The Winners

The ADVFN International Financial Awards recognise and celebrate the best of breed products and services from across the financial industry, both nationally and internationally

1 Best CFD Research Service Accendo Markets
2 Best Online Trading Services ActivTrades
3 Finance Blogger of the Year Brokerman Dan
4 Best Crowdfunding Platform Businessagent.com
5 Best Spread Betting Platform City Index
6 Best Spread Betting and CFD Education Tools CMC Markets
7 Best Currency Exchange Service Currencies Direct
8 Best IPO Provider Direct Market Touch
9 Best Research Provider Edison
10 Best ETF Provider ETF Securities
11 Best Social Trading Platform eToro
12 Best Trading Alert Service Faraday Research
13 Wealth Manager of the Year Fisher Investments Europe
14 Best Forex Platform GKFX
15 Best Execution Only Stockbroker Halifax Share Dealing
16 Best Managed Funds Provider Hargreaves Lansdown
17 Best Financial Print Journalist Harry Wilson
18 Best Multi Platform Provider IG
19 Best Finance App IG
20 Best Investment Magazine Investors Chronicle
21 Best Newspaper Tipster Joanne Hart
22 Best UK Property Investment Adviser Nova Financial
23 Best CFD Provider Plus500
24 Best Newcomer PrimaryBid
25 Best Platform for the Active Trader Saxo Capital Markets
26 Best ETP Provider Societe Generale
27 Best Investor Communications Sound Energy
28 Best Alternative Investments Provider Stanley Gibbons
29 Best Investor Relations Firm St Brides Partners
30 Best Business TV Journalist Steph McGovern
31 Best Stockbroker for International Dealing TD Direct Investing
32 Best Low Cost Stockbroker TD Direct Investing
33 Best SIPP Provider TD Direct Investing
34 Financial Publication of the Year The Economist
35 Self Select ISA Provider of the Year The Share Centre
36 Best Online Stockbroker The Share Centre
37 Best Trading Innovation TRADE IT
38 Best Trading Education Provider Trendsignal
39 Best Peer to Peer Provider Wellesley

Accendo Markets is an online trading services provider, offering CFDs, spread betting and forex to retail (private) clients.

 

With Accendo Markets, you can access global financial markets at the touch of a button. You can also place orders over the telephone with your dedicated trader. 

 

  • Market-leading trading platforms
  • Old-fashioned, personal service
  • Huge range of global financial markets
  • Award winning research

 

 

ActivTrades is a leading provider of trading services in spread betting, forex, contracts for difference (CFDs). The UK regulated firm has been in operation since 2001 and has a market share in countries such as the UK, Italy, Germany and Spain.

 

ActivTrades has celebrated various key events in recent years including the launch of its proprietary platform, ActivTrader, the opening of a new office in one of the financial hubs of the world, Dubai and achieving 15 successful years in the industry.

 

The company places customer service at the core of its operation and continues to win globally recognised accolades for its commitment to meeting its customers’ needs.

 

All financial products traded on margin carry a high degree of risk to your capital. They are not suited to all investors, please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved, and seek independent advice if necessary. ActivTrades PLC is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), registration number FCA 434413

 

Banned from UK financial chat forums in 2008 for allegedly posting insider knowledge, Brokerman Dan (BMD) began his one-man revolution at the cult private investor site www.guerillainvesting.co.uk and on Twitter @brokermandaniel. BMD posts can create a stir online and in the City and make compelling reading. Love him or loathe him, controversy follows him.

Businessagent.com is creating the alternative finance marketplace. A place where entrepreneurs, investors & alternative finance providers meet.

 

We aggregate equity and debt crowdfunding investment opportunities from leading crowdfunding web sites and refer businesses to raise finance.

 

You can L.I.B.R.E.; Lend, invest, borrow, raise and even exit on businessagent.com. Eventually you will be able sell your debt or shares creating a whole new market. Libre means freedom, to us it means to be free of traditional finance. It is our mission to help investors make money and for that to happen we need to bring liquidity to the alternative finance market by creating a place you can sell your debt or shares.

