Plus500

Plus500
Public
Traded as LSE: PLUS
Industry Online trading
Founded 2008 (2008)
Founder
  • Alon Gonen (MD)
  • Gal Haber (MD)
  • Elad Ben-Izhak
  • Omer Elazari (CTO)
  • Shlomi Weizmann,
  • Shimon Sofer
Key people
 Penelope Judd (Chairman)
Asaf Elimelech (CEO)
Elad Even-Chen (CFO)
David Zruia (COO)
Nir Zatz (CMO)
Products CFD
Services Online trading platform
Revenue Increase US$ 437.2 million (2017)[1]
Increase US$ $258.5 million (2017)[1]
Increase US$ $199.7 million (2017)[1]
Website plus500.com

Plus500 is an international financial firm providing online trading services in contracts for difference (CFDs), across more than 2,000 securities and multiple asset classes.[2] The company is headquartered in Israel and has subsidiaries in UK, Cyprus, Australia, Singapore and Bulgaria.

Plus500 is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and the Israel Securities Authority (ISA). It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

Plus500 Headquarters in Haifa, Israel

The company was founded in 2008 by six alumni of the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology: Gal Haber, Alon Gonen, Elad Ben-Izhak, Shlomi Weizmann, Omer Elazari and Shimon Sofer), with an initial investment of $400,000 contributed by Gonen, the managing director of the company.[2] Gal Haber, one of the founders of Plus500, had been accused of violating Israeli gambling laws in 2006.[3]

The initial platform was based on a Windows OS. In 2010, Plus500 launched a web based version of its online trading platform, allowing Mac and Linux users to trade online.[2] In 2011, they launched their first app for iPad and iPhone users.[2]

In 2012, Plus500 introduced its Android-based trading platform for Android smartphones and tablets.[2]

In July 2013, Plus500 listed shares on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, under the ticker PLUS, and started trading publicly on 22 July 2013, raising up to US$75 million, which placed the company's market capitalisation at US$200 million.[4]

In 2014, the company launched its Windows app.[5]

In May 2015, Plus500 was hit with massive value loss when its stock plunged almost 60 percent due to the company's move to freeze UK based trader accounts. The UK Financial Conduct Authority had ordered Plus500UK (the UK subsidiary of Plus500) to freeze the accounts as part of a review into anti-money-laundering controls. Most customers were able to access their funds within 2 months. The Australian and the Cyprus subsidiaries were not affected.[6][7]

In June 2015, Plus500 agreed to a US$703 million bid from Playtech, an online gambling company that was expanding into trading. However, Playtech walked away from the deal in November 2015 after it failed to get regulatory approval for the takeover.[8]

In 2016, the Israeli operating subsidiary of company, Plus500IL Ltd was one of a small number of companies to be granted a Trading Arena Licence by the Israeli Security Authority (ISA). In that same year, Plus500 released an app for Apple Watch to trade and view account details directly from Apple’s wearable.[9]

In early December 2017, Plus500SG Pte Ltd, the Singapore subsidiary of Plus500, was granted a Capital Markets Services license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for dealing in securities and leveraged foreign exchange trading.[10]

In June 2018, Plus500 launched its Economic Calendar, covering major financial events and indicators from all over the world, which are provided by Dow Jones & Company, a subsidiary of News Corp. Plus500’s calendar includes a list of the most highly-affected instruments for each economic event.[11]

In June 2015 the company joined the main market of the London Stock Exchange.[12]

Plus500 Web Trader

Operations

Plus500 trading apps are supported in 32 languages, including English, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish, French, Finnish, Danish, Swedish, Estonian, Russian, Romanian, Hebrew, Arabic, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese.[13] It has been reported that 40% of the transactions were made by either Smartphones or tablets.[2]

Regulation

In December 2017, European and UK watchdogs announced[14] details of planned restrictions on the spreadbetting and CFD sectors. Plus500 CEO Asaf Elimelech said "the board believes the proposals are unlikely to have a material adverse effect on the group's business, thanks to its highly flexible business model". He added "Our continued focus on serving our customers' trading needs through product innovation and technology leadership, combined with our successful marketing activity, has led to strong new customer sign ups, reduced churn in the second half and increased customer activity."[15]

