News Nuggets | 29 June: AvaTrade's Veteran Joins GKFX; Nasdaq Welcomes 60 IPOs

<p>From GKFX to AvaTrade</p><p>Pedro
Sánchez Bennai, after ten years of working for the broker GKFX, has confirmed
that he joined AvaTrade in June. Bennai has been appointed as the Chief Country
Manager for Spain and will be working from the broker's office in Madrid.</p><p>Before
joining <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/avatrade/" target="_blank" rel="follow">AvaTrade</a>, he held the position of Deputy Regional Director for three
years at GKFX. Earlier, he was a Country Manager for a year and started his
journey with the company in 2013 as a Sales Manager &amp; Analyst.</p><p>"I
have started a new position as Chief Country Manager Spain at AvaTrade,"
Bennai wrote on his LinkedIn profile.</p><p>NASDAQ Welcomes 60 IPOs in
H1 2023</p><p>In the
first half of 2023, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/nasdaq/" target="_blank" rel="follow">NASDAQ </a>saw 60 initial public offerings (IPOs), which
raised a total of $3.71 billion. Comprising 46 operating companies and 14
SPACs, these listings represent an 88% win rate in the US market, securing
NASDAQ's leading position for 38 consecutive quarters. </p><p>Karen Snow,
Global Head of Listings at NASDAQ, shared the company's commitment to
supporting businesses considering various pathways to public markets, including
traditional IPOs, direct listings, spins, and dual listings.</p><p>“I look
forward to building upon Nasdaq’s position as the world’s premier listing
exchange,” Snow added.</p><p>$50M Fine for Fraudulent
Digital Asset Scheme</p><p>Michael
Ackerman has been issued a permanent injunction and ordered to pay over $50
million by the US District Court for his involvement in a fraudulent digital
asset trading scheme. </p><p>The
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/cftc/" target="_blank" rel="follow">CFTC</a>) has announced that the court's
order includes a trading ban in all CFTC-regulated markets, a $27 million civil monetary penalty, and $27 million in restitution to defrauded
victims. </p><p>The
complaint alleged that Ackerman solicited and misappropriated funds under the
guise of profitable digital asset trading, causing significant financial losses
for over 150 investors.</p><p>Ledger Unveils
Institutional Trading Tech</p><p><a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/ledger/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Ledger</a>, a
provider of hardware crypto wallets, is venturing into the institutional
trading technology sector with Ledger Enterprise TradeLink, an open network
aimed at facilitating custodial trading through exchange and custodial
partners. </p><p>The
solution, built upon Ledger's technological and security infrastructure, offers
enhanced control, security, and flexibility, while ensuring transparent
governance of an enterprise’s digital asset trading. </p><p>This
development aims to address the rising demand for risk mitigation in a rapidly
evolving crypto landscape filled with security and regulatory challenges. By
eliminating network lock-in risks and providing easy access to a wide network
of custodians and exchanges, Ledger's new solution positions enterprises to
handle changing market and regulatory landscapes with more confidence.</p><p>Visa Acquires Brazilian
Fintech Pismo</p><p>The global payments leader <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/visa/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Visa Inc.</a> is acquiring Brazilian fintech platform Pismo for
$1 billion in cash, marking a major expansion in Latin America. </p><p>This
acquisition, which comes amidst a slowing pace of funding in the region,
represents the biggest fintech exit since Nubank's 2021 public offering and the
largest disclosed startup exit for the current year. </p><p>For Visa,
this takeover is a significant move following its 2021 acquisitions of European
open banking platform Tink and British cross-border payments provider
Currencycloud.</p><p>ASIC's Travel Restraint
against Ex-Magnolia Director</p><p>Following <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/asic/" target="_blank" rel="follow">ASIC's </a>request, the Australian Federal Court has extended interim travel restraint orders against Mitchell Atkins, the former director of Magnolia Capital.
Initially put in place on 19 June, the orders prohibit Atkins, an undischarged
bankrupt, from leaving Australia without the court's consent and demand him to
surrender all his passports and airline tickets to the Sydney Registry of the
Court. </p><p>As ASIC
continues its investigation into Atkins and Magnolia Group, approximately $40
million in investor losses remain unaccounted for, indicating significant
issues with the company's private lending business.</p><p>Mizuho EMEA Joins Neptune
Network</p><p>Mizuho EMEA
has joined Neptune Networks Ltd., a fixed-income network for real-time axe
data, expanding the bond dealer community. Mizuho will concentrate on
distributing Investment Grade and High Yield corporate credit data via Neptune.
</p><p>Byron
Cooper-Fogarty, the COO of Neptune, welcomed <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/mizuho/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Mizuho </a>and underscored the
importance of high-quality data from liquidity providers in driving market
efficiency. The inclusion of Mizuho EMEA in Neptune's network underscores the
latter's commitment to delivering high-quality data to buy-side clients.</p><p> “We are proud to play our role in making the
market more efficient for all participants by sharing data and enhancing
liquidity in global markets,” Guy Cornelius, the Head of Institutional Sales at
Mizuho EMEA, added.</p><p>TradingView Adds Pakistan Stock Exchange </p><p>TradingView, an online charting platform, has extended its global coverage by integrating data from the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The addition of PSX marks a new chapter in TradingView's efforts to broaden its market analysis capacity. Founded in 1949 as the Karachi stock exchange, PSX later consolidated with Lahore and Islamabad exchanges in 2016 to become a leading financial institution, providing fair, efficient, and transparent trading experiences. </p><p>Headquartered in Karachi and having branches in Pakistan's major cities, PSX stands for integrity, innovation, and collaboration. It has seen significant growth, with over 500 companies listed across various sectors, including banking and telecommunications. PSX serves as a key facilitator of both local and foreign investments, playing a critical role in the development of Pakistan's economy and capital markets.</p><p>FCA Expands Access to LTAF</p><p>The UK's
Financial Conduct Authority (<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/fca/" target="_blank" rel="follow">FCA</a>) has expanded access to Long Term Asset Funds
(LTAF), a new type of open-ended authorized fund, for retail investors and
defined contribution pension schemes. </p><p>Launched in
2021, LTAFs are designed to facilitate investments in long-term, illiquid
assets like venture capital, private equity, private debt, real estate, and
infrastructure. Given their higher-risk nature, LTAFs will be subjected to
additional protections under the FCA's high-risk investment framework. </p><p>“ Longer-term
less liquid real assets can generate good alternative returns for investors
and, crucially, help to grow the UK economy through investments, such as new
infrastructure,” Sarah Pritchard, the Executive Director of Markets at FCA, commented.</p><p>The FCA is
also considering the applicability of the Financial Services Compensation
Scheme (FSCS) to LTAFs before they reach the retail market.</p>

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.