Archives: Brokers

Is Utrade Scam or Legit broker?

It is not safe to trade with Utrade, 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 Utrade?

Utrade is a forex and CFD broker owned and operated by the Callpoint ltd s.r.l., based in Romania, Bucharest. The broker claims to be regulated by most of the serious regulators such as US NFA, UK FCA, Australian ASIC (Check out the ASIC Regulated MEXC), Japanese FSA, German BaFin, and SFC in Hong Kong. We strongly advise opening a trading account only with brokers that are regulated, for example, Oanda forex broker.

• However,  the firm is not registered with any of these agencies and even got blacklisted by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. We don’t recommend dealing with a company that carries no license and is not regulated.
• For obtaining an STP FCA license, the required capital for the broker to have is EUR 125,000. Also in order to get this type of license, the broker needs to have a physical office in the UK. All clients of FCA-regulated brokers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Utrade Review Conclusion

We strongly advise staying away from doubtful offerings, such as Utrade, and opening a trading account only with brokers that are regulated by respected world authorities and comply with the required set of rules and a good reputation through the delivered timeframe of operations. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as BDSwiss and TMGM.

Utrade Update

We found the Utrade website inactive and unavailable to reach. This means the broker no longer operates. However, it is best to avoid and stay alert in case any proposals show up.

Is Bulls Capital Markets Scam or Legit Broker?

According to our research, Bulls Capital Markets is a total scam. The broker is not regulated and has no legal right to provide financial services to the public. Moreover, Bulls Capital Markets has been suspected of fraud, when pretending to be another company with a better reputation.

What is Bulls Capital Markets?

Bulls Capital Markets claims to be an NDD (No Dealing Desk) brokerage firm that offers its trading services on a wide range of trading instruments with competitive conditions.

Yet, behind the brand stands an incorporated UK company Bulls Capital Markets Ltd which, however, is not regulated by the local authority FCA that in fact is a mandatory rule to all financial service firms within the UK.

• Despite that, the company started its history back in 2009 in the USA (See Forex Brokers for US Clients) while further had to move its operations to another jurisdiction due to the newly implemented regulatory rules.

• The company states on their website that the clients' funds are kept separately from the company ones, yet there is no any supervisory body which guarantees the statement.

• In addition, for instance, several regulatory authorities issued warnings against Bulls Capital Markets since the company was claiming their investors with the information, which is in fact not true.

• The worldwide traders also informed about their experience, which faced many issues especially while claiming withdrawals.

  “The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) warns the public of the activities of an entity named Bulls Capital Markets, which claims to be supervised by the CSSF in Luxembourg.”

  Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, Luxembourg 2014

Bulls Capital Markets Review Conclusion

We strongly advise opening a trading account only with brokers that are regulated by the respected world authorities that comply with the required set of rules and a good reputation through the delivered timeframe of operations. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as Eightcap and FBS.

• Overall ranking and experience for Bulls Capital Markets is Negative

Bulls Capital Markets Update

We found the Bulls Capital Markets website inactive and unavailable to reach. This means the broker no longer operates. However, it is best to avoid and stay alert in case any proposals show up.

Is Al Trade Scam or Legit Broker?

No, Al Trade broker is a Non-Regulated Broker. It is NOT SAFE to trade. We checked the company and found out that 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 Al Trade?

Al Trade is a forex and CFD broker based in London. The company is owned by AL Trade Inc., which is not regulated to provide financial services in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority.

• It is also not licensed by any other regulatory institutions. We recommend dealing only with reliable brokerages that are regulated and authorized to provide financial services.
• For example, UK's FCA requires 125000 EUR of capital for STP license. Also in order to get this type of license, the broker needs to have a physical office in the UK. All clients of FCA-regulated brokers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Al Trade Review Conclusion

We advise all investors and traders to avoid Al trade and other unregulated brokers. Usually, such companies run investment scams. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as BDSwiss and BlackBull Markets.

Al Trade Update

The Al Trade website is no longer active. Besides, there is no evidence of whether the broker operates or not. We recommend avoiding any offshore-based brokers due to their instability and lack of serious regulations.

Is Smartoptionfx Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with Smartoptionfx. Smartoptionfx is owned by B.O. TradeFinancials Ltd and claims to be located in Florida, United States. This broker is blacklisted by a well-known regulatory authority and should be avoided.

What is Smartoptionfx?

According to the website, Smartoptionfx is a safe and secured binary (See Regulated Binary Options Brokers) and forex trade site, with a well-regulated trading platform and real-time results. The company is operated by B.O. TradeFinancials Ltd, a company located in the Republic of Cyprus and licensed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission: License Number 216/13. They also state that "Our license is valid in all Member States of the European Union under the provisions of the European Parliament’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) which harmonizes financial legislation throughout the EU."