The company was the subject of a number of notices issued between 2009 and 2014 by overseas regulators in certain jurisdictions, warning their residents that the Company or Plus500UK did not have the required authorisation to operate in the following jurisdictions: 10 June 2009 - Greece, in respect of the Company; 17 November 2009 - Norway, in respect of the Company; 4 December 2009 - Cyprus, in respect of the Company[16] December 2009 - Finland, in respect of the Company; December 2009 - Hong Kong, in respect of the Company; January 2010 - Slovakia, in respect of the Company; December 2010 - Estonia, in respect of the Company; 12 June 2011 - Brazil, in respect of Plus500UK; 27 March 2012 - Croatia, in respect of Plus500UK; August 2014 - Quebec, in respect of the Company; undated entry - Hungary in respect of Plus500UK.[17]

Sponsorships

In January 2015, Plus500 signed a sponsorship deal with Atlético de Madrid Football Club. Later that year, Plus500 became the Club’s main sponsor for the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 seasons. In January 2017, Plus500 renewed its sponsorship deal with Atlético de Madrid for the 2017/2018 season. In November 2017, Plus500 signed a €45 million deal to sponsor Atlético de Madrid Football Club for three additional seasons, starting from the 2018/19 season.[18]

In December 2016, Plus500 signed a naming rights sponsorship deal with the Brumbies, an Australian professional rugby union football team, for the 2017 season. In November 2017, the deal was extended until the end of 2020.[19]

However the European Securities and Markets Authority stated that "sponsorship affiliations with sports teams, may result in the firm giving the misleading impression to its potential clients that CFDs or other speculative products are appropriate for the mass retail market".[20]

Also Peter Hetherington (CEO of IG Group) said in January 2018 that it was "crazy" that complex trading was being advertised as a "leisure product" to groups such as football fans, referring to Plus500’s kit sponsorship deal with Atletico Madrid.[21]

Violations

In October 2012, Plus500UK Ltd was fined £205,128 by the FCA failing to report transactions accurately for a year and a half. The company wasn’t able to submit complete and accurate transaction reports because of the absence of appropriate systems and controls, documented procedures or appropriate training for staff. (Chapter 17 of the FSA’s Supervision manual and Principle 3 of the FCA’s Principles for Businesses).[22]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Annual Report and Accounts 2017" (PDF). Plus500. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Plus500: Absolutely Israeli". Globes. 18 August 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  3. ↑ "How backgammon got the founders of Plus500 on the wrong side of Israeli police". Business Insider. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "Plus500 Decides To Go Public With IPO". FX Empire. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  5. ↑ "Annual Report 2014" (PDF). Plus500. p. 13. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "London-listed spreadbetting firm Plus500's stock bombs after freezing accounts". Business Insider. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Plus500 shares fall 36% after client accounts suspended". Financial Times. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "Playtech folds on Plus500 deal after regulatory concerns". FT. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  9. ↑ ""On Sunday we release our supported Apple watch app! plus 500"". Plus 500. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  10. ↑ "Grant of operating licence in Singapore". FT.com. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "Check our Economic Calendar to follow financial events, anticipate possible market movements and make trading decisions accordingly". Plus500. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  12. ↑ "Cryptocurrency surge propels 500 into the main market". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  13. ↑ "Plus500 Ruthlessly Reviewed & Rated at Commodity.com". Commodity.com. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  14. ↑ Gill, Oliver (2017-12-18). "Spreadbetters' shares are down as much as 15pc: Here's why". Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  15. ↑ Morrison, Caitlin (2018-02-14). "Plus500 shares surge as it hikes dividend after growing revenue". Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  16. ↑ "Trading magicians of Plus500". FT. 2009-12-04. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  17. ↑ "Prospectus" (PDF). Plus 500. 2013-06-18. p. 25. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  18. ↑ "Atlético Madrid Extends Plus500 Shirt Sponsorship Deal Until 2021 - Financial Details Revealed". Footy Headlines. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  19. ↑ "Plus500 Extend Brumbies Rugby Deal". Brumbies. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  20. ↑ "Questions and Answers Relating to the provision of CFDs and other speculative products to retail investors under MiFID Revealed" (PDF). ESMA. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  21. ↑ "EU crackdown crazy amateur trading has gone far". The Telegraph. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  22. ↑ 1, The Financial Services Authority, 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14. "FCA Transaction reporting fines". www.fsa.gov.uk. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
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