Category: Regulation

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (‘CySEC’) officially warned investors that Pari Fx Trade and FX PREMIUM are not licensed to provide investment services in the country. According to the regulator, brokerages and their websites are not operated by Cypriot Investment Firms and not authorized to provide investment services and activities in the country.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, known as CySEC, 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.

Pari Fx Trade is an offshore company, registered in Seychelles. The broker claims to be licensed by the U.S. National Futures Association NFA, the Financial Services Commission and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). However, the CySEC license actually belongs to another CySEC-regulated firm BDSwiss. All the regulatory information on the Pari Fx Trade's website is false.

As to the FX PREMIUM, this broker also claims to be regulated in the UK, Cyprus, France, and Germany. However, all the licenses belong to another CySEC-regulated company, not associated with FX PREMIUM.

When engaging with brokers that do not operate on the grounds of a valid license, issued from a trustworthy authority, traders are putting their investments at higher risk. It is better to avoid dealing with unregulated brokerages and choose properly regulated and reliable brokers. A good example of such are the ones supervised by the FCA or ASIC. You can read the full Pari Fx Trade and FX PREMIUM reviews 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 – PBN Invest. 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.

PBN Invest is a forex and CFD broker that operates on the website www.pbninvest.com. The company is offering its clients a variety of currency pairs, including some indices, energy commodities, futures, shares, precious metals like gold and silver, as well as crypto CFDs. There are two entities behind this brand - Capital Tech Ltd - an offshore company based in the Marshall Islands and Pbox Ltd. based in Bulgaria. These two companies come with the regulation numbers on the website, although, there are no records of them being regulated by the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission.
In addition, there is an Austrian contact phone number provided and the website supports English, German and Italian languages, which proves that the broker has been targeting traders from these countries. The company is not regulated to provide its financial services in any of the EU countries, which is already a valid reason to avoid trading with PBN Invest.
When engaging with brokers that do not operate on the grounds of a valid license, issued from a trustworthy authority, traders are putting their investments at higher risk. It is better to avoid dealing with offshore brokerages and choose properly regulated and reliable brokers. A good example of such are the ones supervised by the FCA or ASIC.

You can read our review on this broker here.

The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin) has ordered XtraderFX to cease offering cross-border investment advice and proprietary trading to German investors. According to the official warning, the company has been calling German customers from German and British phone numbers and has been offering them CFDs on cryptocurrencies, currencies, commodities, indices and equities.

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (German: Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) better known by its abbreviation BaFin is the financial regulatory authority for Germany. The main task of BaFin is the supervision of banks, insurance companies and the trading of securities and ensure the viability, integrity and stability of the German financial system.

XtraderFX is a broker that operates through several trading platforms (www.xtrader-fx.com, www.xtraderfx-com, www.xtraderfx.net). The company is owned and operated by GPAY Ltd., and claims to be located and registered in the UK. However, the broker is not regulated in the UK by its Financial Conduct Authority. Moreover, XtraderFX has been banned by the British regulator in July 2018.

The negative comments about the XtraderFX 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.

Considering all the above, we would not recommend you investing with XtraderFX. 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, such as UK brokers and German brokers. You can read our review on this broker here.

The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) warns the public against the activities of Aduno Capital a company that offers investments without complying with Austrian financial legislation. According to the official statement, Aduno Capital (ADUNO Capital Group ltd.) is not entitled to carry out banking transactions in Austria that require a license.

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.

Aduno Capital is a broker that offers trading on Currencies, Stocks, Metals, Futures, Options, Bonds and Cryptocurrencies. The company claims to be located in Stuttgart, Germany, however it is not regulated by its local regulator BaFin (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority). 

Moreover, Aduno capital provides deluding information about its licences. It claims to be licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). However, we couldn't prove any of these licenses as they either do not exist at all or belong to some other companies not associated with Aduno Capital. 

When engaging with brokers that do not operate on the grounds of a valid license, issued from a trustworthy authority, traders are putting their investments at higher risk. It is better to avoid dealing with offshore brokerages and choose properly regulated and reliable brokers. A good example of such are the ones supervised by the FCA or ASIC. You can read our review on this broker here.

