CMC Group Plc, a London-based firm specializing in online Contracts for Difference (CFDs) and foreign exchange trading, today announced it is now operating in Canada with the acquisition of Shorcan Index, Canada’s only CFD provider.

The new company, renamed CMC Markets Canada, will focus on offering spot foreign exchange products and CFDs to institutions such as hedge funds, and accredited individual investors throughout Canada.

A CFD mirrors the performance of a share or index and offers the benefit of trading shares without having to physically own them. It allows investors and institutions to take long or short positions in almost any financial instrument around the world, including global indices, equities and currencies.

CMC Group says it is planning an aggressive growth strategy for North America. The Toronto office of CMC Markets Canada will also operate as the North American headquarters for CMC Group Plc.

“This acquisition will enable us to win market share throughout North America,” says Peter Cruddas, chairman and CEO, CMC Group Plc. “As CMC has done in other regions, we expect CFDs to become the trading product of choice for active investors and institutions in Canada,” he adds.

Cruddas established CMC Group in 1989, and in 2000, CMC Group became the first company to launch CFDs across the Internet.

“Pricing, trading and software efficiency have all helped to establish CMC Group as a world leader in real-time internet trading, and now we’ll be able to build on that tradition as CMC Markets Canada. The resources of CMC Group will help us to dramatically change trading as we know it here in Canada,” says Simon Grayson, head of CMC Markets Canada.

As the only Canadian provider of CFDs, CMC Markets Canada is also counting on the popularity of the product worldwide for its future growth.

In the U.K., CFDs are the fastest growing trading and hedging product at a rate of 67% per year, and 30% of FTSE trading is driven by CFDs. In Australia, CFD trading outranks stock trading, where CMC is the largest online trading company in the country.

“This is a very positive development for the Canadian financial industry,” says Jim McGovern, CEO and managing director, Arrow Hedge Partners. “We have been a client since CFDs were first offered in Canada,” adds McGovern.