Archives: Brokers

Is GSI Markets Scam or Legit Broker?

No, GSI Markets is not safe to trade with. The company is not regulated by any of the authorities which means that traders should be cautious when investing with the firm. 

What is GSI Markets?

GSI Markets is a Forex and CFDs broker (Read Forex and CFDs trading Broker HYCM Review). Gsimarkets.com is operated and owned by Media Force Limited (registered in the Marshall Islands). IT and Financial administration services by Netmedia Markets OU, based in Tallinn, Estonia.

• There is no information about the broker's regulation and it seems like neither of these companies is licensed or regulated by any authority, which is a big red flag for the traders. The website states that the firm has several contact phone lines in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia or Canada, however, there is a small chance the GSI Markets has offices in those countries. Moreover, the broker has a few warnings from well-known regulators:
• A warning from Spain's CNMV in July 2017: "MEDIA SOFT LIMITED/NETMEDIA MARKETS OU/www.gsimarkets.com is not authorised to provide the investment services, which include investment advice, or to provide the auxiliary services in relation to the financial instruments detailed in article 2 of the said Law, including, for those purposes, foreign currency transactions."
• One more warning from the UK's FCA in June 2017:
  "This firm is not authorised by us and is targeting people in the UK. Based upon information we hold, we believe it is carrying on regulated activities which require authorisation."

GSI Markets Review Conclusion

We recommend avoiding doubtful offerings, such as GSI Markets, instead choosing among the brokers regulated by top-tier authorities. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers (Top 10 Forex Brokers in the World) such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and TMGM.

GSI Markets Update

Our research revealed that the GSI Markets website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is City Global Trading Scam or Legit Broker?

City Global Trading is not a secure Forex broker since it does not hold a license from any worldwide serious Forex authority. Meaning the broker is suspected of being a fraud company since it was not checked for its compliance before establishment, was never monitored in terms of its safety, and simply may operate the business in any way it wishes. 

What is City Global Trading?

City Global Trading is a trading service provider that offers expert advice to help in a smart managed FX investment choice and assist by a most reliable environment through transparent pricing. The broker claims its registration of an address in the UK, as well as the regulation by FCA since the financial service provider operating in the UK should hold a necessary license.

• However, the facts revealed totally opposite situation while the City Global Trading nor regulated or authorized by FCA or any other entity to deliver its service. In addition to that, the FCA has even issued an official warning against the City Global Trading broker, as the company misleads about its legal information and targets UK residents without legal permission to do so.

“Almost all firms and individuals offering, promoting, or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorized by us. The firm City Global Trading is not authorized by us and is targeting people in the UK. We strongly advise you to only deal with financial firms that are registered, and check the Financial Services Register to ensure they are.”

FCA, UK. December 2018.  

• Therefore, it comes to the point that City Global Trading is most probably located in some offshore zone or even registered by none while presenting itself as a legit firm.

City Global Trading Review Conclusion

Traders should be extremely careful while choosing the broker to trade with, as scams invent more and more possibilities to target their victims. The reliable offering always would come from a reputable and regulated firm, with a necessary implementation of protective tools.

Thus, as general advice and particular case, we would advise better to choose among truly FCA-regulated brokers, while the list of FCA Regulated forex brokers can assist in choice, or brokers such as FXPrimus (Check FXPrimus broker review here) and XM(Read about XM trading). 

City Global Trading Update

Based on our research, the City Global Trading website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is Option94 Scam or Legit Broker?

Option94 is not a secure Forex broker since it does not hold a license from any worldwide serious Forex authority. Meaning the broker is suspected of being a fraud company since it was not checked for its compliance before establishment, was never monitored in terms of its safety, and simply may operate the business in any way it wishes.

What is Option94?

