Category: Regulation

The Switzerland financial markets and service providers regulator FINMA has warned of unregulated forex broker Swiss Assets FX. 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. According to the Swiss Assets FX website www.sfmsas.net, the company is located in Basel, Switzerland and is authorized by the Swiss Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SFMSAS’). Although there is no such institution as Securities and Exchange Commission in Switzerland and usually FINMA is the regulator who can provide with the trading license. Those companies that claim to be located and regulates in Switzerland without having an actual authorization in the country, are just trying to mislead the customers. As the first thought of a Swiss company is that it should definitely be reliable and properly registered. The negative comments about the Swiss Assets FX 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. It is better to avoid such unregulated brokers, especially when there are client complaints against them. It is always safer to deal with the regulated companies, especially by reputable agencies like FCA. You can read our review on this broker here.

Spain’s financial markets and services regulator CNMV issued a warning against CFXPoint. According to the public warning notice, CFXPoint, operated by KLDC Technological Systems 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.

CFXPoint is an offshore Forex and CFD broker. The company is owned and operated by the KLDC Technological Systems Ltd., based in the Marshall Islands. Offshore zones are famous for their loose legal regimes, tax free and low-cost licenses. They are basically not licensed, nor supervised by any authority. Judging by the language options, the broker is mainly targeting Spanish-, Italian-, German-, Russian- and Arabic-speaking clients. Also, the contact phone number on the website is from the UK, although the company is not regulated to provide its financial services in the UK or any other country.
In addition, according to the website, the CFXPoint is a “self-regulation” entity that creates standards of operation by themselves and is not overseen by any other authority. Therefore, it is a high risk to trade, as the capital may be at risk due to the fact that none protection rules are implied, even though the company states so.
Moreover, the company has also been blacklisted by Italy's regulator CONSOB for offering and performance of investment services and activities to the public without being authorized in Italy.
It is now clear that CFXPoint 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.

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. GoldenCFD and ProFxPremium 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.

Both brokers belong to the offshore jurisdictions and both of them have already been banned by several authorities in different countries. 

GoldenCFD is Forex broker that also offers trading in CFDs and commodities. The company is owned and operated by Pro Star and registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Besides the offshore registration which is already a red flag for the investors, the broker doesn’t seem to be regulated by any authority. 

As to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Financial Services Authority (FSA) registration, we keep reminding remind that FSA 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.

ProFxPremium is a Forex and CFDs broker. The company is owned and operated by Black Parrot Limited, based in the Marshall Islands and claims to have an office in Estonia. The Black Parrot Limited itself has been banned by numerous regulators throughout Europe, so it is safe to say ProFxPremium is better to be avoided. You can check our full ProFxPremium review. 

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. 

You can also share your trading experience with GoldenCFD and ProFxPremium by commenting on this post.

Spain’s financial markets and services regulator CNMV has issued a warning against MegaTradeFX. According to the public warning notice, MegaTradeFX, operated by Macro Projects 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.

MegaTradeFX is a forex broker, owned and operated by Macro Projects Ltd. The company is based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which means it is an offshore entity and there is a high risk for the customers when dealing with this firm. There is also another address mentioned on the website, and it is the Marshall Islands. Obviously, no matter which address is correct, it is still an offshore one.

The website mentions different contact numbers with British country code, and probably the company has been targeting residents of this country. 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. Moreover, it was banned in the UK by its local regulator Financial Conduct Authority.

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.

Austria’s financial markets and services providers regulator FMA warned that the Forex and CFD broker BeAlgo is not licensed to offer its services in Austria. Therefore the acceptance of funds from other parties on a commercial basis for management purposes or as deposits is not allowed.

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.

BeAlgo is a broker that also offers Forex, CFDs and cryptocurrency trading and operates through the website www.bealgo.com. According to the regulator’s warning, the brokerage is owned and operated Bulgaria-based B.A.X LTD. All the companies offering financial services in Bulgaria should be authorized by the local Financial Supervision Commission. However, there are no records about BeAlgo or its parent company in the regulator’s register.

The company doesn’t just lack proper regulation but also has been blacklisted by one more regulator – Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.  This is going to be our biggest concern about BeAlgo. In addition, numerous negative reviews from the scammed clients only prove that the broker cannot be trusted.

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 the United Kingdom and ASIC in Australia. You can read our review on this broker here.

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of New Zealand, the government agency responsible for financial regulation, have issued a warning against UFX broker. The regulator believes the registration and regulation information claimed on the website is false and misleading, and that UFX Global Limited could be involved in a scam.

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.

UFX is a Forex and CFDs broker, owned and operated by UFX Global Limited. According to the website UFX Global Limited is a company incorporated in the Republic of Vanuatu, regulated by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission under licence number 14581. Payment Services provided by the company UNITED GLOBAL VENTURES LP, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. They also claim to be licensed and regulated in the EU and adhere to strict regulatory standards. However, the information is false and the broker is not authorized in any EU country as well as in New Zealand.

According to the regulator's statement, www.ufx.com is based overseas with no presence in New Zealand and does not appear to be subject to regulation by an overseas regulator. The company appears to be targeting New Zealand residents through online advertising. It is not a registered financial service provider in New Zealand and not licensed to issue derivatives in New Zealand.

We always advise traders to avoid dealing with unregulated offshore-based forex brokers like UFX, as most of them are involved in investment scams. There are a number of properly licensed brokers to choose from, like the ones regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. You can read our review on this broker here.

Italy’s financial markets and services provider regulator CONSOB has updated its list of forex brokers who are not licensed to operate in Italy. RoyalBanc and Finantik 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?

RoyalBanc is a broker that offers trading in Forex, stocks, CFDs, indices. The broker claims to be located in Luxemburg with offices in the UK. There is the first red flag and it’s the lack of any regulatory information. RoyalBanc does not provide license details and actually, there is no record of this company in the register of Luxemburg Financial Commission (CSSF). The broker is also NOT licensed in any other country and is not allowed to offer its financial services. It is just another unregulated firm that should be avoided.

As to the Finantik, it is an online Forex broker. It is a trading name of Pro Star, registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. You can read our detailed article about the risk of trading with brokers from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Besides its offshore location, which is already a red flag, Pro Star itself has a quite bad reputation. We have reviewed some brokers operated by Pro Star (including Traderia, Finroyalty and GoldenCFD) and we do not recommend dealing with either of them. 

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 share your RoyalBanc and Finantik experience with us by commenting on this post.  

UK's Financial Conduct Authority added another Forex broker to its warning list. According to the regulator, FXLeader 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. FXLeader operates through the website www.fxleader.com and provides Forex and CFD trading. The broker is owned by Leadernet OU, based in Tallinn, Estonia, although the company is not regulated in Estonia by the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority. The company uses the services of FXLEADER LTD. having its registered office at the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as liquidity provider and market-maker. As long as the company is not registered in EU, it actually operates from the offshore area (St. Vincent and the Grenadines). Dealing with the offshore-registered brokers is quite risky, as the clients of offshore brokers basically have no protection in case something goes wrong. None of these companies is obliged to arrange a compensation scheme if the client loses his investments. It is highly recommended for the traders to avoid offshore brokers and invest with brokers supervised by proper regulators, such as FCA in UK, ASIC in Australia or Cysec in Cyprus. All clients of FCA-regulated brokers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to GBP 50,000 per person. You can read our review on this broker here.