Getting To Know You: Stuart Lane, CEO, Trade Nation

Stuart Lane

Stuart has worked in the retail trading sector for over 30 years. His career began at City Index where he headed the Financial Trading desk, before leaving in 1999 to set up Financial Spreads and then the spread betting and CFD arm for Man Financial. His industry experience extended to senior managerial positions with IG Group and ETX Capital.

What do you currently do?

I am CEO of Finsa Europe, the parent company of online financial trading platform Trade Nation which is London-based and FCA regulated. I lead a team of senior managers and work with them to ensure Trade Nation’s continual growth and development, keeping customer interests at the forefront of everything we do to improve how people trade financial markets.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

We believe in leading and not following what others do. Trading companies have dictated the market for far too long, often at the expense of the trader. At Trade Nation, we’re on a mission to challenge norms and transform the trading experience for the better. We have a passionate team who are determined to make the sector fairer, simpler and more transparent.

What defines your way of doing business?

To us, communication is everything. We take a client-first approach and our passion to change the market to be more human and transparent extends from our industry-first customer charter through to our knowledgeable and friendly Customer Success team who are on hand to help whenever the markets are open.

What do you admire?

Businesses that remain true to their values when the going gets tough and when it would be easier to just follow the herd.

Looking back is there anything you would have done differently?

Not agreeing to extending the lease on our (now rather quiet) City offices and buying some Gold! Joking aside, there will always be things you wish you could do differently but hindsight in business, as it is in trading, is not something to dwell upon and instead should be used as a learning opportunity. I would have liked to spend more time with our clients before launching the new brand, their feedback is always so valuable to shaping our product. However, since the launch, we have been very forthcoming in encouraging customers to contact us whenever they need to so we can continue to develop in line with their requirements. That’s why we’ve made it easy for customers to get in touch 24 hours a day however suits them best, whether that’s by email, live chat, or direct human contact over the phone. Our Customer Success team is entirely focused on listening to and assisting customers and we’re continuously improving our services to ensure industry-leading experiences.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Always put the client at the heart of the business. Don’t be frightened of making mistakes and learn to fail faster. Spend time with and get input from all members of your team.