 

City Index is one of the world leaders in spread betting (UK) and CFD trading. Established in the UK in 1983, we have grown to become a leading provider of contracts for difference, FX and spread betting. We are committed to providing a market-leading service based on fair and transparent prices, accessible technology and comprehensive customer support.

 

As a group, we have over 400 employees worldwide and offices in the UK, Singapore, China, Dubai and Australia. We transact in excess of two million trades every month for individuals in over 50 countries worldwide.

 

CMC Markets is a leading global provider of spread betting, CFD trading and FX, with over 25 years' online retail financial services experience. We enable clients to trade a broad range of financial products – including indices, forex, commodities and shares – through our award-winning Next Generation trading platform, supported by sophisticated charting, competitive pricing and automated execution.

 

Since 1996 Currencies Direct have helped over 150,000 private and corporate customers save on their international money transfers with their award-winning service. They have offices located across the globe, with local currency experts in key financial regions including the UK, USA, South Africa and across Southern Europe, dealing in more than 60 currencies.

 

Whether you’re a private client starting a new life overseas and transferring money to purchase property, or a business looking for hedging strategies to mitigate risk, Currencies Direct have a range of services tailored to help their customers make the most of their money transfers.

 

 

Direct Market Touch brings together close to 100 years of market experience to focus on providing a traditional and personal investment service to Private Clients.

 

We believe in people, and recognise that the pedigree of a Company’s board of directors is essential in determining its prospects. As such our research will also focus on key management, their track records, and ratio analysis. Such analysis enables us to evaluate the operational performance of a Company, which, when coupled with our other investment metrics, further enhances our confidence of achieving capital appreciation.

 

We also incorporate technical analysis into our investment approach, using certain metrics to support our fundamental analysis, as well as assisting with the timing of making investments.

 

Edison is an investment research and advisory company, with offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East and AsiaPac. The heart of Edison is our world renowned equity research platform and deep multi-sector expertise. At Edison Investment Research, our research is widely read by international investors, advisors and stakeholders. Edison Advisors leverages our core research platform to provide differentiated services including investor relations and strategic consulting.

ETF Securities is one of the world’s leading innovators of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) and provides specialist investment solutions across multiple asset classes to investors around the world, enabling them to build and diversify their portfolios intelligently.

 

ETF Securities is a pioneer, having developed the world’s first gold ETP. Today we offer one of the most innovative ranges of ETPs covering commodities, FX, equities and fundamental fixed income. Using our pioneering spirit, unrivalled expertise and by working with leading third parties, we seek out the most compelling investment opportunities and make them accessible to investors as the intelligent alternative.

 

eToro is the first global market place for people to trade currencies, commodities, indices and CFD stocks online in a simple, transparent and more enjoyable way.

 

Today, we empower over 4.5 million users in more than 170 countries worldwide to manage their funds through our innovative online investment platforms and active trading community, with thousands of new accounts created every day.

 

At Faraday Research, our team of qualified analysts provide real time trade signals for the global forex and equity markets.


Every day our members receive easy to follow trade signals, with exact entry levels, stop loss levels and trade rationale, direct to their mobile and email.


We cover both the UK and US markets and, unlike most other signal services, we're regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK – so you can rest assured you're in good hands.


Our products are used by experienced traders with limited time for analysis, newer traders who want to learn from our experts, and traders of all levels looking to improve the consistency of their returns.

 

Fisher Investments Europe is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fisher Investments, a private, independent multi-billion dollar investment management company. Fisher Investments Europe offers a wide range of wealth management strategies for individuals and institutions. Fisher Investments Europe has a respected reputation for devising bespoke investment plans and managing the diverse needs of high net worth individuals across a range of international investment structures and in tax efficient environments.

GKFX is a global online trading broker, head quartered in London and regulated by the key global regulators including the United Kingdom’s FCA and many other local regulatory authorities.

 

In addition to our London headquarters we have locations across the globe in 11 cities in 8 countries with a global workforce of over 400 employees.

 

Although a young company established in 2010 GKFX has grown rapidly, expanding its offering to over 600 products including FX, CFDs, Commodities, Equities and Indices, providing a first class reliable user experience across a wide range of platforms. 

 

Halifax Share Dealing Limited is one of the UK’s leading execution only online stockbrokers offering investors a platform to buy and sell shares in UK and international companies across a range of markets.

