Archives: Brokers

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. 

Is TouchTrades Scam or Legit Broker?

It is not safe to trade with TouchTrades. The broker is suspected to be a scam. It does not hold any license from a top-tier authority. Although the broker mentions its London address on its website, it is not regulated by the UK financial authority - FCA. All financial companies located in the UK should hold the FCA license to be able to provide their services. 

What is TouchTrades?

TouchTrades is an innovative financial services company offering a full suite of easy-to-use online brokerage, investing, and related banking solutions, delivered at a competitive price, as the broker mentioned on the website. The company states its location in London, however, does not hold an FCA license, which in fact is mandatory for the financial investment firm in the UK. The potential investor, after the registration on the website and the opening of an account, has the opportunity to trade in stocks, commodities, and indexes and on the currency market (FOREX) through the MT4 platform.

• Generally, we never advise trusting an unregulated company, as simply the broker that is reliable and truly perform trusted operation will take care of the client's protection and will get a necessary license to operate. As this is not the case with TouchTrades the trader will never know if he will see his funds ever again or not. In addition, the authorities received complaints from the traders about TouchTrades offerings, therefore, the firm received an official alert and was blacklisted.

“The TouchTrades Limited company, with an alleged registered office in London, according to the information available, people operating in the name of "TouchTrades" have contacted investors in certain jurisdictions by telephone in order to persuade them to open an account and trade on this website. The operation in question can be classed as the professional provision of investment services involving financial instruments that requires authorization, therefore TouchTrades have to cease the infringement”

CONSOB, Italy. April 2018.

TouchTrades Review Conclusion

There are many Forex Brokers offering very competitive trading conditions while enabling trading through a legal operation of the service, and of course, we advise choosing among them. This includes FCA Regulated Brokers, ASIC Brokers, or similar. Traders should invest with trustworthy brokers, such as FBS and BlackBull Markets.

TouchTrades Update

Based on our findings, the TouchTrades 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 FXLinked Scam or Legit Broker?

FXLinked is a 100% fraud company. The broker is registered offshore and does not hold any proper license from a well-known reliable financial regulator. We never advise trading with an offshore broker, since the financial investment service they deliver is not trustable.

• 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. 

What is FXLinked?

FXLinked is an offshore broker that offers to trade in Forex, Metals, CFDs, Stocks, Indices, and Energies. FXLinked is a trading name of FXLinked LTD, regulated as a Securities Dealer by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles with license number (SD011) as a financial and monetary intermediary.

• The broker claims to be based in London, UK and the only language the website supports is English, so probably the company has been targeting UK residents. However, FXLinked is not authorized by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority and so is not allowed to offer its financial services.

• There are a lot of offshore-registered brokers out there claiming that offshore registration is a legit thing that allows them to do business in the financial market (Find scam forex brokers by link). However, most of them are simply registered, and not licensed, nor monitored by any governmental agency, which makes those firms the most dangerous places for investing.

• We keep reminding traders to exercise caution when dealing with firms that are not registered to trade nor regulated by reliable authorities. 

FXLinked Review Conclusion

In Forex trading the most important part is the security of investments. Thus, avoiding doubtful offerings such as FXLinked is essential. We advise traders to choose among the legit brokers with licenses from respected financial authorities, such as well-regulated brokers including UK brokers or brokers in Australia, and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and eToro.

FXLinked Update

Based on our research, the FXLinked 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 BTCHOME Scam or Legit Broker?

BTCHOME is a 100% fraud company. The broker is registered offshore and does not hold any proper license from a well-known reliable financial regulator. It is NOT SAFE to trade BTCHOME. We never advise trading with an offshore broker, since the financial investment service they deliver is not trustable. 

What is BTCHOME?

BTCHOME, BTCHM or BTCHOME Minning/ BTCHOME Miners is a financial services company authorized and regulated by the IFSC, Belize that offers STP Forex services (Also see STP Account Forex) and trading facilities to retail, institutional and professional clients globally. The broker claims its powerful level cryptocurrency mining strategies, as well as acceptance of forex scalping systems that allows providing unrestricted trading and mining environment to the traders.

• Belize as a gorgeous tourist destination, while also is a tax haven with a zero tax structure that established its own regulation for financial investment and Forex firms licensing due to high demand and necessity of regulation. Ever since Belize became a known offshore zone and Forex hub, the destination attracted thousands of brokerages seeking an opportunity to be a legitimate firm, yet to skip complicated and costly established procedures. We have a detailed article explaining the risk of trading with brokers from Belize.
• In addition, the BTCHOME broker mentions that “All deposits are 100% guaranteed without limit by the Australian and the United States Securities and Investments Commission with its own Capital and Real partners Across the Globe”. However, first of all, it is not clear what is this organization or commission about, as the fact is that only the particular authorities oversee the brokerages and watch on the implemented security measures.
• The top-tier authorities are ASIC in Australia and CFTC in the US respectively, yet what is the meaning of broker’s “100% guarantee deposit” remains questionable. Actually, the fact that the BTCHOME broker is an offshore entity, with no implemented protection extends and no sharp requirement, for example, to segregate clients funds from the company ones, as well to apply safety scales should put an alert to any potential trader.
• As we always say, the offshore firms should be avoided at any cost (Check the fake forex brokers list here), as it is at the highest risk to fall under scam or to be misled by unprofessional or even fraud offering. Therefore, BTCHOME “attractive” offering may be just a sweet promise of something you never get. Moreover, as the BTCHM does not hold a trusted license from the reputable authority and not permitted to operate in European or their markets, the BTCHM received its warning from an EU regulator.

BTCHOME Review Conclusion

We advise all investors and traders to avoid BTCHOME and other brokers from Belize. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australiaand reliable brokers such as FP Markets and Tickmill.

Is Citifxmarkets Scam or Legit Broker?

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

What is Citifxmarkets?

Citifxmarkets is a Forex and CFDs broker that also specializes in financial spread bets (See Spread Betting Brokers UK), sports fixed odds bets, and casino bets, which is quite unusual for a forex broker. Among the assets offered by the broker are indices, shares, forex, commodities, interest rates, bonds, EFTs, options and Speed Markets.

• The company is owned and operated by Citifxmarkets Ltd. It claims to be based in Bedfordshire, UK and regulated by its local regulator Financial Conduct Authority. However, the reference number mentioned on the website belongs to another company that is not associated with Citifxmarkets. It seems like the company has been using the registration number of a legit and regulated entity to delude investors.
• To sum up, Citifxmarkets is just another unregulated broker, which also offers a weird combination of the common assets and spread and sports bets. The lack of regulation is the first and main reason why we wouldn't recommend dealing with this brokerage. Investing with a properly regulated broker is crucial for the safety of any investment.
• All the regulated brokers report to the financial authorities, supervising them (Check reliable forex brokers list here). They have to maintain a certain level the capital and also be able to protect clients' funds and keep them in segregated accounts. For example, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom provides the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which guarantees a compensation of up to GBP 50,000 in case the broker goes bankrupt.

Citifxmarkets Review Conclusion

We strongly recommend to stay away from unregulated brokers, such as Citifxmarkets. Not to risk their funds, traders should invest with only reliable brokers authories by top-tier reculatory bodies. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as AvaTrade and XM.com.

Citifxmarkets Update

Based on our research, the Citifxmarkets 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.