Option94 is a Forex and cryptocurrency broker. The company is owned and operated by Lunoforex PTY Limited and claims to have offices in the UK, Australia, and the United States. According to the information on the website, Lunoforex PTY Limited is an Australian company and is licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). They even provide a scanned copy of the license that clients can download and check. However, we have checked the register of the Australian regulator and there is no record about the broker or owner-company.

• One more confusing thing is the information about ICC Intercertus Capital Limited. The broker states that all the clients' funds are kept by this company. ICC Intercertus Capital Limited is a CySEC-regulated entity, however we didn't find any connection between these two companies.

Option94 Review Conclusion

To sum up, Option94 is an unregulated offshore broker that cannot be trusted. As one of the most important things when choosing a broker is whether it is licensed or overseen by any of the financial authorities.

Generally, we recommend trading with financial services providers licensed by one of the most respected financial regulators – the Financial Conduct Authority or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Check the list of ASIC-regulated brokers. In order to succeed in trading, it is always recommended to choose a reputable firm, such as FXTM or XM.

Option94 Update

Based on our research, the Option94 website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is FxMarket247 Scam or Legit Broker?

FxMarket247 is not safe to trade. It is suspected the broker is a scam, as it does not hold any serious license. In fact, the broker does not mention anything about its regulation on the website. There is no indication of the FxMarket247 address 

The FxMarket247 is an online trading provider that claims its user-friendly trading interface with trust management and outstanding support. On the broker’s official website the company mentions their license and registration to perform business operations using various platforms, but let's check on these states.

• The certificate of incorporation of a private limited company in England and Wales shows a sample, while there is no name of the incorporated firm mentioned, its number, or even address. It looks like the company just used a legal empty document to present their alleged legal status, yet it is not clear or any other description or mention of the broker’s address or name.
• Suspicious questions always revealing while checking on the legal documentation of the company, and actually, the serious firm will always proudly present their legal status as this is the main step of client protection. However, numerous scams or frauds simply do not care about clients and do business only for their own good and purpose. Therefore, the only conclusion about hidden information and misleading of FxMarket247 shows that the firm is most probably located in an offshore zone and is not secured enough.

FxMarket247 Review Conclusion

As our advice to our readers, we would recommend checking carefully the broker’s regulations. Most of the international authorities share a firm’s licenses and status through their official sources, thus any investor can always check if the broker is trustable or not. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers (Top 10 Forex Brokers in the World) such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and TMGM.

FxMarket247 Update

Our research revealed that the FxMarket247 website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is Pro X Finance Scam or Legit Broker?

No, Pro X Finance is not safe to trade with,  as the broker is registered offshore. Investing with offshore brokers is quite risky as the broker might turn out to be a scam.

• Pro X Finance provides contact numbers with British and German phone codes, which means the company should have offices there. It is also targeting the residents of the mentioned countries. However, Pro X Finance is not authorized to provide financial services in the UK or Germany, and most probably all the other countries.

What's Pro X Finance?

Pro X Finance is an offshore Forex and CFDs broker. The website www.proxfinance.com and Pro X Finance trademark are owned and operated by the company Finovative Technologies Limited reg. number 85452, Trust Company Complex, Ajeltake Road, Ajeltake Island, Majuro, Marshall Islands MH96960.

• Moreover, the UK's regulator Financial Conduct Authority has recently issued a warning against Pro X Finance:
  "This entity is not authorized by us and is targeting people around the world but primarily in Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. Based upon information we hold, we believe it is carrying on regulated activities and making financial promotions without authorization or exemption."

Pro X Finance Review Conclusion

The first thing the potential investor should do when he is choosing a broker is to determine if it is a legitimate or a scam broker. It is very easy to do. You just need to check if the broker is licensed by CySec in Cyprus, or it is under the regulation of the MIFId in the European Union (EU), or it is registered with the UK’s FCA or Australian ASIC. We recommend signing in with reliable brokers such as BlackBull Markets, FXGT, and FBS.

