Archives: Brokers

Is LatAm Scam or Legit Broker?

It is not safe to trade with LatAm. The broker does not hold any serious license, although it tries to pretend it has tight regulations. The truth is, the broker is registered in Seychelles. Seychelles is an offshore zone that does not oversee the activities of the registered firms. Also, the broker mentions their registered number with FSA as 133076, but we couldn’t find even that number too. 

• We do not recommend signing with an offshore or unregulated broker. The reason is simple, the broker may promise the most ever competitive trading conditions or the trading environment, yet the trader has no guarantee from the official entities that oversee the Forex industry. Thus the engagement in trading with such a company means the trader will believe only in the broker’s words, and of course, it is a high risk.

What is LatAm?

LatAm is a trading name used by the incorporated in Seychelles company Latam Global Markets Inc. which provides access to the trading range of Forex and CFD instruments. LatAm FX claims a developed and secure business environment that was maintained with the aim to have lasting relationships with its clients. The broker states its clear alliance with world-class banks and safe online transactions through the best guarantees. 

• However, while checking all information we realize that the company is regulated by none of the serious international authorities. This means there is no confirmation of any applied procedures, therefore the broker is non-licensed.

LatAm Review Conclusion

In any case, we never advise trading with an offshore or non-licensed broker, since the financial investment service they deliver is not trustable. Rather than involving with the risk of losing capital, we would recommend choosing among well-regulated and reputable companies. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FBS and BlackBull Markets.

LatAm Update

We found the LatAM website inactive and unavailable to reach. This means the broker no longer operates. However, it is best to avoid and stay alert if any proposals come. 

Is Noble Capital House Scam or Legit Broker?

No, Noble Capital House is not safe to trade with. The company is not regulated by any of the authorities. 

• The company is located in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which is a known location for its liberal requirements towards financial firms and their maintenance. That means the reliability requirements are minimal and do not meet international standards that truly protect clients and what is more that none of the authorities check on every step of the company. Therefore, any offshore firm cannot be a safe option due to the lack of regulations.

What is Noble Capital House?

Noble Capital House offers convenient trading conditions on a range of trading instruments throughout various account types and education with support from the company. The broker also promises the safety of funds by using separate bank accounts and compliance with international standards of service.

• In addition, authorities of reputable forex and trading hubs supervise offerings among their jurisdictions and warn the companies that are not set in accordance with the protective rules. Thus, Noble Capital House appeared on blacklists of the UK’s FCA, while other partner regulators followed the necessary actions.

  “We believe this firm has been providing financial services or products in the UK without our authorization. We strongly recommend being especially wary of dealing with this unauthorized firm and to protect yourself from scammers. We advise to only deal with financial firms that are regulated and authorized to perform financial business.”

  FCA, UK. April 2018.

Noble Capital House Review Conclusion

In order to establish a successful trading carrier and process, it is a paramount and first priority to choose a broker to trust, that’s why we advise avoiding non-legitimate companies and to choose only among the recommended FCA Regulated brokers or similar regulated entities. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as FBS and BlackBull Markets.

Noble Capital House Update

We have found that the Noble Capital House 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 OPCompany Scam or Legit Broker?

It is not safe to trade with OPCompany. The broker states about its MFSA regulation, however, the broker seems to use fake information to conceal the fact of not being regulated. 

What is OPCompany?

OPCompany is a Forex broker that seems to be offering its financial services mostly to Italian customers as the first language supported on the website is Italian. The broker is owned and operated by OPC Services and claims to be regulated and located in Malta. There is even a license number and the text of the agreement with the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) provided on the website.

• We took a look at the MFSA's register and didn't find the license number or broker's name mentioned there. It seems like OPCompany is just another broker that uses fake regulation/license from a reliable authority to get people's trust and make them invest. We highly recommend avoiding such entities, who try to delude investors as usually all the invested money is gone for good with the fraud broker.
  In addition, the Italian Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) issued a warning against OPCompany on 29th of October:
  "The National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange, has also prohibited, pursuant to article 99, paragraph 1, letter d), of the Consolidated Law on Finance, the offer to the Italian public of standardized units of "managed accounts" through the www.opcompany.net website."

OPCompany Review Conclusion

We advise traders to avoid not licensed brokers and choose among the regulated ones. The most reliable regulators are the UK's FCA, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). These regulators require a certain amount of capital from the brokers to guarantee the compensation of funds and a certain level of safety of clients' money. Traders should sign in with reliable brokers such as FBS and BlackBull Markets.

