Michael Spencer is the founder of NEX Group, a UK-based business focused on electronic markets and post-trade business which was acquired by CME Group in November 2018.
42 Facts About Michael Spencer
1.
2.
Michael Spencer was awarded a peerage in August 2020 in the Political Honours List.
3.
Michael Spencer is the father of Patrick Spencer, Conservative MP Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.
4.
Michael Spencer's father was an economist and international civil servant, his mother a linguist.
5.
Michael Spencer is an Honorary Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford and an Honorary Doctor of Loughborough University.
6.
Michael Spencer sold the majority of his stake in TP ICAP in January 2017.
7.
Michael Spencer remains CEO and largest shareholder of Nex Group, as of February 2017.
8.
Michael Spencer was not implicated but issued a public apology on behalf of ICAP.
9.
Michael Spencer was a CME Group Board Member and Special Advisor until 2019.
10.
In 1997, Michael Spencer purchased a controlling interest in spread betting firm City Index Group, acquiring his stake from the firm's founders.
11.
Michael Spencer is Chairman, director and majority shareholder in IPGL, a private holding company making investments on behalf of Spencer and other family trusts.
12.
Michael Spencer is a former investor in Temple Grange Partners, a consultancy that finds compliance specialists for financial markets.
13.
Michael Spencer is a co-owner of Tellimer, an emerging markets investment banking boutique.
14.
Michael Spencer has led investment rounds in various fintech firms, including file regeneration technology firm Glasswall Solutions and FX data analytics firm Tradefeedr.
15.
In 2021, Michael Spencer became cornerstone investor in a $130m venture capital fund at Element Ventures, focusing on b2b financial enterprise technology.
16.
Michael Spencer holds stakes in payment platform Klarna, wealth manager AJ Bell and online investment advisor Nutmeg.
17.
Michael Spencer is a seed investor in Nutshell Asset Management, a hybrid AI and active management fund.
18.
Michael Spencer donated his winnings to the Royal Osteoporosis Society.
19.
Michael Spencer is sceptical of cryptocurrencies and does not invest in them, citing the absence of dividends.
20.
Michael Spencer is an investor in female health startup Elvie, human longevity firm Juvenescence and Superdielectrics, a firm developing supercapacitor energy storage for electric vehicles.
21.
Michael Spencer owns a stake in energy resources investor Deltic Energy.
22.
In 2011, Michael Spencer became Chairman of Bordeaux Index, the online wine trading exchange in which he is an investor.
23.
Michael Spencer is the owner of Sirai House, a commercial lodge in Kenya.
24.
Michael Spencer is Chairman of the Conservative Party Foundation, a company established to strengthen the financial future of the Conservative Party.
25.
Michael Spencer was nominated for a peerage in Cameron's resignation honours list for charity fundraising and service to the Conservative Party while its treasurer, but reportedly, his nomination was blocked by the Cabinet Office.
26.
Michael Spencer has been reported to favour positive discrimination employment policies for women but is against gender-based employment quotas since he believes that they wrongly presuppose prejudice by all male employers.
27.
Michael Spencer has criticised the British government's pay gap review as a distraction from Brexit.
28.
Michael Spencer was among the first to employ female brokers in the City.
29.
Michael Spencer opposes MiFID II, tax surcharges on UK bank profits.
30.
Michael Spencer has frequently criticised stamp duty on share transactions in the UK, calling it a major obstacle to market competitiveness.
31.
Michael Spencer voted for the UK to remain in the EU.
32.
Michael Spencer later said that he had long been undecided on the issue and that his Remain vote was cast without "great angelical zeal".
33.
Michael Spencer has spoken of becoming a cheerleader for enterprise after the sale of NEX.
34.
Michael Spencer was nominated for a life peerage in the 2020 Political Honours and created Baron Spencer of Alresford, of Alresford in the County of Hampshire on 17 September.
35.
Michael Spencer made his maiden speech in November 2021, a year after he entered the Lords.
36.
In 1993, Michael Spencer founded the ICAP Charity Day, an annual event in which royalty and celebrities man the trading desks at ICAP and the broking firm donates the day's revenue to charities.
37.
Michael Spencer has said that the Charity Day is his proudest achievement in business, alongside breaking into the FTSE100 with ICAP.
38.
Michael Spencer is a founder and trustee of the Borana Conservation Trust, a charity which supports critically endangered species in Kenya's Borana and Laikipia regions.
39.
Michael Spencer has a stud farm in Laikipia and has been a champion owner in Kenya several times.
40.
Michael Spencer collects twentieth century and contemporary art, including the work of Pablo Picasso, Lucian Freud and Jack Vettriano.
41.
Michael Spencer is a former shareholder and an associate director of Ipswich Town Football Club.
42.
Michael Spencer is a member of several London clubs, including White's, Beefsteak Club, 5 Hertford Street and 67 Pall Mall, as well as Muthaiga Country Club in Kenya.