BGC (BGC) 424B5 Prospectus supplement for primary offering

Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333-253987

PROSPECTUS

BGC PARTNERS, INC.

Up to $300,000,000 of Shares

of

Class A Common Stock

We have entered into a Controlled Equity Offering^SM sales agreement, dated August 12, 2022, with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., which we refer to as the “2022 sales agreement,” relating to the shares of our Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share, which we refer to as our “Class A common stock,” offered pursuant to this prospectus. Under the terms and conditions of the 2022 sales agreement, we may offer and sell up to $300,000,000 of shares of Class A common stock under our Registration Statement on Form S-3, which we refer to as the “Registration Statement,” of which this prospectus forms a part, from time to time through Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., which we refer to as “CF&Co,” as our sales agent under the 2022 sales agreement.

Sales of shares of our Class A common stock, if any, under the 2022 sales agreement under this prospectus may be made by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which we refer to as the “Securities Act,” including, sales made directly on or through the Nasdaq Stock Market, any other existing trading market for the Class A common stock, and/or any other method permitted by Rule 415(a)(4) at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at prices related to such prevailing market prices.

CF&Co will be entitled to commissions equal to 2.0% of the gross proceeds of any of the shares of our Class A common stock included herein that are sold by it as our sales agent under the 2022 sales agreement. In connection with the sale of shares of Class A common stock on our behalf under such sales agreement, CF&Co will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and the commissions payable by us to CF&Co will be deemed to be underwriting compensation.

Our Class A common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “BGCP.” On August 11, 2022, the last reported sales price of the Class A common stock was $4.08 per share.

An investment in shares of our Class A common stock involves risks. See the “Risk Factors” section of our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we refer to as the “SEC,” and any updates to those risk factors or new risk factors contained in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC, all of which we incorporate by reference herein.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is August 12, 2022.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

	Page
About This Prospectus		ii
Forward-Looking Cautionary Statements		iii
Summary		1
Risk Factors		5
Use of Proceeds		6
Capital Deployment Priorities, Dividend Policy, and Repurchase and Redemption Program		7
Material U.S. Federal Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders of Class A Common Stock		14
Plan of Distribution		17
Legal Matters		19
Experts		19
Where You Can Find More Information		19
Documents Incorporated by Reference		19

You should rely only on the information provided in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, as well as the information incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We are not making an offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any documents incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the applicable document. Since the respective dates of this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and prospects might have changed.

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC using a shelf registration process. Under the shelf registration process, we may offer and sell shares of our Class A common stock as described in this prospectus in one or more offerings. Prospectus supplements may add, update, substitute or change the information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read both this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, together with the additional information described below.

This prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein include important information about us, our Class A common stock, this offering, and other information you should know before investing. You should read this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement together with the additional information described under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Documents Incorporated by Reference” before investing in shares of Class A common stock. Terms used in this prospectus, unless otherwise defined herein, have the meanings set forth in the “Glossary of Terms, Abbreviations and Acronyms” section of our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, which we refer to as the “Glossary,” and any updates to the Glossary or any new Glossary contained in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC, all of which we incorporate by reference herein.

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FORWARD-LOOKING CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus contain forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Any statements contained herein or in documents incorporated by reference that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. For example, words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “possible,” “potential,” “continue,” “strategy,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Our actual results and the outcome and timing of certain events may differ significantly from the expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, the factors set forth below:

• macroeconomic and other challenges and uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine, inflation and the Federal Reserve’s responses thereto, including increasing interest rates, the strengthening U.S. dollar, changes in the U.S. and global economies, financial markets and consumer and corporate clients and customers, including economic activity, employment levels, supply chain issues and market liquidity, and increasing energy costs, as well as the various actions taken in response to the challenges and uncertainties by governments, central banks and others, including us;

• the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including possible successive waves or variants of the virus, the emergence of new viruses, the continued distribution of effective vaccines and governmental and public reactions thereto, and the impact of a return to office for our employees on our operations;

• market conditions, including trading volume and volatility in the demand for the products and services we provide, resulting from the effects of COVID-19 or otherwise, possible disruptions in trading, potential deterioration of equity and debt capital markets and cryptocurrency markets, impact of significant changes in interest rates and our ability to access the capital markets as needed or on reasonable terms and conditions;

• pricing, commissions and fees, and market position with respect to any of our products and services and those of our competitors;

• the effect of industry concentration and reorganization, reduction of customers, and consolidation;

• liquidity, regulatory, cash and clearing capital requirements and the impact of credit market events, including the impact of COVID-19 and political events and conflicts and actions taken by governments and businesses in response thereto on the credit markets and interest rates;

• our relationships and transactions with Cantor and its affiliates, including CF&Co, and CCRE, our structure, including BGC Holdings, which is owned by us, Cantor, our employee partners and other partners, and the BGC OpCos, which are owned jointly by us and BGC Holdings, the timing and impact of any possible changes to our structure, any related transactions, conflicts of interest or litigation, any impact of Cantor’s results on our credit ratings and associated outlooks, any loans to or from us or Cantor, BGC Holdings, or the BGC OpCos, including the balances and interest rates thereof from time to time and any convertible or equity features of any such loans, CF&Co’s acting as our sales agent or underwriter under our CEO program or other offerings, Cantor’s holdings of the Company’s Debt Securities, CF&Co’s acting as a market maker in the Company’s Debt Securities, CF&Co’s acting as our financial advisor in connection with potential acquisitions, dispositions, or other transactions, and our participation in various investments, stock loans or cash management vehicles placed by or recommended by CF&Co;

• the integration of acquired businesses and their operations and back office functions with our other businesses;

• the rebranding of our current businesses or risks related to any potential dispositions of all or any portion of our existing or acquired businesses;

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• market volatility as a result of the effects of COVID-19, global inflation rates, potential economic downturns, including recessions, and similar effects, which may not be sustainable or predictable in future periods;

• economic or geopolitical conditions or uncertainties, the actions of governments or central banks, including the impact of COVID-19 on the global markets and governmental responses, and restrictions on business and commercial activity, uncertainty regarding the nature, timing and consequences of Brexit following the withdrawal process, including potential reduction in investment in the U.K., and the pursuit of trade, border control or other related policies by the U.S. and/or other countries (including U.S.- China trade relations), rising political and other tensions between the U.S. and China, political and labor unrest in Hong Kong, China and other jurisdictions, conflict in the Middle East, Russia, Ukraine or other jurisdictions, the impact of U.S. government shutdowns, elections, political unrest, boycotts, stalemates or other social and political responses to governmental mandates and other restrictions related to COVID-19 in the U.S. or abroad, and the impact of terrorist acts, acts of war or other violence or political unrest, as well as natural disasters or weather-related or similar events, including hurricanes and heat waves as well as power failures, communication and transportation disruptions, and other interruptions of utilities or other essential services and the impacts of pandemics and other international health emergencies;

• risks inherent in doing business in international markets, and any failure to identify and manage those risks, as well as the impact of Russia’s ongoing Invasion of Ukraine and additional sanctions and regulations imposed by governments and related counter-sanctions, including any related reserves;

• the effect on our businesses, our clients, the markets in which we operate, our possible restructuring, and the economy in general of changes in the U.S. and foreign tax and other laws, including changes in tax rates, repatriation rules, and deductibility of interest, potential policy and regulatory changes in Mexico and other countries, sequestrations, uncertainties regarding the debt ceiling and the federal budget, and other potential political policies;

