Category: Regulation

The Switzerland financial markets and service providers regulator FINMA has warned of unregulated forex brokers Fxtradingmarket and StainWayFinancials. According to the official notices, these entities may be carrying out unauthorized services and are not supervised by FINMA.

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) is the Swiss government institution responsible for financial regulation. The regulator supervises the 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.

These two brokers have one very important thing in common, they are both registered offshore, in the Marshall Islands. As we already know, offshore registration usually doesn’t guarantee the safety of funds and clients’ protection, especially in the Marshall Islands, where the local authority doesn’t regulate forex businesses. 

Fxtradingmarket claims to be a top online forex broker with many years of experience in the market. Despite this title, the broker doesn't seem to be regulated. It doesn't provide the company behind the brand's name. Fxtradingmarket claims to be located in Switzerland, however, as we can see the brokerage has been blacklisted by the Swiss authority. 

StainWayFinancials is a company owned and operated by Starland Ltd. and registered in the Marshall Island. The broker claims to be authorized to offer trading of Contracts of Difference (CFD) on cryptocurrencies, commodities, stocks, currencies and indices. Although, the broker doesn't provide any regulatory information as well as its address or contact phone number.  

We recommend to stay away from the unregulated brokers and pay more attention to the reliable and licensed ones. You can share your Fxtradingmarke or StainWayFinancials experience with us by commenting on this post.  

The Switzerland financial markets and service providers regulator FINMA has warned of unregulated forex brokers SwissCapital and Trader Bank. According to the official notices, these entities may be carrying out unauthorized services and are not supervised by FINMA.

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) is the Swiss government institution responsible for financial regulation. The regulator supervises the 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.

SwissCapital is a Forex broker, operated and administered by Promfix OU. The company claims to be located in Tallinn, Estonia. However, the registration number is not listed in the regulator's register. It only proves SwissCapital is not authorized by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority and it may be quite risky to deal with this firm.

As to the Forex and CFDs broker Trader Bank, it is owned and operated by 21 Tech Ltd with a registered address in Sofia, Bulgaria. The broker doesn't provide any information about its regulation or operational address, which should be a red flag for the traders. Trader Bank is not regulated or licensed by any financial regulator.

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.

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

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.

XTB being European established brokerage accordingly follows and holds necessary registrations and regulations. The UK registered XTB company is respectively regulated by the biggest supervision authority the Financial Conduct Authority, is also regulated by KNF, and CMB.

The clone company operates on the www.tbfxtrades.com website and provides the address and regulation details that actually belong to the original company XTB www.xtb.com. TBFX even uses the same website interface and the similar logo as XTB. Also, the clone is not regulated by FCA or any other authorities.

The clone company even uses the same website interface and the similar logo. 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 full TBFX review 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. Swissfingroup and Dubai FXM are happened to get into the list. These firms have 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 Italian governmental authority responsible for regulating the Italian securities market. The regulator is also responsible for the Italian stock exchange, the Borsa Italiana.

Are these brokers legit?

Swissfingroup is a broker that encompasses currencies, precious metals, commodities, CFDs and Futures. It is owned and operates by Terratech Ltd. Swissfingroup claims to be fully licensed and regulated, however, they do not give any legal documents or any other details connected to the authorities that issue its license. In addition, the broker is incorporated in the Marshall Islands, a popular offshore zone, where most of the brokers are NOT regulated. 

As to the Dubai FXM, it is a Forex broker, owned and operated by Dubai FXM Limited. It is a  registered, authorized and regulated company by Vanuatu Financial Services. You can read our detailed article about the risk of trading with brokers from Vanuatu. In addition, they mention being registered with the Financial Commission. 

The Financial Commission is not the financial regulatory body of any Government. It is an independent self-regulatory organization. From our source, It costs €24,000 per year to become a member. However, and there is no handbook or guidelines for brokers to run their business. Therefore, there is zero protection for traders. 

Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as Alpari and XM.com.

You can also share your trading experience with Swissfingroup and Dubai FXM by commenting on this post.

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of New Zealand, the government agency responsible for financial regulation, have issued warnings against SL Markets and Vowfx brokers. The regulator states the companies are not registered, licensed, or regulated in New Zealand and are not registered on the FSPR. 

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.

Are there brokers legit?

SL Markets is a forex and CFD broker that provides trading solutions for worldwide investors. The company was founded in 2014 and claims to be headquartered in Nicosia, Cyprus. SL MARKETS has representative offices in Sydney, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Korea and Malaysia. However, the main concern is a lack of regulation, since the broker is not authorized in any of these countries. 

Also, according to the regulators notice, SL Markets is using National Cloud Service Co Limited’s financial service provider registration details on their website and claims its operations are regulated by the Financial Regulatory Authority of New Zealand. SL Markets is not associated with the New Zealand incorporated company National Cloud Service Co Limited. There is also no regulatory body in New Zealand known as the Financial Regulatory Authority of New Zealand.  

