The UK Dominates the CFD Market. Number of Traders Up by More than 90%

275,000 Britons placed one or more leverage trades (up 92% from pre-pandemic levels)

The average UK CFD traders credited over $7,000 to their account each month

The UK is the birthplace of spread-betting (a leveraged product very similar to CFDs). Last year around 275,000 people traded at least one of these instruments in the UK, putting the UK at the forefront of the retail industry.

Finance Magnates Intelligence has x-rayed the local market, looking at investor structure, average deposits flowing into accounts and the most prominent operating brokers.

The UK Is the World's 5th Largest Economy

Great Britain is the fifth-largest national economy in the world measured by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), constituting 3.3% of world GDP. The UK is also one of the world's top five exporters.

Historical fun fact: In the 18th century, Great Britain was the first country to start the process of industrialization. Thanks to the expansive growth of its colonial empire, it accounted for 10% of global GDP at that time.

Just as the UK economy is one of the largest globally, the national currency, the pound sterling, is one of the most important reserve currencies. It is second only to the US dollar, the euro, and the Japanese yen.

According to the Bank of England's latest triennial report on the FX market, daily foreign exchange trading volumes in London stood at $2.41 trillion in April 2020. A similar report published a year earlier by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) showed that London and the UK as a whole was (like in previous years) the most important foreign exchange centre in the world, clearly ahead of the US, Hong Kong and Singapore, among others.

FCA: One of the Most Important Regulators in the FX and CFD Industry

Did you know that one of the first central banks was opened in the UK (the Bank of England)？ The islanders have a very long tradition regarding legislation and regulation of financial markets. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is responsible for regulating the retail derivatives industry, among other things, was created based on their tradition.

Although the FCA was only established in 2013, it draws on a long-standing tradition of the Financial Services Authority (FSA). It is currently responsible for regulating around 51,000 financial firms operating in the UK. Among them are many retail brokers that represent the top of the FX/CFD industry in retail volumes.

According to the latest Finance Magnates Intelligence research, these include Exness, IG Group, Plus500, and CMC Markets. If you would like to see the full breakdown and exact numbers, do not miss the latest edition of the Quarterly Intelligence Report.