LSEG and CMC Markets sign a multi-year data deal: why brokers now compete on data as much as on spreads

Retail brokers have spent years competing on spreads, platforms and promotions. CMC Markets is betting that the next round will be fought over data. On 9 October, CMC and London Stock Exchange Group announced a multi-year strategic data agreement that widens CMC's access to LSEG's financial data, news and analytics, according to FX News Group. The deal covers real-time and delayed pricing, reference data, corporate actions, news and analytical content, along with LSEG's AI-ready content.

The announcement is modest in tone but strategic in substance. CMC said the data will support its multi-asset offering, future AI-enabled applications and workflows, expansion into new markets and growth in institutional and business-to-business partnerships. It fits CMC's stated ambition to become a more diversified, technology-led financial services firm that links trading, investing and institutional businesses.

What the agreement covers

The deal gives CMC broader access to several categories of LSEG data. Real-time and delayed pricing underpin the quotes clients see across asset classes. Reference data describes the instruments themselves, from identifiers to contract specifications. Corporate actions data covers events such as dividends, splits and mergers, which matter for share dealing and CFDs on equities. News and analytics feed research, client content and trading tools.

The inclusion of AI-ready content is notable. Data that is structured, tagged and licensed for use in machine learning and automated applications is becoming a distinct product for data vendors. Brokers that want to build AI assistants, automated research or personalised alerts need data they can legally and practically feed into those systems.

Chris Coleman, group head of sales and account management at LSEG, said the company was pleased to deepen its relationship with CMC Markets, an important client. Lord Peter Cruddas, CMC's founder and chief executive, said LSEG is an important strategic partner and that broader access to trusted financial data will help CMC move faster.

• Parties: London Stock Exchange Group and CMC Markets.
• Term: multi-year strategic data agreement, announced 9 October 2026.
• Data: real-time and delayed pricing, reference data, corporate actions, news, analytics.
• Extra: access to LSEG's AI-ready content.
• Uses: multi-asset offering, AI-enabled applications, new markets, institutional and B2B growth.

Licensing is a hidden but important part of such agreements. Data vendors restrict how their content can be displayed, redistributed and used, and the terms differ for internal use, client display and machine processing. A broad multi-year agreement gives CMC more freedom to use LSEG data across its products, including in new applications, without negotiating each use separately.

Why data matters more for brokers now

Spreads across major brokers have converged, and most firms use similar platforms and liquidity sources. That leaves fewer ways to stand out on price alone. The quality of what a broker shows clients around the trade, from research and news to analytics and alerts, has become a more visible differentiator.

Data also matters for expansion. A broker entering new markets needs reliable pricing and reference data for local instruments, plus news and corporate actions coverage that local clients expect. Consistent data across products and regions reduces operational risk and makes it easier to launch new offerings quickly.

For B2B and institutional business, data quality is non-negotiable. Partners that white-label a broker's technology or route institutional flow expect the same data standards as larger financial firms. CMC's institutional and B2B ambitions require infrastructure that meets those expectations.

When spreads converge and platforms look alike, the data around the trade becomes the product.

Client expectations have risen too. Retail traders now compare broker apps with the polished experiences of investing apps and neobanks, which offer rich news, analysis and charts. A broker that shows delayed or thin information looks outdated, while one that offers institutional-quality data inside a simple interface can build loyalty.

CMC's strategy after a turbulent fortnight

The deal arrives after a difficult period for listed brokers. When IG Group cut its revenue outlook on 2 October, CMC's shares fell as much as 9 percent alongside the wider sector, according to Finance Magnates, even though the problems were IG's own. Finance Magnates also reported that CMC's founder downplayed the effect of low volatility on brokers, a pressure facing the whole industry.

CMC has been diversifying. It launched a prop trading offering in October, which we covered in our report on CMC's prop trading launch, and has built a substantial business-to-business arm that provides technology and liquidity to other firms. A richer data foundation supports all of those lines at once.

The strategic logic is to reduce dependence on retail CFD trading revenue, which swings with market conditions and client performance. A firm that earns from technology, data-driven services, investing products and institutional relationships has more stable income, which investors tend to value more highly.

The B2B arm is particularly important. CMC supplies technology, pricing and liquidity to other financial firms, and those partners rely on CMC's data to serve their own clients. Better data strengthens that business directly, because partners judge a technology provider partly on the quality and coverage of the information it delivers.

The AI angle

Many brokers are experimenting with AI-powered tools, from assistants that answer client questions to systems that summarise news or flag relevant events. Those tools depend on data. A model is only as useful as the information it can access, and using licensed data from a recognised provider reduces legal risk and improves accuracy.

LSEG has invested heavily in making its data usable by AI applications, and the CMC agreement shows that brokers are among the customers for that capability. Other trading platforms are moving the same way, with cTrader adding broker plugins that can host AI assistants and MetaQuotes integrating news feeds into its platforms, as we covered in our report on trading platforms becoming newsrooms.

There are limits. Regulators expect brokers to avoid giving personalised investment advice without the right permissions, and AI tools that appear to recommend trades raise compliance questions. Brokers building AI features must design them to inform rather than advise, and to keep records of what clients are shown.

What it means for the wider broker industry

For other brokers, the deal is a benchmark. Firms that rely on basic data feeds may find it harder to match the research, analytics and AI features that better-resourced competitors can offer. Smaller brokers may turn to third-party platforms and content providers to close the gap.

For data vendors, brokers are a growing customer segment. LSEG, along with other major providers, sells to banks, asset managers and trading firms, and retail brokers with institutional ambitions are increasingly buying enterprise-grade data. Competition among vendors could bring better pricing and packaging for brokers.

For clients, the result should be better tools: more reliable prices, deeper research and more useful alerts. The challenge for brokers is to present that information clearly, without overwhelming clients or blurring the line between information and advice.

The signals that will show the deal working

The first sign of the deal's impact will be in CMC's products. Watch for new research features, AI-enabled tools or expanded instrument coverage that draw on LSEG data. Announcements of new market launches or B2B partners would show the expansion side of the strategy.

Investors will also watch CMC's financial reporting for evidence that diversification is working, such as growth in B2B revenue or investing products relative to retail CFDs. The data agreement is an input; the outputs will show up in revenue mix over time.

Finally, watch for similar deals across the industry. If other brokers sign comparable data agreements, it will confirm that data has become a core battleground in retail and institutional trading.

CMC's agreement with LSEG is a quiet but telling move. As retail brokers converge on spreads and platforms, the data and tools around the trade are becoming the real point of difference, and a foundation for AI features, new markets and institutional growth. For CMC, the deal supports a strategy of diversification beyond retail CFDs. For the industry, it is a sign that the next phase of broker competition will be fought with data.