Category: Regulation

UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a warning against CT-Trade, a clone of the properly regulated Forex brokerage Citibank Europe plc.The regulator says the broker has been providing financial services and products targeting people in the UK without a license. According to the UK regulator, the clone firm is trying to convince its potential clients that they work for a genuine, authorized firm by giving out false details. In this case, CT-Trade uses the official address of the authorized firm, Citibank Europe plc. The broker  CT-Trade operates through the website ct-trade.com, where claims to be under the regulation of Citibank Europe plc and provides the address (71-75 Shelton Street, London, WC2H 9JQ, UNITED KINGDOM) and the firm reference number of the Citibank Europe plc. The broker cannot be regulated by the Citibank Europe plc simply because it is not a regulatory institution. Although the Citibank Europe plc is authorized and regulated by the FCA in UK. It is clear that the CT-Trade tries to get investors trust by providing the details of the regulated entity, so it is highly recommended to avoid this broker and stay away from dealing with it. All firms and individuals offering, promoting or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorized by FCA and warns that some firms act without authorization and knowingly run investment scams. In addition to that, the FCA warns that if you are investing with unauthorized brokers you are not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. You can read our review on this broker here.

Spain’s financial markets regulator, CNMV, has warned of Forex broker MCH Investment Strategies. According to the official notice on CNMV’s website, this entity is not registered in the corresponding registry of the commission and, therefore, are not authorized to provide investment services.

The National Securities Market Commission (often abbreviated as CNMV) is the Spanish government agency responsible for the financial regulation of the securities markets in Spain. It is an independent agency that falls under the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness.

The broker operates through the website www.mchinvestment.com and offers Forex, CFD and cryptocurrency trading. The broker claims to be based in London, the UK, however, it doesn't provide any information about its regulation. If the broker is actually located in the UK and targets British residents, it would need to be licensed by the UK's regulator Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), but there is no such entity found in the FCA register. Also, the terms and conditions state that the broker is authorized by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), and again we didn't find any records about the broker in the CySEC public register. It is a first red flag, as the brokers who provide false regulation information definitely cannot be trusted.

Moreover, it turned out the broker is not just using fake regulatory details, it is also using the name of a CNMV regulated entity: "Not to be confused with the entity MCH INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, AGENCIA DE VALORES, S.A. (MCH INVESTMENT STRATEGIES) and its web http://mchinvestmentstrategies.mch.es/es/, which is duly registered with the National Securities Market Commission with the number 237."

It is now clear that MCH Investment Strategies is way too suspicious to be dealt with. Trading with a licensed broker ensures you will not have issues withdrawing your investment. The most trustworthy brokers are those registered with such regulators as FCA in the United Kingdom and ASIC in Australia.

You can read our review on this broker here.

Austria’s financial markets and services regulator FMA has warned that the brokerage TradeInvest90 is not authorized to provide financial services that require a license in Austria.
The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) is an independent, autonomous and integrated authority for the Austrian financial market. The Austrian FMA is responsible for: contributing to the stability of Austria as a financial market; reinforcing confidence in the ability of the Austrian financial market to function; protecting investors, creditors and consumers.

According to the website, TradeInvest90 is an online trading provider that offers over 1,000 financial assets traded in CFDs and FX. Tradeinvest90 is owned and operated by Celestial Trading Ltd. licensed and regulated by the Montenegro security exchange commission. However, the company is not actually regulated by any of the authorities and is not entitled to operate in Europe or on any other regulated market. Also, turned out that Celestial Trading Ltd. is registered offshore, in Seychelles. Those brokers registered offshore are not considered as reliable ones, because they are basically are not overseen by any authority.
In addition, Celestial Trading Ltd. has been blacklisted many times by different regulators on behalf of some unreliable brokers we have previously reviewed: Tradovest, XMarkets, Option888.
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). These are well-respected institutions, also enforce strict regulatory standards upon all brokers in their jurisdictions. You can read our review on this broker here.

The Switzerland financial markets and service providers regulator FINMA has warned of unregulated forex broker Trade Capital.
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) is the Swiss government body responsible for financial regulation. This includes the supervision of banks, insurance companies, stock exchanges, and securities dealers, as well as other financial intermediaries in Switzerland. FINMA keeps a close eye on the unregulated brokers and usually warns in a timely manner of those who make false claims of Swiss regulation or location but are not Swiss-regulated.

Trade Capital operates through the website www.tradecapital.com and offers to trade with some forex pairs, cryptocurrencies, CFDs on commodities, and precious metals. The company is owned and managed by Trade Capital Investments LTD. The company is based in Geneve, Switzerland. According to the firm’s terms and conditions, Trade Capital is a legal entity of Lozareo Group LP, UK-registered company. Although, there are no records about Trade Capital in the registers of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. They do not provide any information about the regulation/license of the company and seems like Trade Capital is not licensed or overseen by any of the financial regulators.
The website supports English, German, Italian and Spanish languages, which coincides with the contact phone numbers provided on the websites (UK, German and Swiss). This fact only proves what countries the broker has been targeting without having any legal rights for that.
The negative comments about the Trade Capital on the net also reveal that those who invested are having hard times with withdrawing their money, while the company representatives are cold calling them promising high returns.
You can read our review on this broker here.

