Following the major announcement about Plus500’s buyback program earlier today, the company also gave notice about changes to its board of directors. As previously announced in April, Alastair Gordon stepped down from his position as chairman.
He was succeeded by Penny Judd, with the board also adding a new non-executive director, Steve Baldwin.
Ms. Judd has been worked in finance for over 30 years. Her expertise is in compliance, governance, Regulation , corporate finance and audit. Her chairmanship comes at the right time, as in the coming months the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is preparing new rules for retail foreign exchange and CFDs trading providers.
The new chairman has already made a positive impact on the company’s governance since joining the body in 2016. Ms. Judd has previously held senior compliance positions at Nomura and UBS. She was also Head of Equity Markets at the London Stock Exchange until 2000 and served as a consultant to TP ICAP during the transition period for the company as it was merging the voice broking units of Tullett Prebon and ICAP.
Mr. Baldwin joins the brokerage with experience as a non-executive director of Panmure Gordon & Co. plc and Elegant Hotels Group plc. His background is in corporate finance. Most recently he served as Head of European Equity Capital Markets and Corporate Broking at Macquarie Capital until February 2015.
The new addition to the company’s board has an extensive background in the financial markets industry, serving in senior roles at JPMorgan Cazenove and UBS.
Plus500 Shares Rally 7% after Buyback Announcement
Shares of Plus500 rallied sharply after the market open on the London Stock Exchange, currently trading over 7 percent higher around 554 pence per share. The company committed to a $10 million buyback program lasting until the end of August.
The news surprised the market as the firm highlighted that it is still facing risks in the second half of the year, primarily related to the FCA's review of its regulatory policy towards retail foreign exchange and CFDs trading providers. The UK regulator has outlined in December that it is looking into decreasing the maximum amount of Leverage that retail traders can use.