• the effect on our businesses of changes in interest rates, changes in benchmarks, including the transition away from LIBOR, the effect on our business and revenues of strengthening U.S. dollar, the level of worldwide governmental debt issuances, austerity programs, government stimulus packages, including those related to COVID-19, increases and decreases in the federal funds interest rate and other actions to moderate inflation, increases or decreases in deficits and the impact of increased government tax rates, and other changes to monetary policy, and potential political impasses or regulatory requirements, including increased capital requirements for banks and other institutions or changes in legislation, regulations and priorities;

• extensive regulation of our businesses and customers, changes in regulations relating to financial services companies and other industries, and risks relating to compliance matters, including regulatory examinations, inspections, investigations and enforcement actions, and any resulting costs, increased financial and capital requirements, enhanced oversight, remediation, fines, penalties, sanctions, and changes to or restrictions or limitations on specific activities, including potential delays in accessing markets, including due to our regulatory status and actions, operations, compensatory arrangements, and growth opportunities, including acquisitions, hiring, and new businesses, products, or services;

• factors related to specific transactions or series of transactions, including credit, performance, and principal risk, trade failures, counterparty failures, and the impact of fraud and unauthorized trading;

• the effect on our businesses of any extraordinary transactions, including the restructuring of our partnership into a corporate structure, the timing and terms of any such transaction, including potential dilution, tax, cost, and other impacts, and our ability to complete such transaction on our anticipated schedule;

• costs and expenses of developing, maintaining, and protecting our intellectual property, as well as employment, regulatory, and other litigation and proceedings, and their related costs, including

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judgments, indemnities, fines, or settlements paid and the impact thereof on our financial results and cash flows in any given period;

• certain financial risks, including the possibility of future losses, reduced cash flows from operations, increased leverage, and the need for short- or long-term borrowings, including from Cantor, our ability to refinance our indebtedness, and changes to interest rates and liquidity or our access to other sources of cash relating to acquisitions, dispositions, or other matters, potential liquidity and other risks relating to our ability to maintain continued access to credit and availability of financing necessary to support our ongoing business needs, on terms acceptable to us, if at all, and risks associated with the resulting leverage, including potentially causing a reduction in our credit ratings and the associated outlooks and increased borrowing costs as well as interest rate and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations;

• risks associated with the temporary or longer-term investment of our available cash, including in the BGC OpCos, defaults or impairments on our investments, joint venture interests, stock loans or cash management vehicles and collectability of loan balances owed to us by partners, employees, the BGC OpCos or others;

• our ability to enter new markets or develop new products, offerings, trading desks, marketplaces, or services for existing or new clients, including our ability to develop new Fenics platforms and products, to successfully launch our FMX initiative and to attract investors thereto, to expand our cryptocurrency offerings, including the launch of additional cryptocurrency and digital asset trading offerings in 2022, the risks inherent in operating our cryptocurrency business and in safekeeping cryptocurrency assets, and efforts to convert certain existing products to a Fully Electronic trade execution, and to induce such clients to use these products, trading desks, marketplaces, or services and to secure and maintain market share, including changes to the likelihood or timing of such efforts due to COVID-19 or other measures;

• the impact of any restructuring or similar transactions on our ability to enter into marketing and strategic alliances and business combinations, attract investors or partners or engage in other transactions in the financial services and other industries, including acquisitions, tender offers, dispositions, reorganizations, partnering opportunities and joint ventures, the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of any such transactions, relationships or growth, and the future impact of any such transactions, relationships or growth on our other businesses and our financial results for current or future periods, the integration of any completed acquisitions and the use of proceeds of any completed dispositions, and the value of and any hedging entered into in connection with consideration received or to be received in connection with such dispositions and any transfers thereof;

• our estimates or determinations of potential value with respect to various assets or portions of our businesses, such as Fenics, including with respect to the accuracy of the assumptions or the valuation models or multiples used;

• our ability to manage turnover and hire, train, integrate and retain personnel, including brokers, salespeople, managers, technology professionals and other front-office personnel, back-office and support services, and departures of senior personnel;

• our ability to expand the use of technology for Hybrid and Fully Electronic trade execution in our product and service offerings;

• our ability to effectively manage any growth that may be achieved, while ensuring compliance with all applicable financial reporting, internal control, legal compliance, and regulatory requirements;

• our ability to identify and remediate any material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal controls which could affect our ability to properly maintain books and records, prepare financial statements and reports in a timely manner, control our policies, practices and procedures, operations and assets, assess and manage our operational, regulatory and financial risks, and integrate our acquired businesses and brokers, salespeople, managers, technology professionals and other front-office personnel;

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• the impact of unexpected market moves and similar events;

• information technology risks, including capacity constraints, failures, or disruptions in our systems or those of the clients, counterparties, exchanges, clearing facilities, or other parties with which we interact, including increased demands on such systems and on the telecommunications infrastructure from remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber-security risks and incidents, compliance with regulations requiring data minimization and protection and preservation of records of access and transfers of data, privacy risk and exposure to potential liability and regulatory focus;

• the effectiveness of our governance, risk management, and oversight procedures and impact of any potential transactions or relationships with related parties;

• the impact of our ESG or “sustainability” ratings on the decisions by clients, investors, ratings agencies, potential clients and other parties with respect to our businesses, investments in us, our borrowing opportunities or the market for and trading price of BGC Class A common stock, Company Debt Securities, or other matters;

• the fact that the prices at which shares of our Class A common stock are or may be sold in offerings, acquisitions, or other transactions may vary significantly, and purchasers of shares in such offerings or other transactions, as well as existing stockholders, may suffer significant dilution if the price they paid for their shares is higher than the price paid by other purchasers in such offerings or transactions;

• the impact of reductions to our dividends and distributions and the timing and amounts of any future dividends or distributions, including our ability to meet expectations with respect to payments of dividends and distributions and repurchases of shares of our Class A common stock and purchases or redemptions of limited partnership interests in BGC Holdings, or other equity interests in us or any of our other subsidiaries, including the BGC OpCos, including from Cantor, our executive officers, other employees, partners, and others, and the net proceeds to be realized by us from offerings of shares of BGC Class A common stock and Company Debt Securities; and

• the effect on the markets for and trading prices of our Class A common stock and Company Debt Securities due to COVID-19 and other market factors as well as on various offerings and other transactions, including offerings of our Class A common stock and convertible or exchangeable debt or other securities, our repurchases of shares of our Class A common stock and purchases or redemptions of BGC Holdings limited partnership interests or other equity interests in us or in our subsidiaries, any exchanges by Cantor of shares of our Class A common stock for shares of our Class B common stock, any exchanges or redemptions of limited partnership units and issuances of shares of our Class A common stock in connection therewith, including in corporate or partnership restructurings, our payment of dividends on our Class A common stock and distributions on limited partnership interests in BGC Holdings and the BGC OpCos, convertible arbitrage, hedging, and other transactions engaged in by us or holders of our outstanding shares, Company Debt Securities, share sales and stock pledge, stock loans, and other financing transactions by holders of our shares (including by Cantor or others), including of shares acquired pursuant to our employee benefit plans, unit exchanges and redemptions, corporate or partnership restructurings, acquisitions, conversions of shares of our Class B common stock and our other convertible securities into shares of our Class A common stock, stock pledge, stock loan, or other financing transactions, and distributions of our Class A common stock by Cantor to its partners, including the April 2008 and February 2012 distribution rights shares.

The foregoing risks and uncertainties, and those incorporated by reference herein, may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The information included or incorporated by reference is given as of the respective dates of this prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and future events or circumstances could differ significantly from such information. We do not undertake to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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SUMMARY

This summary highlights selected information from this prospectus, but may not contain all information that may be important to you. The following summary is qualified in its entirety by the more detailed information included in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus. For a more complete understanding of the terms of our Class A common stock, and before making your investment decision, you should carefully read this entire prospectus and the documents referred to in “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Documents Incorporated by Reference.”