Pro X Finance Update

Based on our research, the Pro X Finance website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is OptionStars Global Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with OptionStars Global. The company is not registered, thus it does not hold any reliable license. Although the broker pretends to be located in London, in reality, it is registered in Samoa - an offshore zone. 

What is OptionStars Global?

OptionStars Global is a trading name used by the company, which claims its address in London, UK. However, during the research, we revealed that the owning company of OptionStars Global is a New Markets S.A. that is registered in Samoa. Therefore it means that the company is not in fact located in an offshore zone that does not provide strict regulation of financial firms, but also the broker manipulates and misleads by disinformation.

• Apart from the issue with trading options itself, as many reputable jurisdictions and authorities forbid this kind of trading due to its highest level of risk. The OptionStars Global broker does not confirm its status to be a trusted firm not only by its non-regulated nature but by receiving numerous complaints and negative reviews from the traders. In addition, the company received warning from the Austrian authority, while other EU regulators followed.

  “The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) may disclose to the general public by publication on the Internet, in the official gazette “Amtsblatt zur Wiener Zeitung”, or in any other newspaper with nationwide circulation, that a particular company OptionStarsGlobal is not entitled to carry out certain banking transactions or investment services. The company is not entitled to provide investment services or banking services in Austria that require a license. The provider is therefore neither permitted to trade on a commercial basis on its own account or on behalf of others.”

  FMA, Austria. April 2018.

OptionStars Global Review Conclusion

We recommend choosing among the brokers regulated by the mentioned authorities. Well-respected financial authorities are effectively enforcing strict financial and ethical rules on all overseen brokers.  Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers (Top 10 Forex Brokers in the World) such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and TMGM.

OptionStars Global Update

Our research revealed that the OptionStars Global website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is Pinprotrade Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with Pinprotrade. Pinprotrade is an offshore broker registered in the Marshall Islands. The fact is that the Marshall Islands is an offshore zone, which does register the financial investment firm, but provides very poor if no requirements for the company operation. 

• This means, that traders are likely to put their investments at risk with Pinprotrade, as there is no sufficient legal protection from the side of the authority. Thus, we recommend starting forex trading only with well-regulated brokers with proven experience. 

What is Pinprotrade?

Pinprotrade is an unregulated broker that offers to trade with Forex, Stocks, Bonds, Indices, and Commodities. The website services are provided by Pinnacle Strategies LTD., based in the Marshall Islands. Payment services are provided by Pinnacle Strategies Group LLP, based and registered in Edinburgh, Scotland.

• The first thing that is not quite fine with the broker is that the main company is based offshore. There are definitely some pros of opening an account with an offshore entity (no leverage restrictions, better spreads (Find lowest spread forex brokers and also find the list of zero spread brokers here), and no taxes).
• The offshore zones are popular among forex brokers as it is easy and cost-effective to get a license there. However, sometimes brokers registered offshore but don't hold any license, even from an offshore regulator. It means that the client's funds are not protected by any laws and there's a huge risk of losing them. Also, many such brokers are pure scams.
• Another problem with Pinprotrade is that the contact numbers provided on the website are with the phone codes of the UK, New Zealand, and Australia. The broker also claims to have offices in Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong and investment conduits in Australia and Zurich Switzerland. However, the firm is not regulated to provide financial services in any of the mentioned countries.

Pinprotrade Review Conclusion

Concluding all the above, we wouldn't recommend investing with Pinprotrade. Investing with a properly regulated broker is crucial for the safety of any investment. Here are some reliable regulators: UK’s FCA, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Always make your own research before signing with a broker, and pick a tightly regulated broker such as FXTM and XM. 

Pinprotrade Update

Based on our research, the Pinprotrade website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is NewSolid Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with NewSolid as the broker might be a scam. The strange thing about the broker is that once it provided information that the company is owned and operated by Solid Global Investment Limited and based in New Zealand.

