The prop trading industry just received its biggest leadership news of 2026. FTMO founders Otakar Šuffner and Marek Vašíček have officially assumed co-CEO roles at OANDA, the globally recognised forex and CFD broker that FTMO acquired from private equity firm CVC Capital. Meanwhile, outgoing CEO Gavin Bambury is stepping down — with FTMO paying tribute to his tenure as “outstanding.” This transition signals the beginning of a new, more tightly integrated era between two of the most consequential names in retail and prop trading.
Leadership Change Follows FTMO’s Landmark OANDA Acquisition
The appointment of Šuffner and Vašíček as co-CEOs is a direct consequence of FTMO’s acquisition of OANDA from CVC Capital Partners, which had held the broker since 2018. FTMO — founded in 2015 and widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the modern funded trading model — has now extended its reach into mainstream brokerage infrastructure by taking over one of the most established names in the industry.
Gavin Bambury, who led OANDA as CEO, will step down as part of the transition. FTMO acknowledged his contribution warmly, stating the foundations he helped build “played a key role in OANDA’s successes and made the company an attractive acquisition target for FTMO.” Bambury’s departure appears structured and amicable rather than abrupt, framed by both organisations as part of ongoing discussions about their future direction.
The co-CEO structure — shared between FTMO’s two original founders — suggests that both men intend to be hands-on in steering OANDA’s next phase. For a firm that began as a prop trading challenge company, now running a decades-old global brokerage, the stakes could not be higher.
OANDA Prop Trader Migrates to the FTMO Group
One of the most direct implications for traders is the transition of OANDA Prop Trader into the FTMO Group. The migration began on March 2, 2026, and clients moving to FTMO’s platform will gain access to its broader trading infrastructure — including the established evaluation and funding ecosystem that FTMO has built over the past decade.
For clients who choose not to migrate, the process is clearly defined: those opting out will receive full refunds where applicable, and selected clients will receive additional incentives. This approach reflects a calculated effort to minimise disruption and protect trader confidence during what is inevitably a complex operational shift.
The move effectively consolidates OANDA’s prop trading activity under the FTMO umbrella, allowing OANDA to refocus on its core brokerage services — multi-asset trading for retail and institutional clients across major financial centres including New York, London, and Tokyo.
Separate Entities, Shared Ambitions
Despite the leadership convergence, FTMO and OANDA have been clear that both companies will continue to operate as fully independent entities. All operations and teams in each country “remain otherwise unchanged,” according to official statements. This is an important detail for traders and institutional clients alike — OANDA’s regulatory frameworks, existing client relationships, and market access are not being restructured.
The holding structure places FTMO as the parent, but the day-to-day experience for OANDA clients is designed to remain continuous. OANDA, founded in 1996, has more than two decades of brand equity and regulatory standing across multiple jurisdictions. FTMO’s founders appear to be treating this as an accelerant rather than a rebrand.
Adding further context to FTMO’s growth trajectory, the firm recently expanded into the Indian market. Data suggests India represents roughly 40 percent of organic web traffic among the top 50 prop firms globally, driven largely by interest from traders aged 18 to 30. Firms including FundingPips, The5%ers, FundedNext, and Maven have all identified India as a primary growth region — and FTMO’s move into the market is well-timed.
What This Means for the Broader Prop Industry
The FTMO–OANDA merger and now this leadership formalisation together represent something genuinely new in the prop trading landscape: a funded trading firm acquiring and operationally absorbing a regulated, multi-jurisdictional retail broker. The direction of travel is clear — the most successful prop firms are no longer content to stay in the challenge-and-fund lane. They are building vertically integrated trading businesses.
For the rest of the industry, this raises important questions. Regulated broker infrastructure brings compliance obligations, capital requirements, and customer service complexity that pure prop models have historically avoided. The fact that FTMO’s founders are personally stepping into the CEO role suggests this is not a passive investment — it is a transformation they intend to drive themselves.
Traders who have been following the prop industry’s consolidation trend over the last two years will recognise this as a significant data point. After a wave of firm closures and industry shakeouts, the surviving major players are doubling down — not retreating. FTMO’s move sends a message: the firms with the strongest fundamentals are acquiring, not waiting.
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Source: Finance Magnates
