Draft:Openmarkets Group
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Submission declined on 12 July 2026 by Dafootballguy (talk). This draft is not written from a neutral point of view. Wikipedia articles must be written neutrally in a formal, impersonal, and dispassionate way. They should not read like a blog post, advertisement, or fan page. Rewrite the draft to remove:
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This draft has been resubmitted and is currently awaiting re-review. |  |
Comment: Coverage is largely negative but that is completely missing from this draft. Not surprising given that it is submitted by a paid editor. Avgeekamfot (talk) 08:04, 4 June 2026 (UTC)
- Comment: In accordance with the Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use, I disclose that I have been paid by my employer for my contributions to this article. ~2026-33051-40 (talk) 05:15, 4 June 2026 (UTC)
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial technology, Financial services |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Key people | Ivan Tchourilov (CEO) |
| Products | Wholesale brokerage, trading technology, wealth management infrastructure |
| Website | openmarkets |
Openmarkets Group is an Australian financial technology company headquartered in Sydney. It provides wholesale brokerage, trading technology, and wealth management infrastructure to financial services businesses, fintech platforms, and institutional clients. The company operates under Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) No. 246705 and is a registered market participant of the ASX, Cboe Australia, and the National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX). Openmarkets has been subject to repeated regulatory scrutiny since 2016, including a 2023 penalty that ASIC described as the largest ever imposed by its Markets Disciplinary Panel.[1]
History
[edit]Openmarkets was established in 2012 as a technology-focused stockbroker providing direct market access to Australian equity markets.[2]
In 2016, Openmarkets entered a strategic partnership with Saxo Capital Markets Australia.[3]
By March 2021, Openmarkets had become Australia's second-largest retail stockbroker by number of trades, overtaking CMC Markets Australia. The company raised A$10 million in a pre-IPO funding round at that time.[4]
By 2026, Openmarkets described itself as operating a business-to-business wholesale model, providing execution, clearing and settlement services to financial services licensees rather than direct retail clients.[5]
Regulatory matters
[edit]2016–2017 compliance concerns
[edit]In December 2016, ASIC surveillance activity identified concerns in Openmarkets' arrangements for detecting and preventing potential market misconduct, including inadequate automated order-processing filters and issues with the reconciliation of client trust accounts. As a result of licence conditions imposed by ASIC, Openmarkets engaged an independent expert to review its compliance arrangements, which reported in September 2017.[6]
Separately, in 2017, the ASIC Markets Disciplinary Panel (MDP) issued an infringement notice to Openmarkets relating to 1,858 wash trades executed on behalf of clients between 2015 and 2016. The trades occurred because Openmarkets failed to activate an anti-wash trade filter in its trading system and did not use an ASX service that prevents on-market self-executions. Openmarkets paid a A$200,000 penalty in connection with that notice.[3]
In December 2019, Chi-X Australia separately found that Openmarkets had contravened its operating rules by failing to maintain a complete suite of alerts and controls to detect and prevent trading that could prejudice the fair and orderly operation of the Chi-X market, and imposed a A$20,000 fine.[7]
2023 penalty and enforceable undertaking
[edit]ASIC commenced a further investigation into Openmarkets' compliance with market integrity rules on 24 March 2021, after routine surveillance identified repeated suspicious trading by an Openmarkets client, who had placed simultaneous bid and ask orders in the same security at the same price on 2,011 occasions.[6]
In July 2023, ASIC announced that Openmarkets Australia Limited had paid a A$4.5 million penalty — the largest ever imposed by the ASIC Markets Disciplinary Panel — and had entered into an enforceable undertaking. The penalty was also reported by Reuters.[1][8][9][10][11]
The MDP found Openmarkets had, between 2018 and 2021, repeatedly failed to maintain adequate trade surveillance and compliance systems. Failures included: not activating an anti-wash trade filter, a repeat of the issue underlying the 2017 notice; inadequate calibration of its Nasdaq SMARTS surveillance system, which generated an unmanageable volume of around 6,700 alerts per month that went largely unreviewed; insufficient trained compliance staff; and a failure to submit suspicious activity reports to ASIC in relation to further clients engaging in suspicious trading. A back-office system transition also caused trust account deficiencies of up to approximately A$20 million across 35 consecutive business days between 18 August and 5 October 2021.[10][7]
The MDP described Openmarkets' compliance history as "very poor" and treated it as an aggravating factor, and characterised some of the failures as "serious" and "very reckless". A senior staff member's warning to a client about surveillance alerts, rather than escalating the matter to compliance, was described by the MDP as "highly unprofessional and an aggravating factor". The MDP stated it would have imposed a penalty of A$8.6 million had the contraventions been considered in isolation, but reduced the total in light of Openmarkets entering into an enforceable undertaking and not contesting the alleged contraventions.[1][7]
