Spread betting platform CMC Markets is to launch a retail investment platform as it looks to compete with the likes of Hargreaves Lansdown, Funds Network and AJ Bell.

The firm leaked the news of the launch alongside the release of it annual results along with a record performance, doubling its annual pre-tax profits due to a surge of new customers and increased trading volumes due to volatility in financial markets during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The new platform will offer access to SIPPs, ISAs and third-party funds.

The launch of the new platform is expected to launch as soon as the end of this year, according to Sky News.

The new retail investment platform could prove a serious rival to Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, Fidelity Funds Network and other non-leveraged retail investment platforms, many of whom have posted healthy profits during the Coronavirus pandemic as trade volumes soared.

It follows a successful retail stockbroking partnership in Australia between CMC Markets and banking firm ANZ. The firm is expected to use the technology it developed for this partnership in its new UK retail investment platform.

CMC Markets currently primarily offers spread betting and forex trading. The firm was founded by controversial Tory donor Lord Cruddas in 1989, who still owns a controlling stake in the business.