Now, the contact information on the broker's website is different. On its website, it says that the broker is registered in Samoa (registration number: 84459, registered office address: Vistra Corporate Services Centre, Ground Floor NPF Building, Beach Road, Apia, Samoa, Tel: +852 6773 8846, Flat B, 1/F, House of Corona 50 Hung to Road Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Tel: +852 3908 7900).

• This change of contact information is confusing and certainly gives solid ground for doubts. 

What is NewSolid?

NewSolid is a broker that claims to provide trading with crude oil, indices, currency pairs, precious metals, cryptocurrencies, and other assets. Formerly, the broker claimed that the company was owned and operated by Solid Global Investment Limited and is based in New Zealand. However, it didn't seem to be regulated by New Zealand's regulator FMA. Moreover, the broker had been blacklisted by the FMA in New Zealand. According to the official notice published on the regulator's website, the company could be involved in a scam as it is offering its services in New Zealand without holding the proper licenses or authority:

"Solid Global Investment Limited could be involved in a scam. We note a recent alert published by the Securities and Futures Exchange of Hong Kong in relation to Solid Global Investment Limited. The website www.newsolid.com is not associated with nor authorized by the NZ company Digital Asset Coin Exchange NZ Limited (formerly Solid Global Investment Limited)."

• As we can see from the warning, it also seems that Solid Global Investment Limited is a clone firm of the Digital Asset Coin Exchange NZ Limited, an FMA-regulated company. We have checked the mentioned warning from the Securities and Futures Exchange of Hong Kong and it states that Solid Global Investment Limited has been using a name of an SFC-regulated entity:

  "Unlicensed entities often use names similar to legitimate companies to confuse investors."

• However, the most confusing part that gives good ground for doubts, is that the location and registration information on the broker's website has been changed recently. It is mentioned that NewSolid is registered in Samoa, with the registration number: 84459.

Overall NewSolid Group Ranking 

We found multiple regulation and safety issues with NewSolid, thus we do not rank positively NewSolid, based on our Expert Opinion with over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading.

• NewSolid Overall Ranking is 2 out of 10 based on our testing and compared to 500 other brokers, see Our Ranking below compared to other popular and industry Leading Brokers.

NewSolid Review Conclusion

It is best to avoid dealing with NewSolid, as well as any other firms flagged by the regulators. We advise investing with brokers regulated by well-respected financial institutions such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), or the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as IG Markets and BlackBull Markets.

• Overall ranking and experience for NewSolid Group is Negative

Is Cointeck Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with Cointeck. The broker is located in Estonia and it should have a license from the local authority to be able to offer financial services in the country.

• However, despite the fact that Cointeck positions itself as a regulated broker, it does not registered by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA).

What is Cointeck?

Cointeck is a broker that offers CFDs and cryptocurrency Forex trading. Cointeck.io is operated by CCLR Limited. According to the terms and conditions that can be found on the website, "CCLR Limited is registered in Estonia under the Companies Law, with a license to provide financial and crypto services. The license number is 14447182. Its registered office is at 4 Parda St., downtown district, Harju county, Tallinn, 10151", however, we have checked the register of the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA) and there is no record of Cointeck's license. It can be considered the main problem with this brokerage.

• In addition, Cointeck claims to be based in Leicester, UK, but again, it doesn't hold a license from UK's Financial Conduct Authority that would let it provide financial services in the UK.

What is Cointeck?

We highly recommend trading only with entities regulated by well-respected institutions such as the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK or the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). As the safety of funds should be a priority for all investors as well as brokerages.

Well-regulated brokers are required to follow strict rules which include protection of the money in segregated accounts and providing compensation schemes. For example, the FCA ensures up to 50,000 GBP and CySEC's compensation scheme covers up to 20,000 EUR. Check the list of FCA-regulated brokers. In order to succeed in trading, it is always recommended to choose a reputable firm, such as FXTM or XM. 

Cointeck Update

Based on our research, the Cointeck website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals.