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Ivan Ashminov has cause for celebration. His saving and investment platform Trading 212 has just passed a landmark £25bn worth of client assets under administration. Not that Ashminov, 45, the co-founder and chair, is in the mood to crack open the bubbly and take it easy – he is too determined and focused for that.
The rise of his fintech company is remarkable. Trading 212 now serves 4.5 million customers globally, including 3 million in the UK – more than the long-established UK industry players combined. It is by some margin the fastest-growing such site in the UK, a genuine disruptor.
By pioneering zero-commission and fractional share investing across the UK and Europe, Trading 212 has transformed access to the financial markets. Clients have been able to invest without facing the high fees that have historically acted as a deterrent.
Accelerating current growth is the firm’s high-interest cash ISA, which allows savers to maximise earnings on their savings through a tax-efficient and competitive rate. In addition to investment and savings products, the company has launched the Trading 212 Card, which offers 1 per cent cashback on all purchases and zero foreign exchange fees.
“People come to us because they pay absolute zero in trading commissions,” says Ashminov. The fees they do charge are small, typically three times below the usual industry rate. “We make our money by charging small fees on high volumes,” he adds.
On other figures, he is more guarded. “I don’t want to say too much because our competitors want to know – they are desperate to know how we’re doing, to benchmark against us.”
Unlike some fintech challengers, Trading 212 is registered in London and pays its taxes in the UK. “We don’t do offshore. The UK is our prime market; this is where we’re headquartered.”
A number seemed good and 212 was the area code for Manhattan, which signalled Wall Street
It is 10 years since he brought his operation to the UK from Sofia, Bulgaria, where he grew up and started the business. “Back then we were 100 people in total, now we’re 650 with 130 in London, near the Bloomberg building.” The rest are based in his native country, developing software and handling customer services, and there are offices elsewhere in Europe – including Dusseldorf, Berlin and Cyprus – and in Australia.
His success is down to a relentless fascination with technology and its ability to transform. Ashminov is a self-confessed computer geek, although he does not fit the stereotype with his wavy black hair, slim jeans, casual jacket and grey, laceless trainers. Neither, if you passed him on the street, would you for a second suppose he is responsible for shaking up one of the most staid and traditional of sectors.
“From the age of 12, I was hooked on computers,” he says. He would sit in his bedroom, even before the internet really took off, and examine dial-up modems and understand how they worked. “I was looking for network computing even before we had it,” he says, smiling and shaking his head at the memory. “Then, I spent years online, learning about coding. That was when not many people around me had computers. I was completely self-taught.”
He studied computer science and maths at Sofia University, where he shone. “During my second year, it was obvious I was progressing faster than the curriculum allowed. I became a technical assistant to the professor. I was an expert in JavaScript, but increasingly, there was not much for me left to learn on the academic side. What I did want to study was how it could be applied.”
At the time, he regretted not being older. “I wanted to get into dotcom but the first wave was passing me by, I was frustrated at reading about what was happening in the US.” He went into selling software development, creating websites and management systems.
Then he struck up with Borislav Nedialkov, who became his business partner and Trading 212 fellow founder. Nedialkov worked in a small brokerage, serving CMC Markets in London. “We saw CMC and wondered if we could create a trading platform for ourselves. I was searching for something to build and I wanted to make trading doable. It took six months before we were up and running. I was 24 to 25 years old, still in Bulgaria. Our beginnings were very humble.”
But, he says, he knew he was onto something good from the very beginning. “Trading platforms were usually very expensive to develop. They were complex and expensive to operate, especially for people who were not good with tech. I decided we would change it; we would enable people to simply click and load and use our site. To do that, we had to sacrifice some features, but we asked ourselves, why are we running platforms made for software professionals? Ours was to be accessible for the ordinary person.”
You must always be on edge and demanding more
They required an identity, so he looked at available domain names. “I didn’t want to spend much money. I thought it should be called ‘trading and something’. A number seemed good and 212 was the area code for Manhattan, which signalled Wall Street. Plus, it was the name of my favourite eau de toilette by Carolina Herrera.” He pauses. “We didn’t exactly overthink it,” he says, laughing.
He read the standard textbooks on corporate branding but did not want the name to determine the shape and future of the business. “It had to be about what we offered, which was a simple, easy-to-use savings and investments platform. Our mission was and is to unlock wealth-building for everyone. We’re committed to reshaping the future of personal finance by breaking down barriers and delivering market-leading tools for everyday investors or savers.”
He sticks to two guiding principles. “One, there is nothing you can’t do, besides trying to be really good and not allowing yourself to be comfortable. You must always be on edge and demanding more. Two, don’t waste time talking to everyone. We don’t believe in hyping ourselves up and hoping to meet expectations, we don’t shout about ourselves.”
Trading 212 is continuing to expand, and he is exploring AI and its potential. “I’ve gone back to coding for the first time in many years, seeing how AI can help customers make informed, verified decisions about their financial planning. We’re testing features, building prototypes.”
Despite the 212 phone prefix, he has no immediate plans to launch in the US. “There is so much to do, here in the UK and in Europe and in Australia. To go there would be too distracting right now. It’s also fiercely competitive.” Besides, he says: “The US might be leading fintech but thanks to us and the developments we’re making, our clients have no reason to envy the US.”
He has three young children and when he is not with them or at work, he likes to walk. “I go for intense walks. I think as I walk and I take photographs because I like the awareness they bring.”
Trading 212 is surging, but he says: “I’m not stopping. I’m very cautious, I’m not celebrating our success. I know how fragile it can be.”
The champagne is for another day.
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