When we use the words “BGC Partners,” “BGC,” “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company,” we are referring to BGC Partners, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

The Company

We are a leading global financial brokerage and technology company servicing the global financial markets.

Through brands including BGC^®, Fenics^®, GFI^®, Sunrise Brokers^™, Poten & Partners^®, and RP Martin^™, among others, our businesses specialize in the brokerage of a broad range of products, including fixed income such as government bonds, corporate bonds, and other debt instruments, as well as related interest rate derivatives and credit derivatives. Additionally, we provide brokerage products across FX, Equities, Energy and Commodities, Shipping, and Futures and Options. We recently announced our plans to develop new and comprehensive cryptocurrency brokerage offerings. Our businesses also provide a wide variety of services, including trade execution, connectivity solutions, brokerage services, clearing, trade compression, and other post-trade services, information, and other back-office services to a broad assortment of financial and non-financial institutions.

Our integrated platform is designed to provide flexibility to customers with regard to price discovery, execution and processing of transactions, and enables them to use Voice, Hybrid, or in many markets, Fully Electronic brokerage services in connection with transactions executed either OTC or through an exchange. Through our Fenics^® group of electronic brands, we offer a number of market infrastructure and connectivity services, Fully Electronic marketplaces, and the Fully Electronic brokerage of certain products that also may trade via Voice and Hybrid execution. The full suite of Fenics^® offerings includes Fully Electronic and hybrid brokerage, market data and related information services, trade compression and other post-trade services, analytics related to financial instruments and markets, and other financial technology solutions. Fenics^® brands also operate under the names Fenics^®, FMX^™, FMX Futures Exchange^™, Fenics Markets Xchange^™, Fenics Futures Exchange^™, Fenics UST^™, Fenics FX^™, Fenics Repo^™, Fenics Direct^™, Fenics MID^™, Fenics Market Data^™, Fenics GO^™, Fenics PortfolioMatch^™, kACE^2®, and Lucera^®.

All of our higher margin, technology-driven businesses are referred to as Fenics. In the first quarter of 2021, we began to categorize our Fenics businesses as Fenics Markets and Fenics Growth Platforms, and we have conformed our prior period comparisons of the components of our Fenics business to this new categorization. Fenics Markets includes the Fully Electronic portion of our brokerage businesses, data, software and post-trade revenues that are unrelated to Fenics Growth Platforms, as well as Fenics Integrated revenues. Fenics Growth Platforms includes Fenics UST, Fenics GO, Lucera, Fenics FX and other newer standalone platforms. Revenue generated from data, software and post-trade attributable to Fenics Growth Platforms are included within their related businesses.

The combination of wider adoption of Hybrid and Fully Electronic execution and our competitive advantage in terms of technology and experience has contributed to our strong growth in electronically traded products. We continue to invest in our high-growth, high-margin, technology-driven businesses, including our standalone Fully

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Electronic Fenics Growth Platforms. Fenics has exhibited strong growth over the past several years, and we believe that this growth has outpaced the wholesale brokerage industry. We expect this trend to accelerate as we continue to convert more of our Voice/Hybrid execution into higher-margin, technology-driven execution across our Fenics platforms and continue to grow our Fenics Growth Platforms.

FMX, which combines Fenics UST’s leading U.S. Treasury business with a state-of-the-art U.S. Interest Rates futures platform, continued to make significant progress on its expected fourth quarter futures exchange launch. FMX is working closely with regulators and its clearing partner, LCH, to deliver a comprehensive and efficient cross margining platform across U.S. dollar based futures and interest rate swaps. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2022, FMX Futures Exchange will offer clients an alternative U.S. Rates futures platform for U.S. Treasury, euro, and SOFR futures products. We expect to announce strategic partners prior to the launch of FMX’s Futures Exchange.

We expect to benefit from the trend towards electronic trading, increased demand for market data, and the need for increased connectivity, automation, and post-trade services. We continue to onboard new customers as the opportunities created by electronic and algorithmic trading continue to transform our industry. We continue to roll out our next-gen Fenics execution platforms across more products and geographies with the goal of seamlessly integrating the liquidity of Voice transactions with customer electronic orders either by a GUI, API, or web-based interface. We expect to have continued success converting Voice/Hybrid desks over time as we roll out these platforms across more products and geographies.

We continued to advance on our comprehensive cryptocurrency offering, including the expansion of Lucera’s infrastructure across the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Lucera’s crypto offering leverages our wholesale global electronic trading network to connect the world’s largest capital markets participants to the exchanges and market makers of this asset class. We recently announced plans for a cryptocurrency exchange, which we anticipate will be launched in the late fourth or early first quarter of next year. Additionally, we arranged the first intermediated block trade of CME Group Bitcoin options in Asia in July.

BGC, BGC Partners, BGC Trader, GFI, GFI Ginga, CreditMatch, Fenics, Fenics.com, FMX, Sunrise Brokers, Poten & Partners, RP Martin, kACE², Capitalab, Swaptioniser, CBID, Aqua, and Lucera are trademarks/service marks, and/or registered trademarks/service marks of BGC Partners, Inc. and/or its affiliates.

Our customers include many of the world’s largest banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds, governments, corporations, and investment firms. We have dozens of offices globally in major markets including New York and London, as well as in Bahrain, Beijing, Bermuda, Bogotá, Brisbane, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, Houston, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Madrid, Manila, Melbourne, Mexico City, Miami, Milan, Monaco, Nyon, Paris, Perth, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Toronto, and Zurich.

As of June 30, 2022, we had approximately 2,025 brokers, salespeople, managers, technology professionals and other front-office personnel across our businesses.

Our Organizational Structure

We are a holding company with no direct operations, and our business is operated through two operating partnerships, BGC U.S. OpCo, which holds our U.S. BGC Global OpCo, which holds our non-U.S. businesses. The limited partnership interests of the two operating partnerships are held by us and BGC Holdings, and the limited partnership interests of BGC Holdings are currently held by limited partnership unit holders, founding partners, and Cantor. We hold the BGC Holdings general partnership interest and the BGC Holdings special voting limited partnership interest, which entitle us to remove and appoint the general partner of BGC Holdings,

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and serve as the general partner of BGC Holdings, which entitles us to control BGC Holdings. BGC Holdings, in turn, holds the BGC U.S. OpCo general partnership interest and the BGC U.S. OpCo special voting limited partnership interest, which entitle the holder thereof to remove and appoint the general partner of BGC U.S. OpCo, and the BGC Global OpCo general partnership interest and the BGC Global OpCo special voting limited partnership interest, which entitle the holder thereof to remove and appoint the general partner of BGC Global OpCo, and serves as the general partner of BGC U.S. OpCo and BGC Global OpCo, all of which entitle BGC Holdings (and thereby us) to control each of BGC U.S. OpCo and BGC Global OpCo. BGC Holdings holds its BGC Global OpCo general partnership interest through a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, BGC Global Holdings GP Limited.

The Joint Committee of the independent Directors of our Board, which was constituted to consider the conversion to a corporate structure, has agreed to pursue and move forward with a conversion of our corporate structure from an Umbrella Partnership/C-Corporation (“Up-C”) to a “Full C-Corporation.” This conversion is intended to be effective January 1, 2023, subject to customary closing conditions in the agreement and regulatory approvals. Our conversion to a simpler, more transparent corporate structure aims to improve operational efficiencies and provide investors with an easier to understand organizational structure. We are assessing the effect of the conversion on our estimated tax rate, synergies and other impacts.

