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Chris Hughes

Michael Spencer's Big Trade Looks Better by the Year

TP ICAP's woes show how right he was to retreat from voice broking.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
By

When Michael Spencer sells, pay attention. The British broking entrepreneur sold almost all his shares in TP ICAP Plc soon after he received them following the merger of his ICAP voice broking business with rival Tullett Prebon.

Vindication came dramatically on Tuesday. Shares in TP ICAP slid as much as 37 percent after the company issued a profit warning, erasing more than $1 billion of market value. The stock is now about 40 below its level when Spencer sold.