• However, a company located in the United States should be regulated by one of the local regulators and Smartoptionfx doesn't carry this kind of regulation. Another concern is the recent warning from the CySEC, stating that "the website smartoptionfx.com, does not belong to an entity which has been granted authorization for the provision of investment services and/or the performance of investment activities". They also add that the license number provided on the website is no longer valid, as it was withdrawn by the regulator on the 25th of June 2018. 
• Moreover, the terms and conditions on the website state the company is under the supervision of the British authorities, which is also a false claim. Smartoptionfx is not authorized to provide its financial services in the UK or any other country. 

Smartoptionfx Review Conclusion

We advise all investors and traders to avoid Smartoptionfx and other unregulated brokers. The lack of information about the broker’s regulations, trading conditions, and contact details should be the biggest red flag for those who plan to invest with the entity. Usually, such companies run investment scams. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as City Index and BlackBull Markets. Also, check RoboForex Broker Review.

Smartoptionfx Update

Recently Smartoptionfx website remains inactive and unavailable to reach, meaning the broker has muted 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 Caxton Global Scam or Legit Broker?

Caxton Global 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. This results in a very high-risk trading opportunity, despite its alluring proposal.

What is Caxton Global?

Caxton Global is a Forex broker owned by Caxton Global Limited. The website of the company states that Caxton Global Limited (NZ) is a company registered in New Zealand and authorized and regulated by Financial Service Providers. Although, the company is actually not registered in New Zealand and even got blacklisted by New Zealand's FMA.

• Terms and Conditions on the websites give completely different info, that CAXTON GLOBAL is a global, FCA-regulated broker headquartered in London, which is also not true, as there are no records of this firm being regulated by UK's FCA. This misleading information is a valid reason to stay away from this firm. We would recommend you deal with the brokers, authorized and regulated by reliable regulators, such as UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and check the Financial Service Register to ensure they are.

Caxton Global Review Conclusion

We strongly advise opening a trading account only with brokers that are regulated by respected world authorities that comply with the required set of rules and have a good reputation through the delivered timeframe of operations. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as BDSwiss and TMGM.

Caxton Global Update

We found the Caxton Global website inactive and unavailable to reach. This means the broker no longer operates. However, it is best to avoid and stay alert in case any proposals show up.

Is Instafx24 Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with Instafx24 Forex broker as it is an offshore company. Instafx24 is owned by INSTAFX24 LTD, registered offshore, in the Marshall Islands.

The Marshall Islands is notorious for its practically absent requirements and regulations. Due to the setup low cost, it does not regulate forex trading. Therefore, it became an offshore zone for shady forex brokers such as Globalix, YFX Capital, and more. 

What is Instafx24?

Instafx24 delivers options for trading in some of the most popular liquid assets, including currency pairs, stocks, most major financial indices, and commodities.

• The company does not fall under the regulation of any agency. They provide London address and phone number on the website, although the firm is definitely not registered in the UK with the FCA. Moreover, the broker has been banned in the UK by its local Financial Conduct Authority in September 2018:

" This firm is not authorized by us and is targeting people in the UK. Based upon information we hold, we believe it is carrying on regulated activities which require authorization."

• Also, InstaFx24 has been blacklisted by the Austrian FMA in July 2018:

"Instafx24 LTD is not entitled to carry out banking transactions in Austria that require a license. The provider is therefore not permitted to trade in financial futures contracts (futures) on its own account or on the account of others."

• Italy's regulator CONSOB has recently issued a warning against the aforementioned broker:

Instafx24 Review Conclusion

We advise all investors and traders to avoid InstaFX24 and other brokers from the Marshall Islands. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as BDSwiss and TMGM.

Instafx24 Update

We found the InstaFX24 website inactive and unavailable to reach. This means the broker no longer operates. However, it is best to avoid and stay alert in case any proposals show up.

Is 8inFX Scam or Legit Broker?

No, 8inFX is a non-regulated broker. It is NOT SAFE to trade. Our research showed that the company does not have authorization or registration of the address, therefore the company seems to be highly suspicious while might operate its services from an absolutely different location.

What is 8inFX?

8InFX offers about 50 forex currency pairs, equity indices, futures, CFDs, energy contracts, and metals as trading options.

• 8inFX is owned by 2dots Limited. It is an offshore forex broker registered in Vanuatu with Vanuatu Financial Services Commission. The advantages of this license are speed and low cost. 2% of Forex companies start without licenses and operate in places such as Vanuatu or the Caribbean island of Nevis, so at some point, it is risky to trade with offshore-based brokers.
• We highly recommend that traders avoid offshore brokers and invest with brokers supervised by proper regulators, such as UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). All clients of FCA-regulated brokers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to GBP 50,000 per person, in case the company goes bankrupt.

8inFX Review Conclusion

We advise opening a trading account only with brokers that are regulated by respected world authorities and comply with the required set of rules and a good reputation through the delivered timeframe of operations. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as HotForex, and BlackBull Markets.

8inFX Update

We found the 8inFX website inactive and unavailable to reach. This means the broker no longer operates. However, it is best to avoid and stay alert in case any proposals show up.