Plus500 to buy Hedge Capital Markets to bring US securities into planned super-app

Plus500 has conditionally agreed to acquire Hedge Capital Markets Inc., a US broker-dealer, giving the London-listed, FTSE 250 broker an SEC-regulated securities business for a planned US "super-app" that would combine futures, prediction markets, stocks, options and exchange-traded funds in a single product. The company announced the deal through the London Stock Exchange and expects the app to launch in the first quarter of 2027.

Hedge was founded in 2021 by Kyle Al-Rawi and Yash Khandelwal and offers US retail investors exchange-listed securities, including stocks and ETFs. Its broker-dealer is registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and belongs to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, the US investor-protection scheme.

A first step into US securities

Plus500's existing US operations are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and provide clearing and execution for futures and prediction markets to retail and institutional clients — a business the company describes as substantial and fast-growing, built on a CFTC-regulated US acquisition in 2021. Chief executive David Zruia called the Hedge purchase "a pivotal step in Plus500's US journey," saying it strengthens the CFTC-regulated business and provides direct access to the US securities market for the first time.

Plus500 will fund the purchase entirely from existing cash. Group cash resources stood at more than $860m at 30 June 2026. Completion is conditional on the expiry of a notice period and on FINRA approval under Rule 1017, which governs the regulator's sign-off on changes in a member firm's ownership.

The announcement did not disclose the consideration, the expected completion date, Hedge's financials or the deal's financial impact on Plus500. Separately, the group will open a New York hub alongside its Chicago operations, with Hedge personnel joining the New York team, and plans to extend the app to further geographies later.

The transaction points to a listed CFD and futures broker assembling a one-app US offering that spans futures, prediction markets, stocks, options and ETFs under a single licence base, putting it in competition with US rivals that cover only some of those products.