Cover Lord Peter Cruddas, founder and chief executive of CMC Markets (Photo: Darren Gabriel Leow)
Lord Peter Cruddas, founder and chief executive of CMC Markets (Photo: Darren Gabriel Leow)
1 / 1
From telex operator to investment mogul, CMC Markets’ Lord Peter Cruddas is building a super app that puts Goldman Sachs-level trading power in everyone's hands
When Lord Peter Cruddas walks into CMC Markets’ gleaming Singapore headquarters, there’s an unmistakable charge in the air. He’s the kind of leader who doesn’t just sense change—he builds it. “Our job,” he says matter-of-factly, “is to put power into the hands of investors—whether they’re trading $10,000 or $10 million.”
The 71-year-old founder and chief executive of CMC Markets has spent nearly four decades at the frontier of financial technology. Now, with the impending global rollout of the company’s Multi-Asset Platform (MAP), he’s preparing to redefine what wealth management looks like for a generation that expects to do everything—and know everything—instantly.
“The multi-asset platform is the first stage in a super app,” he explains. “You open your account, and you can do everything you want around money—make payments, invest in shares, ETFs, CFDs, cryptocurrencies, and DeFi. You don’t need three brokers or three accounts. Have it all in one platform. That’s what we’re building towards.”
MAP is CMC’s most ambitious evolution yet: a next-generation ecosystem where long-term investing and active trading converge. The platform integrates traditional securities—blue-chip stocks, ETFs and REITs—with leveraged instruments and digital assets, all within a single, intuitive interface.
"We've already launched it in several markets, and Singapore is coming very soon," Cruddas reveals. “What's exciting about this platform is that it gives traders comprehensive access to both cash equities and CFD options. This means our clients can choose to take actual ownership of shares or trade using contracts for difference, depending on their strategy and preferences. It's about giving traders more tools and flexibility."
Read more: Roger Federer exclusive interview: a man and his mountains
Above CMC’s MAP is Cruddas’s latest feat against the status quo. “For decades, people have been told they need one platform for long-term investing and another for active trading,” he says. “Investors don’t think in silos any more—so neither should we.” (Photo: Darren Gabriel Leow)
CMC’s MAP is Cruddas’s latest feat against the status quo. “For decades, people have been told they need one platform for long-term investing and another for active trading,” he says. “Investors don’t think in silos any more—so neither should we.” (Photo: Darren Gabriel Leow)
1 / 1
From FX to fintech—and beyond
Few origin stories in finance are as improbable. Cruddas left school at 15 to work as a telex operator at Western Union, handing his pay packet to his mother at week’s end. “I had no choice,” he says with a shrug. “The first job I had was working for Western Union. When I got paid at the end of the week in cash, I gave it all to my mum. And I used to help her office clean.”
By his mid-thirties, he had become a chief dealer in FX trading. “I had a lot of knowledge in financial services, so I thought I’d start my own brokerage,” he recalls. “People say to me, ‘Look at your business today—12 offices around the world, you write technology for Revolut, for ANZ, for Westpac. Did you ever imagine this?’ The truth is, no. You just keep building.”
He founded Currency Management Consultants in 1989, which became CMC Markets. When he read about the internet in 1994, he saw what few others did. “I remember thinking, wow, this is going to transform financial services. I launched the first trading platform in Europe in October ’96, allowing people to buy and sell online.”
That intuition made him one of fintech’s earliest visionaries—years before the term existed. CMC’s platform brought real-time FX and later equity trading to ordinary investors worldwide. When CMC floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2016, it joined the FTSE 250 and cemented its reputation as one of the City’s global success stories. As of 2025, more than 1.5 million customers worldwide trade and invest with CMC. CMC operates across 12 international offices and serves both retail and institutional clients through its broking and platform technology businesses.
“We built a platform for ourselves and gave it to competitors,” he says, grinning. “Who does that? But if you’re parochial and protective, you won’t expand. Collaboration scales innovation.”
Building the multi-asset future
MAP is Cruddas’s latest feat against the status quo. “For decades, people have been told they need one platform for long-term investing and another for active trading,” he says. “Investors don’t think in silos any more—so neither should we.”
CMC MAP integrates tax-advantaged investment accounts with leveraged trading tools and 24/7 market access. “It’s for anyone who wants to build a portfolio and trade opportunities at the same time,” he says. “If you buy something for the long term and see a short-term spike, take your profit—be flexible.”
The platform’s tool suite is equally ambitious. “We give you market research, charting, up-to-date news,” he explains. “You can even use robots—bots—to manage part of your portfolio. We show you what the bulk of our clients are doing, so you can see the market consensus. It’s about service and information as well as products.”
That combination of data and design caters to a new breed of investor—high-net-worth, digitally fluent and decisively independent. “High-net-worth people love not to have to speak to anybody about what they want to do,” he admits. “I just want the data. Just want to trade. I want to see my mark-to-market and how my investments are doing.”