Executive Offices

Our executive offices are located at 499 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, while our international headquarters is located at 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HU, United Kingdom. Our telephone number is (212) 610-2200. Our website is located at www.bgcpartners.com, and our e-mail address is info@bgcpartners.com. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website is not part of, and is not incorporated into, this prospectus.

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The Offering

Shares of our Class A common stock offered by us Up to $300,000,000 of shares of our Class A common stock from time to time through CF&Co.

Plan of Distribution “At the market offering” that may be made from time to time through our sales agent, CF&Co. CF&Co, our broker-dealer affiliate, is a member of FINRA. Accordingly, offerings of the shares of Class A common stock included in this prospectus in which CF&Co participates will conform to the requirements set forth in Rule 5121 of the Conduct Rules of FINRA. See “Plan of Distribution” on page 17.

Use of Proceeds We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the shares of our Class A common stock that we offer by this prospectus for general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, expanding our businesses and operations through increased headcount, strategic alliances and acquisitions, repaying outstanding indebtedness, financing our existing businesses and operations, possible corporate and partnership restructurings, and repurchasing our securities or redeeming or purchasing limited partnership interests of BGC Holdings or other equity interests in us or in our subsidiaries, including from Cantor, our executive officers, other employees, partners and others. Certain partners will be expected to use the proceeds from such sales to repay outstanding loans to, or credit enhanced by, Cantor before receipt of any proceeds. We may use the net proceeds of this offering directly for such purposes, or contribute a portion of the net proceeds to our subsidiaries, including to BGC U.S. and/or BGC Global, which entities may in turn use the proceeds for such purposes. See “Use of Proceeds” on page 6.

Risk Factors Investing in shares of our Class A common stock involves risks. Please read the information contained in and incorporated by reference under the heading “Risk Factors” on page 5 of this prospectus, and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus. We incorporate by reference into this prospectus the “Risk Factor Summary” section of our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, which we refer to as the “Risk Factor Summary,” and any updates to the Risk Factor Summary contained in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC, all of which we incorporate by reference herein.

Nasdaq stock market symbol BGCP

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in shares of our Class A common stock involves risks and uncertainties. You should consider carefully the “Risk Factors” section of our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, and any updates to those risk factors or new risk factors contained in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC, all of which we incorporate by reference herein, as well as the other information included in this prospectus before making an investment decision. Any of the risk factors could significantly and negatively affect our businesses, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, prospects and the trading price of our Class A common stock. You could lose all or part of your investment.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the shares of our Class A common stock that we offer by this prospectus for general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, expanding our businesses and operations through increased headcount, strategic alliances and acquisitions, repaying outstanding indebtedness, financing our existing businesses and operations, possible corporate and partnership restructurings, and repurchasing our securities or purchasing or redeeming limited partnership interests of BGC Holdings or other equity interests in us and in our subsidiaries, including from Cantor, our executive officers, other employees, partners and others. Certain partners may be expected to use the proceeds from such sales to repay outstanding loans to, or credit enhanced by, Cantor before receipt of any net proceeds. We may use the net proceeds of this offering directly for such purposes, or contribute a portion of the net proceeds to our subsidiaries, including to BGC U.S. and/or BGC Global in consideration for BGC U.S. and/or BGC Global limited partnership interests, which entities may in turn use the proceeds for such purposes.

We may raise additional funds from time to time through equity or debt financings, including borrowings under a credit facility, for such purposes.

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CAPITAL DEPLOYMENT PRIORITIES, DIVIDEND POLICY AND REPURCHASE AND REDEMPTION PROGRAM

Our 2022 capital allocation priorities are to use our liquidity to return capital to stockholders and to continue investing in its high growth Fenics businesses. We plan to prioritize share and unit repurchases over dividends and distributions.

Traditionally, our dividend policy provides that we expect to pay a quarterly cash dividend to our common stockholders based on our post-tax Adjusted Earnings per fully diluted share. Please see below for a detailed definition of post-tax Adjusted Earnings per fully diluted share. Any dividends, if and when declared by our Board, will be paid on a quarterly basis. The dividend to our common stockholders is expected to be calculated based on post-tax Adjusted Earnings allocated to us and generated over the fiscal quarter ending prior to the record date for the dividend. No assurance can be made, however, that a dividend will be paid each quarter. The declaration, payment, timing, and amount of any future dividends payable by us will be at the sole discretion of our Board. With respect to any distributions which are declared, amounts paid to or on behalf of partners will at least cover their related tax payments. Whether any given post-tax amount is equivalent to the amount received by a stockholder also on an after-tax basis depends upon stockholders’ and partners’ domiciles and tax status.

We are a holding company, with no direct operations, and therefore we are able to pay dividends only from our available cash on hand and funds received from distributions from BGC U.S. OpCo and BGC Global OpCo. Our ability to pay dividends may also be limited by regulatory considerations as well as by covenants contained in financing or other agreements. In addition, under Delaware law, dividends may be payable only out of surplus, which is our net assets minus our capital (as defined under Delaware law), or, if we have no surplus, out of our net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year. Accordingly, any unanticipated accounting, tax, regulatory or other charges against net income may adversely affect our ability to declare and pay dividends. While we intend to declare and pay dividends quarterly, there can be no assurance that our Board will declare dividends at all or on a regular basis or that the amount of our dividends will not change.

Stock and Unit Repurchase and Redemption Program

Our Board and our Audit Committee have authorized repurchases of our Class A common stock and redemptions of BGC Holdings limited partnership interests or other equity interests in our subsidiaries, including from Cantor, our executive officers, other employees, partners and others, including Cantor employees and partners. Most recently, on August 3, 2021, our Board and Audit Committee again renewed and increased the authorized repurchases of stock or units, including from Cantor employees and partners, to $400.0 million. As of June 30, 2022, we had approximately $158.4 million remaining under this authorization and may continue to actively make repurchases, or cease to make such repurchases, from time to time.

Debt Repurchase Program

Our Board and our Audit Committee have authorized repurchases of up to $50.0 million of Company Debt Securities. Under the authorization, we may make repurchases of Company Debt Securities for cash from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions upon such terms and at such prices as management may determine. Additionally, we are authorized to make any such repurchases of Company Debt Securities through CF&Co (or its affiliates), in its capacity as agent or principal, or such other broker-dealers as management shall determine to utilize from time to time, and such repurchases shall be subject to brokerage commissions which are no higher than standard market commission rates. As of June 30, 2022, we had approximately $50.0 million remaining under this authorization and may continue to actively make repurchases, or cease to make such repurchases, from time to time.

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Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We use non-GAAP financial measures that differ from the most directly comparable measures calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures used by the Company include “Adjusted Earnings before noncontrolling interests and taxes”, which is used interchangeably with “pre-tax Adjusted Earnings”; “Post-tax Adjusted Earnings to fully diluted shareholders”, which is used interchangeably with “post-tax Adjusted Earnings”, “Adjusted EBITDA”, “Liquidity”, and “Constant Currency”. The definitions of these terms are below.

Adjusted Earnings Defined

BGC uses non-GAAP financial measures, including “Adjusted Earnings before noncontrolling interests and taxes” and “Post-tax Adjusted Earnings to fully diluted shareholders”, which are supplemental measures of operating results used by management to evaluate the financial performance of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries. BGC believes that Adjusted Earnings best reflect the operating earnings generated by the Company on a consolidated basis and are the earnings which management considers when managing its business.

