StoneX has followed up its announcement of increased quarterly profits with the news that it has acquired Chasing Returns. The financial services group has moved to purchase a majority shareholding in the Irish software developer to add to its overall portfolio.
Finer details of the deal have not been announced at present, with no information about which shareholders have been bought out and which ones will be staying on with the company. Before the deal was announced, several staff members were awarded shares in the company, which is likely to have been a reward for helping Chasing Returns achieve its goals.
The software that Chasing Returns develops is aimed at amateur traders. It was developed to help them remove any bias they may have on a psychological level and trade purely using facts and statistics. This is an attempt to improve the returns that amateur traders can get. It claims to use information gleaned from behavioural scientists to offer this performance.
The software provides a number of questions for traders to answer and offers feedback in real-time. It also helps traders set rules for their trades and alerts if these rules are broken. On top of this, there are also trackers that help traders to track their performance and see if targets are being met.
The deal for StoneX to acquire Chasing Returns is not too much of a surprise as the software developer signed an agreement with a StoneX subsidiary at the end of 2020. The deal saw the Chasing Returns software available to traders who used platforms that are operated by Gain Capital, which StoneX owns.
The new deal does not have a large amount of information available currently, with the Chief Executive and Chairman both declining to comment when asked. Despite this, it is likely that the Chasing Returns software will be made available to users of trading platforms that StoneX and its subsidiaries provide. The lack of announcement from Chasing Returns means it is unlikely that the company will cease operations, which makes the continued development of its software likely.