Vowfx provides a stable foreign exchange trading platform and connects to the foreign exchange trading market. The broker does not disclose any contact details or information about its location. The main language supported on the website is Chinese, that apparently the region Vowfx has been targeting. Also, the company claims to be regulated in Australia. but there is no information about it in the regulator's register. 

In its warning, the FMA state that Vowfx could be involved in a scam and that its website contains false claims about FMA regulation.

You can share your SL Markets and Vowfx experience with us by commenting on this post.  

We always advise traders to avoid dealing with unregulated offshore-based forex brokers, as most of them are involved in investment scams. There are a number of properly Regulated Brokers to choose from on our website.

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has issued the warning against another broker MetaInvesting. The OSC induces Canada residents to be more cautious when dealing with companies that don't have a license or not registered to trade in Canada as it may involve high risks.    MetaInvesting is a forex and binary options broker that operates on the website  www.metainvesting.com and is not registered in Canada to engage in the business of trading in securities. Company's website provides UK phone number and address, which should mean that it is located in UK. Although, MetaInvesting is registered on the Marshall Islands, an offshore area. So there are two main biggest concerns: no license and offshore registration that usually are the signs of a fraud. The broker also offers trading binary options, which are forbidden in Canada. There is also the information on the net, that the trading firm is regulated by FINMA (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority), which is a false and deluding fact. The customers reviews about the company are also not satisfying. People who invested with MetaInvesting are not able to withdraw their funds and are harrassed with the phone calls of the broker's employees asking to invest more. The OSC is trying to get investors attention by issuing warnings about particular companies that aren't registered to trade or advise in Canada. Those who are interested in investing to similar companies should better check the list of the regulated brokers by OSC or another Canadian regulator IIROC (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada).

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued warnings against RIMarkets and CFreserve brokers. The regulator said the brokers have been providing financial services and products targeting people in the UK without being licensed.

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.

Are these brokers legit?

RIMarkets is an online trading broker that provides access to the assets such as Forex, commodities, precious metals and stock indices. The broker is operated by Fcorp Solutions Ltd., incorporated in Marshall Islands. There is no information about the company's license/authorization can be found on the website. No license and offshore registration is definitely NOT the best option when it comes to Forex trading and investing.

CFreserve is a Forex broker that gives an opportunity to trade over 72 asset classes with instant access Forex, Metals, Commodities Gold, Silver and CFDs. The broker is owned and operated by Imperial App Limited, incorporated in Sofia, Bulgaria. However, this company is not listed in the register of the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission. This means CFreserve is NOT regulated and has no legal rights to provide financial services. You can read our full CFreserve review here. 

Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and FXTM.

You can share your trading experience with RIMarkets and CFreserve by commenting on this post.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued warnings against Alliance Capital and Investteck brokers. The regulator said the brokers have been providing financial services and products targeting people in the UK without being licensed.

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.

Alliance Capital is a Forex broker that offers 500+ financial instruments and claims to provide affordable and reliable access to global financial markets. The company is owned and operated by Waltika Partners LTD., registered in St.Vincent and the Grenadines. Besides an offshore location, there is an even bigger danger hides behind the brand's name. 

It tuned out the Alliance Capital is not more than just a clone of the FCA-regulated brokerage Capital Alliance Partners Limited. 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 contact details.

As to the Investteck, it is owned and operated by GreenRiver OU, with a registered address in Tallinn, Estonia. GreenRiver OU operates some other brokers that we have previously reviewed (GCC Investing, Jones Mutual) and has been blacklisted by several regulators in Europe. Obviously, all the brokers associated with the GreenRiver OU should be avoided. You can read our full Investteck review. 

Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as AvaTrade and FXTM.

You can share your trading experience with Alliance Capital and Investteck by commenting on this post.

Spain’s financial markets and services regulator CNMV has issued warnings against two forex brokers Capital4Bank and IMMFX. According to the public warning notices, 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.

IMMFX claims to be a global STP Broker, registered and licensed for online forex and commodities broker. IMMFX is a trading name of IMM GROUP LTD, the parent company of IMM Group GmbH. According to the website, the company holds two offshore licenses, from Vanuatu and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Besides, the offshore location, which is a huge disadvantage for a firm, we have also found a lot of negative reviews about IMMFX.

Capital4Bank is also an offshore Forex broker. Capital4Bank is a trading name operated by Capital Com Investment LTD, based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 

We keep on reminding our readers 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.

We always advise traders to avoid dealing with offshore unregulated forex brokers, such as Capital4Bank and IMMFX. You can also share your trading experience with these brokers by commenting on this post.