As compared with “Income (loss) from operations before income taxes” and “Net income (loss) for fully diluted shares”, both prepared in accordance with GAAP, Adjusted Earnings calculations primarily exclude certain non-cash items and other expenses that generally do not involve the receipt or outlay of cash by the Company and/or which do not dilute existing stockholders. In addition, Adjusted Earnings calculations exclude certain gains and charges that management believes do not best reflect the ordinary results of BGC. Adjusted Earnings is calculated by taking the most comparable GAAP measures and adjusting for certain items with respect to compensation expenses, non-compensation expenses, and other income, as discussed below.

Calculations of Compensation Adjustments for Adjusted Earnings and Adjusted EBITDA

Treatment of Equity-Based Compensation Line Item for Adjusted Earnings and Adjusted EBITDA

The Company’s Adjusted Earnings and Adjusted EBITDA measures exclude all GAAP charges included in the line item “Equity-based compensation and allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs” (or “equity-based compensation” for purposes of defining the Company’s non-GAAP results) as recorded on the Company’s GAAP Consolidated Statements of Operations and GAAP Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. These GAAP equity-based compensation charges reflect the following items:

• Charges with respect to grants of exchangeability, which reflect the right of holders of limited partnership units with no capital accounts, such as LPUs and PSUs, to exchange these units into shares of common stock, or into partnership units with capital accounts, such as HDUs, as well as cash paid with respect to taxes withheld or expected to be owed by the unit holder upon such exchange. The withholding taxes related to the exchange of certain non-exchangeable units without a capital account into either common shares or units with a capital account may be funded by the redemption of preferred units such as PPSUs.

• Charges with respect to preferred units. Any preferred units would not be included in the Company’s fully diluted share count because they cannot be made exchangeable into shares of common stock and are entitled only to a fixed distribution. Preferred units are granted in connection with the grant of certain limited partnership units that may be granted exchangeability or redeemed in connection with the grant of shares of common stock at ratios designed to cover any withholding taxes expected to be paid. This is an alternative to the common practice among public companies of issuing the gross amount of shares to employees, subject to cashless withholding of shares, to pay applicable withholding taxes.

• GAAP equity-based compensation charges with respect to the grant of an offsetting amount of common stock or partnership units with capital accounts in connection with the redemption of non-exchangeable units, including PSUs and LPUs.

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• Charges related to amortization of RSUs and limited partnership units.

• Charges related to grants of equity awards, including common stock or partnership units with capital accounts.

• Allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs. Such allocations represent the pro-rata portion of post-tax GAAP earnings available to such unit holders.

The amounts of certain quarterly equity-based compensation charges are based upon the Company’s estimate of such expected charges during the annual period, as described further below under “Methodology for Calculating Adjusted Earnings Taxes.”

Virtually all of BGC’s key executives and producers have equity or partnership stakes in the Company and its subsidiaries and generally receive deferred equity or limited partnership units as part of their compensation. A significant percentage of BGC’s fully diluted shares are owned by its executives, partners and employees. The Company issues limited partnership units as well as other forms of equity-based compensation, including grants of exchangeability into shares of common stock, to provide liquidity to its employees, to align the interests of its employees and management with those of common stockholders, to help motivate and retain key employees, and to encourage a collaborative culture that drives cross-selling and revenue growth.

All share equivalents that are part of the Company’s equity-based compensation program, including REUs, PSUs, LPUs, HDUs, and other units that may be made exchangeable into common stock, as well as RSUs (which are recorded using the treasury stock method), are included in the fully diluted share count when issued or at the beginning of the subsequent quarter after the date of grant. Generally, limited partnership units other than preferred units are expected to be paid a pro-rata distribution based on BGC’s calculation of Adjusted Earnings per fully diluted share. However, out of an abundance of caution and in order to strengthen the Company’s balance sheet due the uncertain macroeconomic conditions with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, BGC Holdings has reduced its distributions of income from the operations of BGC’s businesses to its partners.

Compensation charges are also adjusted for certain other cash and non-cash items.

Certain Other Compensation-Related Adjustments for Adjusted Earnings

BGC also excludes various other GAAP items that management views as not reflective of the Company’s underlying performance in a given period from its calculation of Adjusted Earnings. These may include compensation-related items with respect to cost-saving initiatives, such as severance charges incurred in connection with headcount reductions as part of broad restructuring and/or cost savings plans.

Calculation of Non-Compensation Adjustments for Adjusted Earnings

Adjusted Earnings calculations may also exclude items such as:

• Non-cash GAAP charges related to the amortization of intangibles with respect to acquisitions;

• Acquisition related costs;

• Certain rent charges;

• Non-cash GAAP asset impairment charges; and

• Various other GAAP items that management views as not reflective of the Company’s underlying performance in a given period, including non-compensation-related charges incurred as part of broad restructuring and/or cost savings plans. Such GAAP items may include charges for exiting leases and/or other long-term contracts as part of cost-saving initiatives, as well as non-cash impairment charges related to assets, goodwill and/or intangibles created from acquisitions.

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Calculation of Adjustments for Other (income) losses for Adjusted Earnings

Adjusted Earnings calculations also exclude certain other non-cash, non-dilutive, and/or non-economic items, which may, in some periods, include:

• Gains or losses on divestitures;

• Fair value adjustment of investments;

• Certain other GAAP items, including gains or losses related to BGC’s investments accounted for under the equity method; and

• Any unusual, one-time, non-ordinary, or non-recurring gains or losses.

Methodology for Calculating Adjusted Earnings Taxes

Although Adjusted Earnings are calculated on a pre-tax basis, BGC also reports post-tax Adjusted Earnings to fully diluted shareholders. The Company defines post-tax Adjusted Earnings to fully diluted shareholders as pre-tax Adjusted Earnings reduced by the non-GAAP tax provision described below and net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest for Adjusted Earnings.

The Company calculates its tax provision for post-tax Adjusted Earnings using an annual estimate similar to how it accounts for its income tax provision under GAAP. To calculate the quarterly tax provision under GAAP, BGC estimates its full fiscal year GAAP income (loss) from operations before income taxes and noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries and the expected inclusions and deductions for income tax purposes, including expected equity-based compensation during the annual period. The resulting annualized tax rate is applied to BGC’s quarterly GAAP income (loss) from operations before income taxes and noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries. At the end of the annual period, the Company updates its estimate to reflect the actual tax amounts owed for the period.

To determine the non-GAAP tax provision, BGC first adjusts pre-tax Adjusted Earnings by recognizing any, and only, amounts for which a tax deduction applies under applicable law. The amounts include charges with respect to equity-based compensation; certain charges related to employee loan forgiveness; certain net operating loss carryforwards when taken for statutory purposes; and certain charges related to tax goodwill amortization. These adjustments may also reflect timing and measurement differences, including treatment of employee loans; changes in the value of units between the dates of grants of exchangeability and the date of actual unit exchange; variations in the value of certain deferred tax assets; and liabilities and the different timing of permitted deductions for tax under GAAP and statutory tax requirements.

After application of these adjustments, the result is the Company’s taxable income for its pre-tax Adjusted Earnings, to which BGC then applies the statutory tax rates to determine its non-GAAP tax provision. BGC views the effective tax rate on pre-tax Adjusted Earnings as equal to the amount of its non-GAAP tax provision divided by the amount of pre-tax Adjusted Earnings.

Generally, the most significant factor affecting this non-GAAP tax provision is the amount of charges relating to equity-based compensation. Because the charges relating to equity-based compensation are deductible in accordance with applicable tax laws, increases in such charges have the effect of lowering the Company’s non-GAAP effective tax rate and thereby increasing its post-tax Adjusted Earnings.

