Category: Regulation

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (‘CySEC’) issued an announcement-warning with regard to Smartoptionfx – a forex brokerage brand that is not authorized to provide investment services and/or perform investment activities in the country.

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.

According to the broker's website, Smartoptionfx is one of the leading Forex and binary options brokers in the industry. Smartoptionfx is operated by B.O. TradeFinancials Ltd a company located in the Republic of Cyprus and licensed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. However, we have found that the regulator has actually warned against this entity: 

"In the above mentioned website (smartoptionfx.com), there is a reference on the name and license number of the former Cyprus Investment Firm B.O. Tradefinancials Ltd (license number 216/13). CySEC wishes to draw your attention that, on 25.6.2018, it has decided to wholly withdraw the Cyprus Investment Firm authorisation with number CIF 216/13 of the company B.O.  Tradefinancials Ltd."

Also, we have noticed the contact phone numbers provided on the website have US and South African country codes, which is quite confusing as the broker is not regulated in those countries. Obviously, we wouldn’t recommend traders to deal with this broker and think about more reliable options. 

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 the full review on this broker here.

Spain’s financial markets and services regulator CNMV has issued a warning against two forex brokers Trader Platinum and NoviFx. According to the public warning notice, these entities are 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.

Trader Platinum claims to be the most trusted and reliable forex broker, however, it doesn't provide any proof of its reliability. The broker hides all the contact information. It also doesn't provide any regulatory information, only that it is fully compliant with EU Regulation (EU), but is not regulated in the EU. In addition, Trader Platinum is registered under the laws of the Marshall Island, which makes it an offshore company that may even be involved in scam. 

As to the forex broker NoviFx, it is owned and operated by MAGIC CONSULTING LTD, registered in Bulgaria. Although, it is not regulated by the local regulator and it still claims to be fully compliant with EU Regulation (EU), deluding potential traders. 

We always advise traders to avoid dealing with unregulated forex brokers, such as Trader Platinum and NoviFx. You can also share your experience with these brokers by commenting on this post.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has updated its blacklist to include Brighter Trade, which is also known as Igoten OU. The financial regulator was alerted to the firm after it made unsolicited calls or sent emails about investing, financial advice, credit or loans.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent Australian government body that acts as Australia's corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to enforce and regulate company and financial services laws to protect Australian consumers, investors and creditors.

The broker Brighter Trade operates through the website www.brightertrade.com and offers a choice of various financial assets such as currencies, stocks, indices, commodities. The website is owned and operated by the Brightertrade™ corporate group. The group includes LOGAMET LTD, a St. Vincent & Grenadines company, owner of the website and INGOTEN OU, an Estonian company, who operates the clearing and settlement for the group.
The Australian regulator has warned that the broker does not hold a current Australian Financial Services (AFS) license or an Australian Credit license from ASIC to provide financial services in Australia, highlighting that the company could be involved in a scam.
The broker doesn't seem to be regulated by any authority and the offshore location of one of the co-companies doesn't make it look more reliable. In addition, the broker has got a lot of negative reviews, where people complain about issues with withdrawing their funds and cold-calling.
To sum up, it is better to stay away from Brighter Trade, a broker that has a warning and also a quite big number of the negative review from the traders who was scammed by this firm. We recommend selecting among brokers licensed by the respective authorities in the UK, or Australia for example. For instance, a broker registered with the UK’s FCA can’t simply take investor’s money and disappear. They follow multiple reporting procedures and have to keep client funds segregated from the company’s.
You can read our review on this broker here.

Spain’s financial markets and services regulator CNMV has issued a warning against Globalix. According to the public warning notice, Globalix 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.

Globalix is a forex broker, owned and operated by Globalix Ltd. The company is based 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 website mentions a contact phone number with a British country code, which means the company has been targeting people from this country. Although, the company is not licensed in the UK, and there is no regulatory body that monitors its activity to ensure it sticks to best practices. 

Trading on Crypto Currency, Share or Forex is financial investment service, that needs to be regulated by your government's regulator. 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.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned that Primus Forex Financial Group is a clone of the renown forex brokerage Primus Capital Markets UK Limited, which holds a license from FCA, among others. According to FCA, Primus Forex Financial Group is not authorized to carry out regulated financial services in the UK.

Primus Capital Markets UK was founded in the year 2008 by experienced Forex traders and offers a platform to trade in CFDs for foreign exchange, commodities, energy sources and other indices. The firm is registered in England and Wales with company number 06592025. It is also authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The clone company operates on the http://www.primusasia.com website and provides the address that actually belongs to the original company Primus Capital Markets UK Limited (https://primuscapital.uk). Also, the clone is not regulated by FCA or any other authorities.

