“Institutional clients have been calling for a new challenger for some time to enter the prime-brokerage market and offer an innovative and competitive alternative to the incumbent providers,” Fouad Bajjali, chief executive for IG Prime & IG Bank SA, said.

IG Prime gives hedge fund managers and family offices access to prime brokerage services across synthetic, custody, trading and financing solutions. The business combines web-based trading with real-time reporting.

IG – founded in London in 1974 – first launched prime brokerage services in 2006. The firm is quoted in the 250 Index of listed businesses.