OPCompany Update

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

Is VNC Brokers Scam or Legit Broker?

It is not safe to trade with VNC Brokers. The broker is a Cyprus-based investment firm, however, holds a license from the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission.

• This means the broker is an offshore regulated company, which is a not very reliable broker to invest with, even though the company mentions their strong regulation and monitoring of their transparent business.

What is VNC Brokers?

VNC Brokers is a Forex and CFD trading provider that offers over 350 trading instruments with diversified opportunities to various sizes of investors.

• VNC Brokers is a Cyprus-based investment firm, however, it is not regulated by the local CySEC regulatory body, which is a must for financial firms located in Cyprus. 
• In addition, there are many negative reviews from the traders invested with VNC Brokers, as they faced issues of manipulation during the trading sessions or with the operation itself. The Cyprus authority also included the broker in their list of non-authorized companies, which should be a serious warning to any potential investor or trader (Check the list of CySEC non-authorized domains here)
• In fact, the offshore license does not include overseeing the company's operation, as well as the establishment requirements are very low. So somehow, the company is regulated but there is no necessary level of protection and the broker can operate however it wishes.

VNC Brokers Review Conclusion

We do not advise trading with an offshore broker such as VNC Broker. Safety of funds always goes first in trading, therefore, it is better to choose among the authorized companies with a proper license like ASIC Brokers. The licensed companies provide safe trading conditions and are strongly supervised. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FBS and BlackBull Markets.

VNC Brokers Update

We found the VNC Brokers website inactive and unavailable to reach. This means the broker no longer operates. However, it is best to avoid and stay alert if any proposals come.

Is XECrypto Bank Scam or Legit Broker?

It is not safe to trade with XECrypto Bank. The broker is suspected of being a scam. On its website, it offers unclear information about its location and regulation, clearly trying to conceal the fact of being not regulated. 

What is XECrypto Bank?

On its website, the broker states that traders enjoy the safety and security of a regulated environment, through the implementation of consolidated and harmonized sets of compliance controls and a team with over 25 years of Fintech and Brokerage experience. That’s how the XECrypto Bank firm describes itself, yet let's check if the states are true.

First of all, there is no clear information about anything, or even if the company is legit in general, since the address is mentioned in Bulgaria, Sofia yet it says that the office is in London, while headquarters are in Monaco with a second branch in London. Seriously we couldn’t understand anything, these states are not just confusing but presenting absolute unprofessionalism.

• Obviously, the broker just uses different attractive terms while in fact might be just a standard scam, even without a normal address of the firm. And of course, the XECrypto Bank offering caught the attention of the authorities while the firm received warnings and was blacklisted.

“The Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) has ordered the following companies to cease infringement of art. 18 of the Italian Legislative Decree No. 58/1998, consisting of the provision of unauthorized investment services and activities to the Italian public”  

MFSA, Malta. November 2018.

“The CMVM is warning the public against the activities of XECrypto Bank followed by the alert received from the CONSOB (Italy) and other authorities, as the mentioned company proposing investment services without being authorized to do so”

CMVM, Portugal. November 2018.

XECrypto Bank Review Conclusion

We advise you to avoid signing with XECrypto Bank, or any other unregulated or offshore broker, and not to put your investments at risk. Instead, we advise choosing only among regulated brokers that hold licenses from world-known authorities. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FBS and BlackBull Markets. 

XECrypto Bank Update

We have found that the XECrypto Bank 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 Pearson Investments Scam or Legit Broker?

It is not safe to trade with Pearson Investments. The broker does not hold any license and is suspected to be a scam.

• According to the provided information, Pearson Investments is located in China. However,  the local law obligates financial investment firms in Hong Kong to be authorized by the financial regulator the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). Pearson Investments does not hold a license from the authority, thus being engaged in unauthorized activities. 

What is Pearson Investments?

Pearson Investments is a brokerage company with a claimed office in China and Hong Kong with a boutique-style reputation established in 1978 while offering a range of financial services. Moreover, beneath the broker's website, it is stated that Pearson Investments is a limited liability company incorporated under Hong Kong law and is fully independent.

• However, according to local law, every financial investment firm in Hong Kong should be authorized by the financial regulator the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), yet Pearson Investments is not. Actually, SFC updated Alert List features the name of Pearson Investment businesses as unlicensed in Hong Kong with an address there, but it is not located there.

