, ISAs and SIPPs. Its website provides content which is intended to support investors in making the difficult and complex decisions associated with online trading and investment.[1]

History

Interactive Investor was founded in 1995 by Tomas Carruthers. Initially launched to provide front-end research to the investment community, it also provided a platform for investors to communicate through discussion boards. Interactive Investor first provided a dealing service in 2010, when it joined forces with Halifax Share Dealing. The broker set up its own dealing function and customer service centre, based in Glasgow, in 2011.

II has grown to be a notable UK investment and trading website, claiming to have over 7.4 million unique users per annum.[2] The company floated on the stock market in 2000,[3] valuing the company at £242 million. At the height of the dotcom boom it was valued at £684 million before it was bought by Australian financial services group AMP a year later.[4] The investment platform briefly rebranded itself as Ample in 2002, before a further change of name to Interactive Investor two years later.

Services and products

II offers a range of investment services including share and fund dealing, SIPPs, ISAs and Junior ISAs. The broker also offers CFDs and Spread Betting accounts, and comprehensive (Level 2) market data. These services are supported by portfolio tracking tools, investment filters and a selection of ready-made investment options in addition to specialist news, TV and research from its editorial team and magazines Moneywise and Money Observer.

Following the UK’s decision in 2016 to leave the European Union, the UK stock market reacted strongly to the announcement of the referendum result. Within the first 90 minutes of the market opening, trades carried out on the Interactive Investor platform were running at 10 times normal levels.[5] Trading volumes that day exceeded twice the previous day’s volumes across the platform and service levels were maintained throughout.

Acquisitions

II bought personal finance magazine Moneywise from Reader's Digest in 2004.[6] This was followed by the acquisition of investment magazine Money Observer from Guardian Media Group in 2008.[7] The broker joined forces with Motley Fool Share Dealing in 2015, replacing Halifax Share Dealing Limited as the brand’s service provider.

In October 2016, II acquired the European business of TD Direct Investing (branded as TD Waterhouse) from its Canadian parent Toronto–Dominion Bank. With 300,000 UK customers, TD Direct was at the time larger than II. The acquisition was completed in June 2017 and was financed by private equity firm JC Flowers, which became the majority shareholder in the group.[8][9]

White labels

II provides the dealing, investment platform and customer services functions for Trustnet Direct, part of the Financial Express (FE) group, and Telegraph Investor, the investment services arm of the Telegraph Media Group.[10]

Ventures

Wanting to create a standalone in-house website built around London Stock Exchange securities, II launched Share Price in 2008. Share Price Pro followed two years later.

References

  1. ↑ "Interactive Investor: About Us". Interactive Investor. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  2. ↑ "About Us". Interactive Investor. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  3. ↑ Collinson, Patrick (2000-02-18). "Interactive hits the market with a bang". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  4. ↑ Goodley, By Simon. "AMP eyes Interactive Investor". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  5. ↑ "Brexit: Investors struggle to buy as trading volumes hit 10 times normal levels". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  6. ↑ "Interactive buys Moneywise magazine - Money Marketing". Money Marketing. 2004-10-13. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  7. ↑ "Reading: Boyes Turner advises Money Observer deal - The Business Magazine". The Business Magazine. 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  8. ↑ Williams, Aime (13 October 2016). "TD Direct Investing bought by 'challenger' broker". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 March 2018. (Subscription required (help)).
  9. ↑ "Interactive Investor Completes Acquisition of TD Direct Investing". Interactive Investor. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  10. ↑ "Telegraph links with Interactive Investor for direct platform launch - Fund Strategy". Fund Strategy. 2014-11-24. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.