BGC incurs income tax expenses based on the location, legal structure and jurisdictional taxing authorities of each of its subsidiaries. Certain of the Company’s entities are taxed as U.S. partnerships and are subject to the Unincorporated Business Tax (“UBT”) in New York City. Any U.S. federal and state income tax liability or benefit related to the partnership income or loss, with the exception of UBT, rests with the unit holders rather than with the partnership entity. The Company’s consolidated financial statements include U.S. federal, state, and

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local income taxes on the Company’s allocable share of the U.S. results of operations. Outside of the U.S., BGC is expected to operate principally through subsidiary corporations subject to local income taxes. For these reasons, taxes for Adjusted Earnings are expected to be presented to show the tax provision the consolidated Company would expect to pay if 100% of earnings were taxed at global corporate rates.

Calculations of Pre- and Post-Tax Adjusted Earnings per Share

BGC’s pre- and post-tax Adjusted Earnings per share calculations assume either that:

• The fully diluted share count includes the shares related to any dilutive instruments, but excludes the associated expense, net of tax, when the impact would be dilutive; or

• The fully diluted share count excludes the shares related to these instruments, but includes the associated expense, net of tax, when the impact would be anti-dilutive.

The share count for Adjusted Earnings excludes certain shares and share equivalents expected to be issued in future periods but not yet eligible to receive dividends and/or distributions. Each quarter, the dividend payable to BGC’s stockholders, if any, is expected to be determined by the Company’s Board of Directors with reference to a number of factors, including post-tax Adjusted Earnings per share. BGC may also pay a pro-rata distribution of net income to limited partnership units, as well as to Cantor for its noncontrolling interest. The amount of this net income, and therefore of these payments per unit, would be determined using the above definition of Adjusted Earnings per share on a pre-tax basis.

The declaration, payment, timing, and amount of any future dividends payable by the Company will be at the discretion of its Board of Directors using the fully diluted share count. For more information on any share count adjustments, see the table titled “Fully Diluted Weighted-Average Share Count under GAAP and for Adjusted Earnings” in the Company’s most recent financial results press release.

Management Rationale for Using Adjusted Earnings

BGC’s calculation of Adjusted Earnings excludes the items discussed above because they are either non-cash in nature, because the anticipated benefits from the expenditures are not expected to be fully realized until future periods, or because the Company views results excluding these items as a better reflection of the underlying performance of BGC’s ongoing operations. Management uses Adjusted Earnings in part to help it evaluate, among other things, the overall performance of the Company’s business, to make decisions with respect to the Company’s operations, and to determine the amount of dividends payable to common stockholders and distributions payable to holders of limited partnership units. Dividends payable to common stockholders and distributions payable to holders of limited partnership units are included within “Dividends to stockholders” and “Earnings distributions to limited partnership interests and noncontrolling interests,” respectively, in our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

The term “Adjusted Earnings” should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to GAAP net income (loss). The Company views Adjusted Earnings as a metric that is not indicative of liquidity, or the cash available to fund its operations, but rather as a performance measure. Pre- and post-tax Adjusted Earnings, as well as related measures, are not intended to replace the Company’s presentation of its GAAP financial results. However, management believes that these measures help provide investors with a clearer understanding of BGC’s financial performance and offer useful information to both management and investors regarding certain financial and business trends related to the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. Management believes that the GAAP and Adjusted Earnings measures of financial performance should be considered together.

For more information regarding Adjusted Earnings, see the section in the Company’s most recent financial results press release titled “Reconciliation of GAAP Income (Loss) from Operations before Income Taxes to Adjusted Earnings and GAAP Fully Diluted EPS to Post-Tax Adjusted EPS”, including the related footnotes, for details about how BGC’s non-GAAP results are reconciled to those under GAAP.

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Adjusted EBITDA Defined

BGC also provides an additional non-GAAP financial performance measure, “Adjusted EBITDA”, which it defines as GAAP “Net income (loss) available to common stockholders”, adjusted to add back the following items:

• Provision (benefit) for income taxes;

• Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries;

• Interest expense;

• Fixed asset depreciation and intangible asset amortization;

• Equity-based compensation and allocations of net income to limited partnership units and FPUs;

• Impairment of long-lived assets;

• (Gains) losses on equity method investments; and

• Certain other non-cash GAAP items, such as non-cash charges of amortized rents incurred by the Company for its new U.K. based headquarters.

The Company’s management believes that its Adjusted EBITDA measure is useful in evaluating BGC’s operating performance, because the calculation of this measure generally eliminates the effects of financing and income taxes and the accounting effects of capital spending and acquisitions, which would include impairment charges of goodwill and intangibles created from acquisitions. Such items may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance. As a result, the Company’s management uses this measure to evaluate operating performance and for other discretionary purposes. BGC believes that Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors to assist them in getting a more complete picture of the Company’s financial results and operations.

Since BGC’s Adjusted EBITDA is not a recognized measurement under GAAP, investors should use this measure in addition to GAAP measures of net income when analyzing BGC’s operating performance. Because not all companies use identical EBITDA calculations, the Company’s presentation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Furthermore, Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be a measure of free cash flow or GAAP cash flow from operations because the Company’s Adjusted EBITDA does not consider certain cash requirements, such as tax and debt service payments.

For more information regarding Adjusted EBITDA, see the section in the Company’s most recent financial results press release titled “Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income (Loss) Available to Common Stockholders to Adjusted EBITDA”, including the footnotes to the same, for details about how BGC’s non-GAAP results are reconciled to those under GAAP.

Liquidity Defined

BGC may also use a non-GAAP measure called “liquidity”. The Company considers liquidity to be comprised of the sum of cash and cash equivalents, reverse repurchase agreements (if any), securities owned, and marketable securities, less securities lent out in securities loaned transactions and repurchase agreements (if any). The Company considers liquidity to be an important metric for determining the amount of cash that is available or that could be readily available to the Company on short notice.

For more information regarding Liquidity, see the section in the Company’s most recent financial results press release titled “Liquidity Analysis”, including any footnotes to the same, for details about how BGC’s non-GAAP results are reconciled to those under GAAP.

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Constant Currency Defined

BGC generates a significant amount of its revenues in non-U.S. dollar denominated currencies, particularly in the euro and pound sterling. In order to present a better comparison of the Company’s revenues during the period, which exhibited highly volatile foreign exchange movements, BGC provides revenues year-over-year comparisons on a “Constant Currency” basis. BGC uses a Constant Currency financial metric to provide a better comparison of the Company’s underlying operating performance by eliminating the impacts of foreign currency fluctuations between comparative periods. Since BGC’s consolidated financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, fluctuations in non-U.S. dollar denominated currencies have an impact on the Company’s GAAP results. The Company’s Constant Currency metric, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, assumes the foreign exchange rates used to determine the Company’s comparative prior period revenues, apply to the current period revenues. Constant Currency revenue percentage change is calculated by determining the change in current quarter non-GAAP constant currency revenues over prior period revenues. Non-GAAP constant currency revenues are total revenues excluding the effect of foreign exchange rate movements and are calculated by remeasuring and/or translating current quarter revenues using prior period exchange rates. BGC presents certain non-GAAP Constant Currency percentage changes in constant currency revenues as a supplementary measure because it facilitates the comparison of the Company’s core operating results. This information should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, results reported in accordance with GAAP.