Сyprus financial regulator (CySec) has introduced a new set of the rules governing brokerage companies should follow when offering on virtual currencies, specifically cryptocurrency CFD trading to clients. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, known as CySEC (www.cysec.gov.cy), is the financial regulatory agency of Cyprus. As an EU member state, CySEC's financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law. A significant number of overseas retail forex brokers have obtained registration from CySEC. The main point of bringing in the changes in the regulation is that the cryptocurrencies themselves are not considered financial instruments as defined by European rule-setter ESMA, so the derivatives of the cryptocurrencies including crypto CFDs are financial instruments. All Forex brokers who provide crypto trading should do that only through CFD form and not in actual cryptos. If FX broker is offering crypro CFDs trading from Cyprus, it must be authorised and must comply with the applicable national legislation, directly applicable European Union regulations, the Guidelines or Recommendations issued by the European Supervisory Authorities (ESMA and the European Banking Authority)adopted by CySec and needs to follow the presented set of rules for crypto trading. The CySec and its members consider that the risks connected with the crypto CFD trading are high. So Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs) should consequently approach the provision of such services with caution, in the knowledge that close attention will be paid to all of their legal obligations.

The UK financial regulator Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued its warning against an unregulated trading company that tries to reach out British investors. This warning concerns a Forex trading company Tait Investment Group (www.taitinvestmentgroup.com) The company Tait Investment Group is not authorized by the FCA and also it carries on regulated activities that require authorization. The broker firm offers trading Forex, stocks and CFDs. The company claims to be located in London, United Kingdom and regulated by Financial Conduct Authority. They also state that Tait Investment Group is a member of the London Stock Exchange and an approved HM Revenue & Customs ISA (Individual Savings Accounts) Manager. In its warning the FCA mentioned that Tait Investment Group is not actually operating from the address provided on the website. Also the FCA registration number on the website does not belong to the firm. It's obvious that the firm acts without the authorisation and most probably runs investment scam. Almost all firms and individuals offering, promoting or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorized by the FCA. The regulator advises investors to check company names of Forex brokers in the Financial Services Register, kept by the FCA. Investors should also keep in mind that their funds are not covered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if the company they are dealing with is not authorized by FCA. You can read our review on this broker here.

According to the latest warning of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Forex and CFD broker 8inFX was blacklisted as it is not licensed or authorized by the regulator, although was targeting the UK customers. 8inFX offers trading in many currency pairs, as well as various CFDs – on indices, commodities, stocks and cryptocurrencies. The brokerage is owned by 2dots Limited, and the website provides the address of the head office which is in Vanuatu. Vanuatu is one of the popular offshore destinations where the brokers get their forex licenses. It is quite risky to trade with these firms. Usually the companies that operate in the offshore areas (such as Republic of Vanuatu) are not licensed nor regulated and considered to be frauds. Most probably, 8inFX operates without a valid forex broker license as nothing is mentioned about license, nor regulation on the website. Also there is no phone number provided and the customers should request the calls on the website. Moreover, not only FCA warns about this broker, but also the Italian CONSOB has issued a warning against 8inFX. The first thing the potential investor should do when he is choosing a trading company is to determine if it is a legitimate broker 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. You can read our review on this broker here.

Spain’s financial markets and services regulator CNMV has issued a warning against InvestingPRO. According to the public warning notice, InvestingPRO, operated by Milton Group LTD/Kyoto Limited LTD, is not authorized to provide investment services or investment advice and auxiliary services, including foreign currency transactions in Spain.

The National Securities Market Commission (often abbreviated as CNMV) is the Spanish government agency responsible for the financial regulation of the securities markets in Spain. It is an independent agency that falls under the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness. The regulator maintains a register with investment companies that are authorized to operate in Spain.

InvestingPRO is a broker that operates through the website www.investingpro.com and offers Forex and CFD solutions to institutional and private investors. There are two companies behind the brand. Milton Group LTD, registered in the Marshall Islands, which means it is an offshore entity and there is a high risk for the customers when dealing with this firm. The second company is Kyoto Limited LTD., registered in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The website also mentions two contact numbers in Italy and Poland, and probably the company has been targeting residents of these countries. Although, the company is not licensed in any of those countries, and there is no regulatory body that monitors its activity to ensure it sticks to best practices.

In order to operate legally, investment firms need a license by the local relevant authorities or the authorities of any other EU member state. We strongly advise traders to select among brokerages authorized by reputable regulators, such as EU ones (FCA, CySEC) or Australia’s ASIC.

You can read our review on this broker here.

Italy’s financial markets and services provider regulator CONSOB (Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa) has updated its list of forex brokers who are not licensed to operate in Italy with one new addition – Capital Swiss FX. This broker has been offering investment services and activities to the Italian public without being authorized in the country.

Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB; Italian Companies and Exchange Commission) is the government authority of Italy responsible for regulating the Italian securities market. This includes the regulation of the Italian stock exchange, the Borsa Italiana.

Capital Swiss FX is a broker that offers assets choice from four different classes including Currency Pairs, Commodities, Indices or Treasuries. There are two companies behind the brand's name, Swiss Cap Ltd,  registered offshore, on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Swiss Capital Group Ltd., that claims to be located in London, UK. However, the second company is not authorized by the FCA in the UK. As to the Swiss Cap Ltd., offshore registration usually doesn’t guarantee the safety of funds and clients’ protection, especially in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where local authority doesn’t issue forex licenses. In addition, Capital Swiss FX and Swiss Capital Ltd. have also been blacklisted by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

There are many negative reviews about the broker can be found online. People share their bad experience, pointing out cold calling and almost forcing clients to invest. They state that Capital Swiss FX refuses to withdraw their investments, offering to invest more.

Considering all the above, we would not recommend you investing with Capital Swiss FX. Instead, we advise our readers to avoid dealing with unregulated entities and choose among the reliable and regulated ones. There is a number of properly licensed firms, like the ones regulated by the FCA, ASIC or CySEC.

You can read our review on this broker here.