 

The company was established in 1997 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group, a UK based financial services group providing a wide range of banking and financial services, focused on personal and commercial customers.

 

Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK’s number 1 ‘investment supermarket’ for private investors. For over 35 years they have helped investors save time, tax and money on their investments. The company is currently trusted with more than £70.0 billion by 876,000 clients.

 

From their award-winning website and app, which give access to investments anytime, to their specialist helpdesk, their aim is to simplify investors financial life by making it easy and straightforward to manage investments and pensions.

 

They provide a range of investment accounts, which include a low-cost dealing account, tax-efficient Stocks & Shares ISA, SIPP (self invested personal pension) and Junior ISA. Together with a wide range of investments including more than 2,500 funds, UK and overseas shares, ETFs, investment trusts, bonds and gilts.

  

Harry Wilson has been City Editor at The Times since 2014. He reports on all major banking, investment banking, euromarkets and international finance stories. He was previously Banking Correspondent at the Daily Telegraph. He won Business & Financial Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards 2011. 

IG is a global leader in online trading, providing fast and flexible access to over 10,000 financial markets – including shares, indices, forex, commodities and binaries.

 

Established in 1974 as the world’s first financial spread betting firm, IG’s aim is to become the default choice for active traders globally. It is an award-winning multi-platform trading company, the world’s No.1 provider of CFDs* and a global leader in forex. IG provides its clients with the option of a no-negative guarantee on trading accounts, and it now offers an execution-only stockbroking service in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Australia, Austria and the Netherlands.

 

It is a member of the FTSE 250, with offices across Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the US, where it offers limited risk derivatives contracts via the Nadex brand.

 

*Based on revenue excluding FX (from published financial statements, October 2016)

 

IG is a global leader in online trading, providing fast and flexible access to over 10,000 financial markets – including shares, indices, forex, commodities and binaries.

 

Established in 1974 as the world’s first financial spread betting firm, IG’s aim is to become the default choice for active traders globally. It is an award-winning multi-platform trading company, the world’s No.1 provider of CFDs* and a global leader in forex. IG provides its clients with the option of a no-negative guarantee on trading accounts, and it now offers an execution-only stockbroking service in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Australia, Austria and the Netherlands.

 

It is a member of the FTSE 250, with offices across Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the US, where it offers limited risk derivatives contracts via the Nadex brand.

 

*Based on revenue excluding FX (from published financial statements, October 2016)

 

Investors Chronicle has been helping investors make their money work harder for over 150 years. It is renowned for its market-beating share tips as well as comprehensive and independent coverage of the UK stock market.

 

Joanne Hart is the Investments Editor at the Mail on Sunday.

 

She writes the weekly Midas column for Financial Mail, recommending shares, bonds and other investments to more than three million readers. Joanne is a key contributor to Mail Online and the award-winning website Thisismoney as well.

 

Joanne writes a monthy column for The Banker magazine, a specialist publication focused on banks and banking. The Banker appears in print and online and is widely respected throughout the banking industry.

 

Nova Financial is an independent & privately owned property and finance advisory company. They have a wealth of knowledge and expertise in assisting clients achieve financial freedom through property investment. Their qualified team of advisors specialize in the following areas: 

 

  • Education
  • Research
  • Advice
  • Sourcing & Acquisition
  • Financing
  • Tax Structuring
  • Management

 

They start by analysing your current situation and what you are hoping to achieve. They will then objectively evaluate what type of property investment will help you achieve your goals and provide the research and logic required for you to make a confident and educated investment decision. They provide an end-to-end advisory service and guide you through the entire process to make property investment easy.

 

 

Plus500 is a leading provider of Contracts for Difference (CFDs), delivering trading facilities on shares, forex, commodities, options and indices, alongside innovative trading technology.

 

Plus500 has developed and operates an online trading platform for retail customers to trade CFDs internationally over more than 2,000 different underlying global financial instruments comprising equities, ETFs, foreign exchange, indices and commodities. The Group enables retail customers to trade CFDs in more than 50 countries. The trading platform is accessible from multiple operating systems (Windows, smartphones (iOS Android and windows) and tablets (iOS and Android)) and the internet.