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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL TAX CONSIDERATIONS FOR NON-U.S. HOLDERS OF CLASS A COMMON STOCK

The following is a general discussion of material U.S. federal income tax considerations with respect to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of shares of our Class A common stock applicable to non-U.S. holders who acquire such shares in this offering and hold such shares as a capital asset (generally, property held for investment). For purposes of this discussion, a “non-U.S. holder” means a beneficial owner of shares of Class A common stock (other than an entity or arrangement that is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that is not, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, any of the following:

• a citizen or resident of the United States;

• a corporation created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

• an estate, the income of which is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source; or

• a trust if (a) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (b) such trust has made a valid election to be treated as a U.S. person for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

This discussion is based upon current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which we refer to as the “Code,” Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, judicial opinions, published positions of the Internal Revenue Service, and other applicable authorities, all of which are subject to change (possibly with retroactive effect). This discussion does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be important to a particular non-U.S. holder in light of that non-U.S. holder’s individual circumstances, nor does it address the Medicare tax on net investment income, the alternative minimum tax, or any aspects of U.S. federal estate and gift, state, local, or non-U.S. taxes. This discussion may not apply, in whole or in part, to particular non-U.S. holders in light of their individual circumstances or to holders subject to special treatment under the U.S. federal income tax laws (such as insurance companies, tax-exempt organizations, financial institutions, brokers or dealers in securities, “controlled foreign corporations,” “passive foreign investment companies,” non-U.S. holders that hold shares of our Class A common stock as part of a straddle, hedge, conversion transaction or other integrated investment, and certain U.S. expatriates).

If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds shares of our Class A common stock, the tax treatment of a partner will generally depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partners of a partnership holding shares of Class A common stock are encouraged to consult their own tax advisors as to the particular U.S. federal income tax consequences applicable to them.

THIS SUMMARY IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF ALL TAX CONSEQUENCES FOR NON-U.S. HOLDERS RELATING TO THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF SHARES OF OUR CLASS A COMMON STOCK. PROSPECTIVE HOLDERS OF SHARES OF CLASS A COMMON STOCK ARE ENCOURAGED TO CONSULT WITH THEIR OWN TAX ADVISORS REGARDING THE TAX CONSEQUENCES TO THEM (INCLUDING THE APPLICATION AND EFFECT OF ANY STATE, LOCAL AND FOREIGN INCOME AND OTHER TAX LAWS) OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF SUCH SHARES.

Dividends

In general, any distribution we make to a non-U.S. holder with respect to its shares of our Class A common stock that constitutes a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes will be subject to U.S. withholding tax at a

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rate of 30% of the gross amount, unless the non-U.S. holder is eligible for a reduced rate of withholding tax under an applicable tax treaty and the non-U.S. holder provides proper certification of its eligibility for such reduced rate. A distribution will constitute a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes. To the extent that a distribution exceeds our current or accumulated earnings and profits, the excess will constitute a return of capital that is applied against, and will reduce, the holder’s basis in its shares, but not below zero, and then will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such shares.

Dividends we pay to a non-U.S. holder that are effectively connected with its conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if a tax treaty applies, are attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment of such non-U.S. holder) will not be subject to U.S. withholding tax, as described above, if the non-U.S. holder complies with applicable certification and disclosure requirements. Instead, such dividends generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis in the same manner as if the non-U.S. holder were a resident of the United States. Dividends received by a foreign corporation that are effectively connected with its conduct of trade or business within the United States may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable tax treaty).

Gain on Sale or Other Disposition of Shares of Our Class A Common Stock

In general, a non-U.S. holder will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain realized upon the sale or other disposition of the non-U.S. holder’s shares of our Class A common stock unless:

• the gain is effectively connected with a trade or business carried on by the non-U.S. holder within the United States (and, if required by an applicable tax treaty, is attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment of such non-U.S. holder);

• the non-U.S. holder is an individual and is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition and certain other conditions are met; or

• we are or have been a U.S. real property holding corporation, which we refer to as an “USRPHC,” for U.S. federal income tax purposes at any time within the shorter of the five-year period preceding such disposition or such non-U.S. holder’s holding period of the shares. We believe we are not, and do not anticipate becoming, a USRPHC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If we were or were to become a USRPHC at any time during the applicable period, however, any gain recognized on a sale or other disposition of shares by a non-U.S. holder that did not own (directly, indirectly or constructively) more than 5% of the Class A common stock during the applicable period would not be subject to U.S. federal income tax, provided that Class A common stock is “regularly traded on an established securities market” (within the meaning of Section 897(c)(3) of the Code).

Gain that is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States (or so treated) generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax, net of certain deductions, at regular U.S. federal income tax rates. If the non-U.S. holder is a foreign corporation, the branch profits tax described above also may apply to such effectively connected gain. An individual non-U.S. holder who is subject to U.S. federal income tax because the non-U.S. holder was present in the United States for 183 days or more during the year of sale or other disposition of shares of our Class A common stock will be subject to a flat 30% tax on the gain derived from such sale or other disposition, which may be offset by United States source capital losses.

Information Reporting, Backup Withholding, and Other Reporting Requirements

We must report annually to the Internal Revenue Service and to each non-U.S. holder of shares of our Class A common stock the amount of dividends paid to, and the tax withheld with respect to, each non-U.S. holder. These reporting requirements apply regardless of whether withholding was reduced or eliminated by an applicable tax treaty. Copies of this information reporting may also be made available under the provisions of a specific tax treaty or agreement with the tax authorities in the country in which the non-U.S. holder resides or is established.

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A non-U.S. holder will generally be subject to backup withholding with respect to dividends paid on its shares of our Class A common stock to such holder unless such holder certifies under penalties of perjury that, among other things, it is a non-U.S. holder (and the payor does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such holder is a U.S. person as defined under the Code).

Information reporting and backup withholding generally are not required with respect to the amount of any proceeds from the sale or other disposition of shares of our Class A common stock by a non-U.S. holder outside the United States through a foreign office of a foreign broker that does not have certain specified connections to the United States. However, if a non-U.S. holder sells or otherwise disposes of its shares through a U.S. broker or the U.S. offices of a foreign broker, the broker will generally be required to report the amount of proceeds paid to the non-U.S. holder to the Internal Revenue Service and also backup withhold on that amount unless such non-U.S. holder provides appropriate certification to the broker of its status as a non-U.S. person or otherwise establishes an exemption (and the payor does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such holder is a U.S. person as defined under the Code). Information reporting will also apply if a non-U.S. holder sells or otherwise dispose of its shares of Class A common stock through a foreign broker deriving more than a specified percentage of its income from U.S. sources or having certain other connections to the United States, unless such broker has documentary evidence in its records that such non-U.S. holder is a non-U.S. person and certain other conditions are met, or such non-U.S. holder otherwise establishes an exemption (and the payor does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such holder is a U.S. person as defined under the Code).

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules from a payment to a non-U.S. holder can be credited against the non-U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, if any, or refunded, provided that the required information is furnished to the Internal Revenue Service in a timely manner. Non-U.S. holders are encouraged to consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the information reporting and backup withholding rules to them.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or “FATCA,” and guidance issued and intergovernmental agreements entered into thereunder, may impose withholding taxes on certain types of payments made to “foreign financial institutions” (as specially defined under FATCA) and certain other non-U.S. entities if certification, information reporting and other specified requirements are not met. FATCA generally imposes a 30% withholding tax on “withholdable payments” if they are paid to a foreign financial institution or to a foreign non-financial entity, unless (i) the foreign financial institution undertakes certain diligence and reporting obligations and other specified requirements are satisfied or (ii) the foreign non-financial entity either certifies it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or furnishes identifying information regarding each substantial U.S. owner and other specified requirements are satisfied. “Withholdable payments” generally means (i) any payment of interest, dividends, rents and certain other types of generally passive income if such payment is from sources within the United States and (ii) any gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of any property of a type that can produce interest or dividends from sources within the United States (including, for example, stock and debt of U.S. corporations). Non-U.S. holders may be required to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Treasury relating to certain reporting, withholding and other obligations under FATCA, or may be required to comply with reporting and other compliance obligations under an intergovernmental agreement between their country of organization and the U.S. Treasury. If a non-U.S. holder does not provide us with the information necessary to comply with FATCA, it is possible that distributions to such non-U.S. holder that are attributable to withholdable payments, such as dividends, will be subject to the 30% withholding tax. Recently proposed Treasury Regulations, which taxpayers generally may rely on until final Treasury Regulations are issued, currently eliminate FATCA withholding that otherwise could apply to payments of gross proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our Class A common stock. Prospective investors should consult their own tax advisors regarding the potential application of the FATCA rules.