Openmarkets' former acting head of trading and designated trading representative, Virginia Owczarek, was banned by ASIC from providing financial services for three years. ASIC found she was not fit and proper to work in the industry, citing her acceptance of a A$2,000 payment from a client for stock tips, unprofessional communications with a client regarding compliance alerts, and use of personal devices for client trading instructions.[1][10]
In response, Openmarkets stated that the individuals identified as having engaged in unprofessional conduct were no longer employed by the company, that it had "significantly overhauled" its business under new executive leadership, and that it had "uplifted its compliance controls and systems", including commissioning an independent review of its trade surveillance design in 2021.[11]
Independent expert review
[edit]Under the terms of the 2023 enforceable undertaking, ASIC appointed Ashurst Risk Advisory as an independent expert to review Openmarkets' compliance framework. The first summary report, issued in January 2024, identified 58 remedial actions required across the company's operations. A follow-up review conducted between July and October 2024 confirmed that all 58 actions had been implemented. ASIC accepted the second report in January 2025, formally resolving the enforceable undertaking.[1]
Business operations
[edit]Openmarkets Australia Limited provides wholesale brokerage and trading infrastructure services to Australian financial services licensees. Its services include trade execution, clearing and settlement across ASX, Cboe Australia, and the NSX; application programming interface (API) connectivity for fintechs and institutional brokers; managed accounts infrastructure; and portfolio administration services for wealth managers.
In 2026, the company announced plans to expand into private wealth management, with a target of attracting 50 financial advisers over a three-year period.[12]
Proposed Nasdaq listing
[edit]In January 2026, Openmarkets entered into a Plan of Merger and Business Combination Agreement with Lake Superior Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: LKSPU), a United States-listed special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The transaction, if completed, would result in Openmarkets listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market at an estimated enterprise value of approximately US$300 million, excluding earn-out shares.[13][14]
Openmarkets said the listing is linked to a strategy to expand into decentralised finance, including cryptocurrency trading and tokenisation of real-world assets such as funds, real estate, private equity and private credit, alongside international expansion of its technology and services. As with any proposed SPAC merger, the transaction remains subject to regulatory and shareholder approval and is not guaranteed to complete.[13]
The transaction is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals and the filing of a Form F-4 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The agreement includes an outside closing date of 31 December 2026, after which either party may terminate the agreement if the transaction has not been completed.[15]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 "23-184MR: Openmarkets pays record $4.5 million penalty, enters enforceable undertaking, former Head of Trading banned". Australian Securities and Investments Commission. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
- ↑ "Openmarkets Group Company Profile". CB Insights. 2024. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
- 1 2 "OpenMarkets Australia Pays $200,000 Penalty Following ASIC Notice". Finance Magnates. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
- ↑ "OpenMarkets raises $10m, moves up ranks". Financial Standard. 9 March 2021. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
- ↑ "Openmarkets trading & wealthtech – contact information". Openmarkets. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
- 1 2 "Enforceable undertaking: Openmarkets Australia Limited" (PDF). Australian Securities and Investments Commission. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
- 1 2 3 "Infringement notice: Openmarkets (MDP04-23)" (PDF). Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
- ↑ "Australian broker Openmarkets fined $3 million for 'market integrity' violations". Reuters. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
- ↑ "Openmarkets hit with largest ever MDP penalty". Financial Standard. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
- 1 2 3 "Openmarkets shells out $4.5m for record MDP penalty". Money Management. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
- 1 2 "Record fine for Openmarkets as former head of trading banned". Business News Australia. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
- ↑ "Openmarkets makes private wealth play". Financial Standard. May 2026. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
- 1 2 "Openmarkets in USD $300m SPAC merger for Nasdaq listing". ChannelLife Australia. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
- ↑ "Openmarkets Agrees To $300 Mln SPAC Merger With Lake Superior". RTTNews. 23 January 2026. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
- ↑ "Lake Superior Acquisition to Merge with Openmarkets Group". TipRanks. 30 January 2026. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
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