 
Plus500 Ltd is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange operates its CFD business through its subsidiaries: Plus500UK Ltd authorized & regulated by the FCA (#509909) Plus500AU Pty Ltd issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC); and Plus500CY Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

 

81% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

PrimaryBid is a leading online funding platform that enables investors to gain access to placings, fundraisings and IPOs of AIM-listed companies. The platform is open to all investors and is supported by the broking community as a way of accessing, on behalf of their AIM clients seeking capital, the large and active private investor market, as well as institutions.  PrimaryBid allows private investors to participate in future fund raising exercises for listed equities in a way that regulation and market structure has made difficult in the past. To date more than £34.5m has been sourced for issuers, via the platform.

 

 

Since entering the UK market in March 2006 - initially as a branch of Saxo Bank A/S - Saxo Capital Markets UK Ltd has rapidly grown into a leading provider of online trading and investments.

 

Dedicated to a higher level of service, a broader offering, better technology and competitive pricing, we continue to offer a higher level of client service all unified by our robust and intuitive trading platforms.

 

 

 

Societe Generale is the world’s largest issuer of Exchange Traded Products, with a 20 year track record of providing an outstanding trading service.

 

Societe Generale’s range of ETPs allow investors to enhance potential returns in rising or falling markets, safe in the knowledge that they can never lose more than their initial investment. SG’s ETPs are listed on the London Stock Exchange and trade like a share through a stockbroker account. Included within this offer are SG’s flagship range of Short and Leveraged ETPs, which allow investors to gain 3 or 5 times the daily rise or fall of their favourite equity index, commodity or FX pair.

  

 

Sound Energy is a well- funded regional upstream company, quoted on AIM with a recent gas discovery in Morocco, two cornerstone investors: Continental Investment Partners and OGIF (a fund owned by 6 large Moroccan financial institutions), a strategic partnership with Schlumberger (one of the largest companies in the oil services sector) and an active and a potentially transformational drill programme. Sound is growing counter- cyclically whilst delivering value through the drill bit with a potential multi trillion cubic feet (tcf) discovery at Tendrara (Eastern Morocco) as well as further assets in Italy and Southern Morocco.
The company’s core focus is on maximising the upside from its strategy and it believes natural gas is the future for the sector.

 

Established in 1856, The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is the world’s leading rare stamp and prestige collectibles merchant with offices in the UK, US, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Channel Islands.

 
Holders of the Royal Warrant as philatelists since 1914 and AIM-listed in London the company serves pre-eminent collectors, investors, philatelists and numismatists all over the world and helps them secure high quality heritage assets as a long term store of value.
 
 
 

St Brides Partners' (‘SBP’) full service offering breaks the mould of traditional financial and corporate PR. The Company’s vision is to set a new standard for integrated PR, IR and marketing programmes to provide clients with transparent, intelligent and compelling communications strategies, which provide visibility, add value and make budgets work harder.  SBP is an employee owned business and is committed to building a consultancy that will benefit both its clients and employees.  Leveraging the team’s extensive experience and proven track record in developing strategic communication campaigns for its clients, SBP believes that a mutually beneficial workplace will facilitate its advancement as a leading, multi-sector financial public relations and marketing consultancy in London. 

 

 

Award winning broadcaster, Steph McGovern has been working in financial journalism for over 13 years and has been part of the BBC Breakfast family for the last five.

 

Steph travels all over the UK to cover economic and business news for the BBC and since joining Breakfast has broadcast live from over 500 businesses.

 

Whether she’s talking to workers in factories or interviewing FTSE 100 chief executives in the studio, Steph makes it her mission to find out what’s going on in the real economy.

 

Since starting out in the UK in 1997, TD Direct Investing has grown to become one of the UK’s leading online execution-only brokers, with approximately 300,000 UK customers and managing £13 billion in assets (stocks and cash) on their behalf. TD leads the industry on simplifying and demystifying DIY brokering and is focused on providing a high value (having launched new pricing, removing exit fees, leading the drive for increased transparency in DIY investing and introducing a raft of new tools to help investors take control of their money). In 2016 TD launched its I Can brand proposition, which is all about helping investors feel more confident about the investment decisions they make. Customers can trade and manage their investments online or with a TD smartphone or tablet app.