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We have entered into the 2022 sales agreement with CF&Co, under the terms and conditions of which we may issue and sell from time to time up to $300,000,000 of shares of our Class A common stock through CF&Co as our sales agent. This prospectus relates to the offer and sale of such shares of Class A common stock under such sales agreement under the Registration Statement of which this prospectus forms a part. We have filed the 2022 sales agreement with the SEC as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, of which this prospectus forms a part.

Upon instructions from us, CF&Co, as our sales agent, will use commercially reasonable efforts, consistent with its normal trading practices, to sell shares of our Class A common stock under the 2022 sales agreement pursuant to this prospectus. Sales of shares of Class A common stock, if any, pursuant to this prospectus may be made by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act, including, sales made directly on or through the Nasdaq Global Select Market, any other existing trading market for the Class A common stock, and/or any other method permitted by Rule 415(a)(4) at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at prices related to such prevailing market prices. As our sales agent, CF&Co will not engage in any transactions that stabilize the Class A common stock.

CF&Co will offer and sell the shares of our Class A common stock under the 2022 sales agreement on any trading day as determined by us and CF&Co. We may designate the maximum amount and minimum price of the shares of Class A common stock to be sold through CF&Co on a daily basis or otherwise determine such amounts together with CF&Co. Pursuant to the terms and conditions of such sales agreement, CF&Co will use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell on our behalf all of the designated shares of Class A common stock. We may instruct CF&Co not to sell shares if the sales cannot be effected at or above the minimum price designated by us in any such instruction, or we may instruct CF&Co to sell shares so as to seek to realize a designated minimum price per share for all shares sold over a designated period or so as to seek to raise a designated minimum dollar amount of gross proceeds from sales of all such shares over a designated period.

We will pay CF&Co commissions for its services in acting as our sales agent in the offer and sale of our Class A common stock under the 2022 sales agreement. Under such sales agreement, CF&Co will be entitled to commissions equal to 2.0% of the gross proceeds of any shares of Class A common stock sold pursuant to such sales agreement. We estimate that the total expenses for the offering, excluding commissions payable to CF&Co under the terms of such sales agreement, will be approximately $120,000.

Settlement for sales of shares of our Class A common stock under the 2022 sales agreement will occur on the second trading day following the date on which any sales are made, or such earlier day as required by SEC rule or industry practice for regular-way trading, in return for payment of the net proceeds to us. There are no arrangements to place any of the proceeds of this offering in an escrow, trust or similar account.

In connection with the offer and sale of shares of our Class A common stock on our behalf under the 2022 sales agreement, CF&Co will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and the commissions payable by us to CF&Co will be deemed to be underwriting compensation. Under such sales agreement, we have agreed to provide indemnification and contribution to CF&Co against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

The offer and sale of shares of our Class A common stock under the 2022 sales agreement will terminate upon the (1) expiration of the Registration Statement of which this prospectus forms a part, subject to any extension of the effectiveness of such Registration Statement pursuant to Rules 415(a)(5) and (6) under the Securities Act, or (2) other termination of such sales agreement pursuant to its terms. The sales agreement may be terminated by us or CF&Co pursuant to its terms by giving notice to the other party.

This prospectus in electronic format may be made available on a website maintained by CF&Co, and CF&Co may distribute this prospectus electronically.

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Conflicts of Interest

CF&Co, our broker-dealer affiliate, is a member of FINRA. Accordingly, offerings of the shares of Class A common stock included in this prospectus in which CF&Co participates will conform to the requirements set forth in Rule 5121 of the Conduct Rules of FINRA. CF&Co and its affiliates, including Cantor, have provided investment banking services to us and our affiliates in the past and/or may do so in the future. They receive customary fees and commissions for these services. In addition, they may also receive brokerage services and market data and analytics products from us and our affiliates. For further information about our relationship with Cantor and its affiliates, including CF&Co, see our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, and any updates thereto contained in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC, all of which are incorporated by reference herein.

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LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the shares of our Class A common stock offered pursuant to this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Stephen M. Merkel, our Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Mr. Merkel’s address is c/o BGC Partners, Inc., 499 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022. As of June 30, 2022, Mr. Merkel owned (i) 90,366 shares of our Class A common stock held directly, (ii) 40,279 shares of our Class A common stock held in Mr. Merkel’s 401(k) account, and (iii) 6,258 shares of Class A common stock held in trusts for the benefit of Mr. Merkel’s immediate family, of which Mr. Merkel’s spouse is the sole trustee. Mr. Merkel has in the past and may in the future sell shares of Class A common stock and limited partnership units to us.

Certain legal matters concerning this offering will be passed upon for us by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, New York, New York, which has represented CF&Co and Cantor in other matters and may be expected to continue to do so in the future. CF&Co is being represented in connection with this offering by Cooley LLP, New York, New York. Cooley LLP has represented CF&Co and Cantor in other matters and may be expected to continue to do so in the future.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of BGC Partners, Inc. appearing in BGC Partners, Inc.’s Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2021 (including the schedule appearing therein), and the effectiveness of BGC Partners, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. These filings are also available to the public from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Our website address is www.bgcpartners.com. Through our website, we make available, free of charge, the following documents as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC: our Annual Reports on Form 10-K; our proxy statements for our annual and special stockholder meetings; our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q; our Current Reports on Form 8-K; Forms 3, 4 and 5 and Schedules 13D with respect to our securities filed on behalf of Cantor and CF Group Management, Inc., the general partner of Cantor, our directors and our executive officers; and amendments to those documents. Our website also contains additional information with respect to our industry and businesses. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website is not part of, and is not incorporated in, this prospectus.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” into this prospectus the documents that we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus. We incorporate by reference into this prospectus the following documents:

• our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 filed on February 28, 2022;

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• our Amendment No. 1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A filed on May 2, 2022;

• our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 8, 2022;

• our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 9, 2022;

• our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 12, 2022;

• our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 3, 2022 (other than as indicated therein);

• our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 7, 2022;

• our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 3, 2022 (other than as indicated therein);

• our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 14, 2022;

• our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 16, 2022 (other than as indicated therein);

• the description of our Class  A common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A for our Class A common stock filed on November 18, 1999, as amended by Amendment No.  1 to our Registration Statement on Form 8-A/A filed on March  7, 2001, as updated by Exhibit 4.1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed on February 28, 2022, including any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description; and

• all documents filed by us with the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (Commission File Number 0-28191) after the date of this prospectus and before the completion of the offering of the shares of our Class A common stock included in this prospectus.

Any statement contained in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein or therein, shall be deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent that a statement contained herein, or in any subsequent prospectus supplement or in any subsequently filed document that also is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein or therein, modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement.

You may obtain copies of these documents, at no cost to you, from our website (www.bgcpartners.com), or by writing or telephoning us at the following address:

Investor Relations

BGC Partners, Inc.

499 Park Avenue

New York, New York 10022

(212) 610-2426

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BGC PARTNERS, INC.

Up to $300,000,000 of Shares

of

Class A Common Stock

PROSPECTUS

August 12, 2022