Clone firms use some or all of the details of a genuine entity, aiming to convince investors they are indeed the authorized company or that they work with them.

The UK is a strong forex market with tight regulation. The FCA is renowned for its strict standards and tight supervision. The regulator keeps a register of unauthorized forex brokers that target local citizens and regularly issues alerts against entities that could potentially hurt local investors. Be aware of such companies before dealing with any brokerage company.

You can read our review on this broker here.

UK financial regulator Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued its another warning against the unauthorized broker. This time it is against the Revolution Variable Systems (RVS), the firm that is providing financial services to British residents without being authorized. The company operated on the www.marketsystems.co.uk website and British domain is basically the only sign that it might be located in UK. There is no other information about phone number, address or even email of the broker firm can be found on the website or on the net. Also the website itself is not informative at all. There are no explanations of the trading conditions. The info on the website states that the company develops a range of advanced trading platforms for the stock, option and forex markets and provides clients support. It really looks like they just advertising some softwares: trading systems (RVS trade assist portal, RVS day trading and RVS Forex system). It is difficult to understand whether the company is a broker or just a software provider. The lack of the information or the deluding information shows that it's better not to deal with RVS and choose among one of the regulated by FCA companies. The UK financial regulator advises traders to check forex trading company names in the Financial Services Register, provided by FCA. It is important to remember that the invested funds will not be covered by the broker if the company is not regulated by FCA (or any other regulator, depending on the country).   

New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has issued a warning against the Forex broker Golden Financial. The regulator states that GFS is not regulated in New Zealand as claimed on its websites and GFS is not licensed to issue derivative products (CFDs) to New Zealand retail investors.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) plays a critical role in regulating capital markets and financial services in New Zealand. It is the New Zealand government agency responsible for enforcing securities, financial reporting, and company law as they apply to financial services and securities markets.

Let’s take a closer look at the broker itself. Golden Financial operates through the website www.gdfxuk.com and offers trading in foreign exchange, precious metals, securities, futures, stock traders. The company is owned and managed by Golden Financial Service Limited and claims to be located in London, UK. Also, according to the website Golden Financial has licenses from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority and New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority. However, it turned out the broker doesn't hold these licenses and most probably could be involved in a scam.
The negative comments about the Golden Financial 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.
Generally, it is highly recommended to avoid dealing with unregulated brokers or, worse still, with ones making false claims like Golden Financial. There are numerous properly licensed brokers, like the ones by FCA or the Australian Securities and Investment Commission to choose from.
You can read our review on this broker here.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a Decision Notice to ban Darren Lee Newton, the owner of debt management business, from working in any regulated activity in the financial services sector. The investigation conducted by the FCA found that in October 2013 Mr. Newton funded the purchase of a debt reduction service First Step from Christine Whitehurst with £322,500 of client money, when he should have used his own funds. After purchasing the shares of Christine Whitehurst, he became a director of the First Step as she resigned on the same day. The previous owner of the First Step were Christine Whitehurst and her husband, who were also banned by the FCA for misappropriating over £6 million of company's money. The FCA found that Newton knew the money should only be used to pay clients' creditors or to be returned to clients, but despite this, he still allowed the funds to be taken from First Step and paid to the Whitehursts. In the decision notice, the regulator states that Mr. Newton acted with a 'serious lack of honesty and integrity' and caused a serious risk to customers investments. One of his responsibilities was to protect clients and maintain the integrity of the UK financial system. Since failing to maintain his commitment, he got a prohibition order from the FCA. Currently, Mr. Newton is trying to dispute the decision of the FCA and referring the issue to the Upper Tribunal.

The Switzerland financial markets and service providers regulator FINMA has warned of unregulated forex broker Rocket Consultant Group.
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.

The broker Rocket Consultant Group operates through the website www.rocketconsultantgroup.com and provides an online trading platform for Forex, Contracts for Difference and options. The company is owned and operated by Rocket Consultant Group Ltd. that claims to be based in Zurich, Switzerland. The broker also claims to have offices in Panama, Germany, and Hong Kong. In order to do business, the broker would need to get licenses from regulated in specific countries. However, it seems Rocket Consultant Group has been targeting traders from different countries without being authorized there and it is actually not licensed or overseen by any of the financial regulators.
In addition, the broker has one more warning and it is from the British Columbia Securities Commission. In its notice, the regulator states that Rocket Consultant Group accepted funds from a British Columbia (BC) residents to trade with the company. RCG is not registered to trade in, or advise on, securities or exchange contracts in BC.
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 FINMA.
You can read our review on this broker here.