“Ultimately, they just want information,” he adds. “They want to see the charts, know what’s going on. If you go onto our platform, you can see everything you need—news, overnight moves, market drivers. It’s all there.”
Read more: Jungle Ventures founding partner Anurag Srivastava on conscious leadership and lasting impact
Above His vision is as democratic as it is technological: “I say it’s now possible for a taxi driver to pull over, trade 10,000 different financial products from their mobile phone, and get the same price as Goldman Sachs.” (Photo: Darren Gabriel Leow)
His vision is as democratic as it is technological: “I say it’s now possible for a taxi driver to pull over, trade 10,000 different financial products from their mobile phone, and get the same price as Goldman Sachs.” (Photo: Darren Gabriel Leow)
1 / 1
Decentralisation and the next frontier
CMC’s future is firmly anchored in blockchain. “I’m a massive believer in blockchain and tokenisation,” Cruddas says. “We acquired a company called StrikeX—they’re building multi-asset wallets for us. You’ll have your own wallet on the blockchain; you’ll buy and sell and clear directly—funds leave your account in a millisecond. Settlement will be instantaneous.”
He compares the moment to his first encounter with the internet three decades ago. “I feel the same today about DeFi as I did back then about the internet. It’s the next revolution in financial services.”
His vision is as democratic as it is technological. “I say it’s now possible for a taxi driver to pull over, trade 10,000 different financial products from their mobile phone, and get the same price as Goldman Sachs,” he says. “That’s how powerful the internet is. It’s liberated financial trading and brought it to the masses.”
If you’re parochial and protective, you won’t expand. Collaboration scales innovation
Leadership, legacy and the long game
For all his success, Cruddas remains deeply involved in every facet of CMC’s operations. “I like to employ very good people who challenge me,” he says. “I mentor people every day. Changing your mind in business is a massive asset, not a liability. It’s all right to get something wrong, so long as you admit it and change.”
His leadership philosophy is brutally simple: “Don’t cover up mistakes. If you make a mistake, declare it immediately. Regulators won’t accept cover-ups. You have to go. But if you’re open and honest, we deal with it and move on.”
During the pandemic, when trading volumes surged, he chose not to cash in. “I had record numbers and thought, okay, this is great—but what do you do with the surplus cash? Pay a bonus? No. I invested it back into the company, recruited more people, and built better technology. You have to be your own biggest disruptor.”
He still starts his day before 7 a.m. “I’m happy,” he says. “I love my business. I think I’ve built an amazing company—and the best years are still ahead of it.”
Read more: The unshakeable hope: celebrating the life and enduring legacy of Dame Jane Goodall
Above Ace Your Advantage | CMC ALPHA
Philanthropy and purpose
Cruddas’s drive is tempered by deep empathy for those with fewer opportunities. He founded the Peter Cruddas Foundation in 2006 to support disadvantaged youth. “I was giving money to charity before then, but I decided to start my own foundation,” he says. “It supports disadvantaged young people because I never had the opportunity myself.”
He recalls a Prince’s Trust event with King Charles that left an indelible mark. “A young woman came up to me and said, ‘Because of people like you, I got out of prison and I’m living with my children again.’ We both cried. That was a moment that changed my life.”
“Success means nothing if you can’t use it to help others,” he adds quietly.
Read more: Forget charity: how Jollibee’s foundation is building farmers’ dignity instead
The next decade of wealth
Asked what the future holds, Cruddas doesn’t hesitate. “Governments want people to take control of their own finances,” he says. “They can’t create enough jobs to support everyone, so they’re encouraging self-investing through tax breaks and platforms like ours. People want control of their own destiny.”
As for himself? “I’ll never retire,” he says with a smile. “I love what I do. I love my family. And I love this business. The best is yet to come.”
Lord Peter Cruddas is not the typical billionaire. He speaks less like a financier and more like a craftsman—someone still perfecting his creation. Three decades after pioneering online trading, he is once again reimagining how people interact with money.
In the hands of this East End disruptor turned fintech peer, the future of wealth is not about exclusivity—it’s about empowerment. And that might just be the most elegant revolution of all.
For more information on CMC's new all-in-one mulit-asset platform, click here.
NOW READ
Sipping in style: CMC Alpha and Tatler Singapore host a Dassai sake soirée
Dana Koh is the Editor-in-Chief of Tatler Singapore, where she leads the award-winning title’s editorial strategy and multi-platform content execution across print, digital, branded storytelling and community-driven experiences. With over a decade in luxury and business media—including years at Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar—she specialises in human-centred narratives, engaging video productions and curated dialogues that explore innovation, transformational leadership, wellness and cultural capital. Her goal at Tatler? To feature, connect and catalyse the voices and visions shaping modern Asia—from legacy builders to thoughtful disruptors who fearlessly rewrite the codes of luxury, the roads to success, and meaning of impact.