“The Alert List includes Pearson Investments entity, which has come to the attention of the SFC because they are unlicensed in Hong Kong and are believed to be, or targeting Hong Kong investors or claim to have an association with Hong Kong.”

SFC, Hong Kong. April 2017.

• In addition, the Australian authority ASIC issued a warning as well, as the broker was detected offering their service to the residents.

“The business Pearson Investments has made unsolicited calls or sent emails about investing, financial advice, credit or loans and does not hold a current Australian Financial Services (AFS) license or an Australian Credit license from ASIC.”

ASIC, Australia. September 2017.

Pearson Investments Review Conclusion

Overall, we never advise trading with an unregulated brokerage regardless of its offerings. Traders should only invest with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FBS and BlackBull Markets.

Pearson Investments Update

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

Is ProFxPremium Scam or Legit Broker?

It is not safe to trade with ProFxPremium, because it is an unregulated broker. In addition, the company has been suspected to be a fraud. While we checked the company there is no authorization or registration of the address, therefore the company seems to be highly suspicious and might operate its services from an absolutely different location.

What is ProFxPremium?

ProFxPremium is an offshore Forex and CFDs broker. The company is owned and operated by Black Parrot Limited, based in Marshall Island. According to the terms and conditions, IT & Finance administration services are done by Blonde Bear OU, based in Tallinn, Estonia. However, none of the mentioned companies is regulated by financial authorities. Moreover, Black Parrot Ltd has been banned by numerous regulators throughout Europe (Norway, Poland, Netherlands, Denmark, and Italy). We have also reviewed some brokers (Trade111, TradeX1, TradeDAX, TradesPrime) that should be avoided and those are owned/operated by either Black Parrot Ltd or Estonian Blonde Bear OU.

• In fact, the Marshall Islands is an offshore zone attracting various firms that for one reason or another escape from serious regulation or compliance to international service providing. However, in the case of financial investment or trading firms, the company should be a very respected entity, as the statistics show that the majority of non-authorized firms never recovered the sums of investors’ investments. Therefore, we always advise avoiding offshore or companies with no license as there are too many frauds around.
• This time it is a warning from Spain's regulator CNMV:
  "BLACK PARROT LTD www.profxpremium.com is not authorized to provide the investment services detailed in Article 140 of the Securities Markets Law, which includes investment advice, or to provide the auxiliary services detailed in letters a), b), d), f) and g) of Article 141 of the said Law in relation to the financial instruments detailed in Article 2 of the said Law, including, for those purposes, foreign currency transactions."
• Obviously, ProFxPremium seems to be just one of those scam companies and there is enough information to prove that (See forex trading scams). We advise traders to choose from UK, Australian, or other well-regulated brokers, where their funds will be protected. For example, the license from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority requires EUR 125,000 of capital for the STP license (See STP Forex Brokers) aside from client deposits. 

ProFxPremium Review Conclusion

We strongly advise all investors and traders to avoid ProFxPremium and other brokers from the Marshall Islands. Even if the offering is good, offshore brokers do not provide the necessary protection for the client's funds. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and eToro.

ProFxPremium Update

Recently ProFxPremium website remains inactive and unavailable to reach, meaning the broker mutes its trading offering and does not propose account openings. However, we still advise the traders to be alert and careful, in case they receive trading proposals. 

Is AsicTrader Scam or Legit Broker?

AsicTrader has been suspected as a scam broker. According to the broker's website, it is located in Scotland. However, it does not have any license from the local regulator, which means that the broker is not regulated and authorized to offer its services. 

What is AsicTrader?

AsicTrader is a broker that offers Forex, CFD, and cryptocurrency trading. The company is owned and operated by Hellax Corp LP and claims to be based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

• In order to have a legal right for offering financial services in the UK, the brokers would need to have a license from UK's regulator Financial Conduct Authority. However, AsicTrader is not regulated by the FCA or any other regulator. Moreover, the FCA has issued a warning against this broker:
  "Asic Trader / Hellax Corp 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."

AsicTrader Review Conclusion

We recommend to avoid trading with unlicensed brokers and choose among the regulated ones. The most reliable regulators are the UK’s FCA, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) or the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). These regulators require a certain amount of capital from the brokers to guarantee the compensation of funds and a certain level of safety of clients’ money, such as BDSwiss and FBS.

AsicTrader Update

Based on our research, the AsicTader 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.