Plus500's US super-app plan draws a Wise comparison on listing venue
Plus500 said on Tuesday it has bought US broker-dealer Hedge and will launch a US-only super-app in the first quarter of 2027. City AM's columnist sees an echo of Wise's move to a New York primary listing, but also notes no sign yet that Plus500 plans one.
The Board Room · Leadership desk
Bar comparison: some 62 per cent of US adults hold non-pension equities or investment funds, per the Federal Reserve survey of consumer finance, against 23 per cent of UK adults, per the FCA estimate, as cited by the City AM column.
Adults holding non-pension equities or investment funds
| Item | Value | Claim |
|---|---|---|
| US adults, some (Fed survey) | 62% | 18 |
| UK adults (FCA estimate) | 23% | 18 |
What happened
- Hedge holds a US broker-dealer registration with the SEC, and Plus500 said the takeover provides the SEC regulation it needs to launch the new super-app.
- Wise opened its Tampa hub around its July 2021 London listing and, four years later, laid out plans to make New York its primary venue.
- After a buyback earlier this year, investor returns since the 2013 float topped $3.1bn, a 12,000 per cent total shareholder return, according to the City AM column.
Why it matters
- decision According to the column, the super-app renews Plus500's effort to be seen as a technology company. A board with the same grievance has to decide whether to wait for a launch to move its multiple before it opens a venue discussion.
- exposure The column says the product puts Plus500 against New York-listed Robinhood in prediction markets, so investors get a US-listed comparison for the technology label Plus500 wants.
- constraint The home market has no place in the first launch. UK customers, who trade FCA-regulated contracts for difference, wait on an undated 'over time'.
Plus500's sequence has a matching start date. It entered the US in 2021 by buying Cunningham Commodities [17], the same year Wise opened its Tampa hub [7]. City AM columnist Samuel Norman asks whether the Hedge deal holds the early ingredients of a Wise-style move to a US primary listing [23]. Wise is the only precedent he offers.
Chief executive David Zruia's stated reasons for the US-first launch concern access and capability. He said the Hedge deal set Plus500 up for the "world's largest retail investment market" [16]. He also said: "With our new hub in New York and the experienced Hedge team joining us, we have the people, licences and technology to accelerate our growth and generate sustainable, long-term returns for our shareholders." [15] The quote refers to shareholder returns and does not mention where the shares trade.
The case for the analogy is a 2023 interview. Zruia told the Standard: "We estimate that the valuation would be higher within US exchanges." [9] Of the same idea he said: "It's something we'll consider when market conditions are better." [10] He added: "The main point here is that we are a technology firm but we are not valued as a tech firm." [11]
That 2023 remark was conditional on market conditions. The column itself says no signals have come from the firm that a switch is on the near-term horizon [12].
Growth and audience point more clearly to the US. Plus500 recorded its highest customer income growth in five years in the first half of 2026, following its broader expansion into the US [4]. Segments outside its traditional over-the-counter business scaled rapidly after it launched event-based prediction contracts, so far mainly on US sporting events [5]. On participation, the column sets an FCA estimate that 23 per cent of UK adults hold non-pension equities or investment funds against some 62 per cent in the US, per the Federal Reserve's survey of consumer finance [18]. That is a gap of 39 percentage points [25]. The two figures come from different surveys, so the gap is approximate.
The column's own test is cumulative. Norman wrote: "don't look for a single smoking gun in valuation, audience or growth." [19] He expects the cumulative weight of all three to decide any move [24]. In our view the record scores unevenly on that test. Audience and growth already point to the US, and the valuation leg rests on a 2023 remark and a £2.4bn FTSE 250 price tag [13]. A London board with similar exposure has enough here to compare its own timeline with Wise's, though not enough to say Plus500 is on that path. The first test of whether a super-app changes how the market prices Plus500 is the launch in the first quarter of 2027 [2].
What to watch
- Whether Plus500 repeats, revises or drops Zruia's 2023 position that a US listing is something it would consider 'when market conditions are better'.
- Which geography Plus500 names after the US for the super-app, and whether the UK is on the list.
- Whether growth in segments beyond the over-the-counter business, driven by prediction contracts, holds after the first half of 2026 set a five-year high.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence58
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap+25
- Incentives55
- Confidence62
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Plus500 said on Tuesday it had bought retail investor platform Hedge, which holds a US broker-dealer registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- [2]
Plus500 said the Hedge takeover provides the SEC regulation needed to launch its new super-app in the US in the first quarter of 2027.
- [3]
Plus500 plans to expand the super-app to further geographies 'over time'.
- [4]
Plus500 recorded its highest customer income growth in five years in the first half of 2026, following its broader expansion into the US.
- [5]
Segments outside Plus500's traditional over-the-counter business scaled rapidly following the launch of event-based prediction contracts, so far mainly focused on US sporting events.
- [6]
The super-app would only be available to US users when it first launches.
- [7]
Wise opened its major operational hub in Tampa, Florida, right around the time of its July 2021 listing on the London Stock Exchange.
- [8]
Four years after the 2021 listing, Wise laid out plans to downgrade its City listing by making New York its primary venue.
- [9]
David Zruia told the Standard in 2023: 'We estimate that the valuation would be higher within US exchanges.'
- [10]
Zruia told the Standard in 2023: 'It's something we'll consider when market conditions are better.'
- [11]
Zruia added: 'The main point here is that we are a technology firm but we are not valued as a tech firm.'
- [12]
According to the column, no signals have yet come from Plus500 that a switch of listing is on the near-term horizon.
- [13]
Plus500 holds a price tag of GBP 2.4bn, placing it on the FTSE 250 index.
- [14]
Following a buyback earlier this year, Plus500's investor returns topped $3.1bn since its 2013 IPO, a 12,000 per cent total shareholder return that the column says makes it the best performing stock across the FTSE all-share index.
- [15]
Zruia said: 'With our new hub in New York and the experienced Hedge team joining us, we have the people, licences and technology to accelerate our growth and generate sustainable, long-term returns for our shareholders.'
- [16]
Zruia said the Hedge takeover set Plus500 up for access to the 'world's largest retail investment market'.
- [17]
Plus500 expanded into the US through the acquisition of Cunningham Commodities in 2021.
- [18]
The UK financial watchdog estimates 23 per cent of UK adults hold non-pension equities or investment funds, against some 62 per cent in the US according to the Federal Reserve survey of consumer finance.
- [19]
Norman wrote: 'don't look for a single smoking gun in valuation, audience or growth.'
- [20]
According to the column, the new super-app plans renew efforts for Plus500 to be perceived in the tech field.
- [21]
According to the column, the super-app puts Plus500 toe-to-toe with New York-listed Robinhood in a battle for prediction markets.
- [22]
In the UK, Plus500 offers contracts for difference and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
- [23]
The column asks whether Plus500's purchase of Hedge and super-app plan are early ingredients of a move like Wise's to a US primary listing.
- [24]
The column says that if Plus500 eventually moves its listing, it will likely be the cumulative weight of valuation, audience and growth tipping the scales.
- [25]
The gap between the US and UK retail investment participation figures is 39 percentage points.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cityam.comPlus500 turns to US for ‘super-app’ ambitions
2 articles · October 13, 2026
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Topics
- Prediction MarketsFollow
- Retail trading platformsFollow
- US listing migrationFollow