Italy’s financial markets and services regulator CONSOB (Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa) has issued a warning that the offshore forex broker Axe Invest is not licensed to provide services in Italy. 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. The broker operates on the website axeinvest.com and offers forex and CFD trading. The brokerage Axe Invest is owned and operated by the Madar Partners LTD– an offshore company registered on the Marshall Islands. Offshore zones like those islands are famous for their lax tax and legal regimes. They are basically not licensed, nor supervised by any authority. Judging by the language options, the broker is mainly targeting Italian- and Spanish-, German-speaking clients. Also, the phone numbers provided on the website have Swiss and British country codes, although the company might be located offshore. The company is not regulated to provide its financial services in any of the EU countries, which is already a valid reason to avoid trading with Axe Invest. When engaging with brokers that do not operate on the grounds of a valid license, issued from a trustworthy authority, traders are putting their investments at higher risk. It is better to avoid dealing with offshore brokerages and choose properly regulated and reliable brokers. A good example of such are the ones supervised by the FCA or 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 – GoldFxTrading. 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.

GoldFxTrading is a Forex and CFD broker that operates through the www.web.goldfxtrading.com website. The company is owned and operated by GFT, based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The broker doesn't state that it is also registered there, however, we'd want to remind that the FSA of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines has announced that it does not issue any licenses for forex trading or brokerage nor does it regulate, monitor, supervise or license international companies, which engage in such activities.

GoldFxTrading claims to be located and regulated in the UK. However, its license is not valid anymore. There is a chance, the registration number provided by the broker doesn't even belong to the company and is just used to delude potential investors. Considering all the above, we recommend to stay away from GoldFxTrading.

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.

UK's Financial Conduct Authority added another Forex broker to its warning list. According to the regulator, City Global Trading has been providing financial services in the UK without their authorization.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financial firms providing services to consumers and maintains the integrity of the financial markets in the United Kingdom.
City Global Trading claims to provide expert advice to help traders make a smart managed FX investment choice. The company doesn't provide any information about the company behind the brand's name as well as its location. According to the website, City Global Trading is regulated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority. However, this information is false and the company was even blacklisted by the regulator.
Also, the broker claims to provide its financial services to the residents of the USA, China, Malaysia and Europe, although it is not possible without a proper regulation, which City Global Trading obviously lacks.
Without proper authorization, there is no way for regulators to protect investors from fraudulent activity, due to a lack of monitoring by any governing body to ensure that proper practices are being adhered to by the companies. Overall, we don’t recommend this broker due to the lack of financial regulation and the warning from the authorities. All brokers licensed by UK’s Financial Conduct Authority are under the umbrella of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which can pay up to £50,000 per client. Unlike FCA-licensed brokers, unregulated ones are not obliged to keep their clients’ money in segregated accounts. You can read our review on this broker here.

Austria's financial markets and services providers regulator FMA warned that the Forex and CFD broker Tradovest is not licensed to offer its services 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.

Tradovest offer Forex and CFD trading options and operates through the website www.tradovest.com. The company is owned and operated by Celestial Trading ltd. registered on the Seychelles, which means it is an offshore entity and there is a high risk for the customers when dealing with this firm. The website also mentions another company UK-based CELTIC PAY LTD. for processing the payments. Although, the location of the Tradovest is not provided on the website, it mentions different contact numbers in different countries (UK, Switzerland, Germany, New Zealand, Austria and Spain). 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.

When choosing a new Forex broker, it is very important to verify that they are in fact licensed for investors from your country of residence. 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 United Kingdom and ASIC in Australia.

You can read our review on this broker here.

Spain’s financial markets and services regulator CNMV issued a warning against FXGIM. According to the public warning notice, FXGIM, operated by FXGIM Global Investment Markets 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.

FXGIM specializes in Forex, Futures market and commodities trading and operates through the website www.fxgim.com. The company is owned and managed by FXGIM Global Investment Markets Ltd. They claim to be located in Nicosia, Cyprus, but the company is actually not regulated in Cyprus. Also, the terms and conditions disclose that the company is under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Seychelles, where the actual broker's location might be.
The website is supported by two contact numbers (British and Spanish), 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.
The firm also claims to be a leader in online Forex trading and provides the list of its forex awards such as Best Forex Technical Analysis Provider 2016, The Best Forex Education 2015, Best Online Currency Broker in The World 2015-2016 etc. After checking this info with the reliable sources, we can reassure you that FXGIM has never been nominated or gotten any of these awards.
We recommend to stay away from the unregulated brokers and pay more attention to the reliable and licensed ones. All the warnings from the regulators are meant to protect the public from the fraudulent unlawful financial activity.
You can read our review on this broker here.