CMC CapX,the capital markets arm of London-based broker CMC Markets, launched a retailinvestor engagement platform called Spotlight today (Thursday), givingFTSE-listed companies a channel to communicate directly with individualshareholders through company profiles and executive video presentations.Tencompanies enrolled on the platform before its public debut, the CMC said,pointing to that pre-launch interest as early evidence of demand for moredirect engagement tools between public companies and their retail investorbase.Spotlightbroadens what CMC CapX already does, covering IPOs, secondary placings, andprivate equity access. Last October,the platform piloted tokenised share trade execution in partnership withStrikeX, its firstmove into blockchain-based transaction settlement, reflecting a pattern ofincremental product additions since the division launched in 2022.Bypassing Traditional IRChannelsSpotlightis designed, according to CMC CapX, to reduce the distance between companymanagement and retail shareholders who traditionally relied on brokerageresearch or press releases for information. Theplatform offers interactive presentations from senior executives and what thecompany calls dynamic company profiles, though CMC CapX has not detailed howthese differ substantively from investor relations pages companies already hoston their own websites."Effectiveinvestor engagement is critical to successful capital markets activity," TomCurran, Head of Corporate Broking at CMC Markets, commented. "Spotlightgives companies a direct and scalable way to communicate their story, whilegiving investors better access to management and clearer insight into thebusinesses they are backing."The launchsits within a wider push by UK retail brokers and fintechs to deepen theconnection between listed companies and individual investors. The UK's retailinvestment participation rate has been under scrutiny for several years, withanalysts and policymakers questioning whether domestic savers hold enoughexposure to UK equities to support the country's capital markets ambitions.ASX Expansion on theHorizonCMC CapXsaid Spotlight is expected to contribute to revenue growth as it expandsinternationally, with ASX-listed companies identified as the next targetmarket. The company provided no timeline for the Australian rollout or targetsfor the number of companies it expects to onboard there.The broaderFTSE landscape has faced persistentquestions about the depth of domestic retail shareholding, which gives tools like Spotlight apotential tailwind if retail participation in UK public markets continues tobuild. CMCMarkets, founded in 1989, reported more than 2 million user logins across itstrading and investing platforms as of November 2025, a figure that includesusers from partnership arrangements with Revolut, ANZ Bank, and St George.CMCCapX hinted atplans for tokenized asset offerings as far back as July 2025, signalling thedivision's appetite for product expansion well beyond its original IPO-focusedremit. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.