Since starting out in the UK in 1997, TD Direct Investing has grown to become one of the UK’s leading online execution-only brokers, with approximately 300,000 UK customers and managing £13 billion in assets (stocks and cash) on their behalf. TD leads the industry on simplifying and demystifying DIY brokering and is focused on providing a high value (having launched new pricing, removing exit fees, leading the drive for increased transparency in DIY investing and introducing a raft of new tools to help investors take control of their money). In 2016 TD launched its I Can brand proposition, which is all about helping investors feel more confident about the investment decisions they make. Customers can trade and manage their investments online or with a TD smartphone or tablet app.

Since starting out in the UK in 1997, TD Direct Investing has grown to become one of the UK’s leading online execution-only brokers, with approximately 300,000 UK customers and managing £13 billion in assets (stocks and cash) on their behalf. TD leads the industry on simplifying and demystifying DIY brokering and is focused on providing a high value (having launched new pricing, removing exit fees, leading the drive for increased transparency in DIY investing and introducing a raft of new tools to help investors take control of their money). In 2016 TD launched its I Can brand proposition, which is all about helping investors feel more confident about the investment decisions they make. Customers can trade and manage their investments online or with a TD smartphone or tablet app.

With a growing global circulation and a reputation for insightful analysis and perspective on every aspect of world events, The Economist is one of the most widely recognised and well-read current affairs publications. The paper covers politics, business, science and technology, and books and arts, concluding each week with the obituary. In addition to the web-only content such as blogs, debates and audio/video programmes available on the websiteThe Economist is available to download for reading on Android, Blackberry PlayBook, iPhone or iPad devices. The Economist Espresso, our daily briefing smartphone app, is also available for download via iTunes App Store or Google Play.

The Share Centre’s reputation for plain speaking, fair value and quality advice has ensured its place as one of the UK’s leading retail stockbrokers with more than 265,000 Share Accounts and ISAs. Passionate about investment, its investor accounts and services are designed to make investing in the stock market easy, whether online or by phone. Customers can deal in a wide range of investments; the company offers ISAs for straightforward, tax-efficient saving, and it makes investing for children and retirement hassle free.

The Share Centre’s reputation for plain speaking, fair value and quality advice has ensured its place as one of the UK’s leading retail stockbrokers with more than 265,000 Share Accounts and ISAs. Passionate about investment, its investor accounts and services are designed to make investing in the stock market easy, whether online or by phone. Customers can deal in a wide range of investments; the company offers ISAs for straightforward, tax-efficient saving, and it makes investing for children and retirement hassle free.

 

TradeIt turns any app or website into a multi-broker trading platform. The TradeIt API helps financial publishers build sticky user experiences by enabling their users to trade and view their accounts without exiting their platform, a product innovation that has been shown to boost session length by 100% and increase user retention by 30 percentage points. TradeIt functionality is live on 40 different apps and websites, including ADVFN and iHub for iOS.

Since 2003, Trendsignal has been providing people with the skills required to trade the financial markets. The powerful and “simple to use” strategies combined with our comprehensive training and support have enabled people of all experience levels to learn to trade forex, indices, commodities and shares.

The strategies we teach are based on our proprietary and unique indicators. These trading indicators and strategies were first used by institutions and brokers to promote more disciplined trading. The popularity and more importantly the success of the analysis prompted the development of the Trendsignal indicators for use by individuals in the retail market.

Whilst the indicators have had a number of upgrades over the years, the essence of the indicators and philosophy remains the same now as it was then, to provide individual traders with high quality, yet simple to use, rules based trading strategies that work.

Wellesley is a leading alternative finance platform that enables investors to make healthy returns on their capital in the form of attractive interest rates, by connecting them with creditworthy borrowers seeking a competitive source of funding.

 

Our business model blends technological innovation with traditional values – a combination which has been at the centre of our success and is integral to our vision for the future.

 

Above all, we seek to conduct ourselves with integrity and the highest professional standards, striving at all times to achieve high quality investment returns for our lenders whilst delivering a marketing leading service to our borrowers.

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