Category: Regulation

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of New Zealand, the government agency responsible for financial regulation, have issued a warning against FX broker Wise Banc. The company is not registered on the Financial Service Providers Register, it is therefore not permitted to provide financial services to New Zealand residents.

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.

In the official notice, the regulator also states that WiseBanc is based overseas with no presence in New Zealand and do not appear to be subject to regulation by an overseas regulator.

Wise Banc operates through the website wisebanc.com and offers Forex and Contracts for Difference (CFDs) trading. The company is owned and operated by TLC Consulting Ltd., registred in the Marshal Islands. Payment agent is Orion Service EOOD, located and registered in Bulgaria, where the company's headquarters are based. We already see the first red flag, offshore license, which means the broker is probably a fraud and cannot be trusted.

Wise Banc claims to have branches in Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa, however, it is not authorized in any of these countries. Moreover, the warning from New Zealand's FMA is not the only one Wise Banc has. The UK Financial Conduct Authority and the Central Bank of Ireland have each recently published a public warning about WiseBanc and Orion Service EOOD.

Considering all these facts we cannot recommend you to invest with Wise Banc. It is much safer to trade with regulated entities overseen by reputable authorities such as FCA in the UK or 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 warnings against Circleforex and TradeLTD 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.

Circleforex is a forex broker that claims to be based and regulated in New Zealand. It has been using regulatory details of the FMA-regulated entity Huanying International Limited, which is not associated with Circleforex in any way. This is a reason to consider Circleforex a so-called "clone firm" and avoid dealing with it. 

As to the Estonia-based Forex and cryptocurrency broker TradeLTD, it just doesn't seem to be regulated by any authority. It is owned and operated by Currency Board OÜ in Estonia, however, we haven't found any proofs of its authorization in the country. Moreover, Estonian FSA has issued a warning against TradeLTD in November 2018.

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 fraudulent unlawful financial activity. You can check out our full Circleforex and TradeLTD reviews amd also share your experience with us by commenting on this post.  

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued warnings against FXonspot and Lincoln FX. 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.

FXonspot offers trading with currencies, precious metals, commodities, CFDs and Futures. The broker is operated by Trade Com Limited. Despite the claims of being located in the UK, the terms and conditions on the website state FXonspot is under the St. Vincent and the Grenadines jurisdiction. Also, the broker is NOT regulated, since there is no such information provided on the website. 

Forex broker Lincoln FX is operated by Lincolnfx.capital LTD. The company's website has too many discrepancies to even claim to be legal and authorized. Lincoln FX claims to have branches in Switzerland and Singapore with the Headquarters in the UK. However, the company isn't actually regulated in any of the countries. In addition, the terms and conditions state the Cyprus jurisdiction as the broker's regulator, which is again false information. 

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 FXonspot and Lincoln FX by commenting on this post.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued warnings against AGMarket and Kodimax. 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?

AGMarket is a Forex broker, owned and operated by Lotens Partners LTD, based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  The broker doesn't provide any regulatory information, which only proves it is NOT regulated offshore broker that we would advise to avoid. Also, despite its offshore location, the contact number provided on the website has Swiss country code. It seems like AGMarket has been trying to target Swiss residents. 

Kodimax offers its clients trading with forex, CFDs on indices, commodities, stocks and cryptocurrencies. The broker doesn't disclose the company behind the brand's name as well as doesn't provide any information about its regulation/authorization. The terms and conditions on the website state that Kodimax is regulated by the Czech Republic law. However, it turned out Kodimax is not regulated in Czech Republic or any other country. 

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 AGMarket and Kodimax by commenting on this post.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has updated its blacklist to include GFCinvestment, which is also known as DARTALON LTD. 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.

According to the website, GFCinvestment is a worldwide brand committed to your trading experience. The broker GFCinvestment offers a choice of various financial assets such as currencies, stocks, indices, commodities. The website is owned and operated by DARTALON LTD., St.Vincent & the Grenadines offshore company. 

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. It has also been blacklisted by UK's regulator Financial Conduct Authority. 

In addition, the broker has got hundreds of negative reviews, where people complain about issues with withdrawing their funds and cold-calling from the side of the company.

To sum up, it is better to stay away from GFCinvestment, 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. 

Swedish regulator Financial Supervisory Authority has issued a warning that the offshore Forex broker BRFX Trade is not licensed to provide financial services in the country.

Financial Supervisory Authority (Swedish: Finansinspektionen, FI) is the Swedish government agency responsible for financial regulation in Sweden. It is responsible for the oversight, regulation and authorization of financial markets and their participants. The agency falls under the Swedish Ministry of Finance and regulates all organisations that provide financial services in Sweden.

BRFX Trade offers online trading in Forex, as well as CFDs on commodities, indices and stocks and operates through the website brfxtrade.com. The company owning and operating this brokerage, BR Consulting Group Ltd., is registered offshore, in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Forex brokers operating from offshore destinations are not regulated by any agency, and are not recommended.

Also the website supports English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Italian languages which means it targets European residents without being authorized in those countries. There are numerous complains about this broker on the websites and different forums. People say that the broker is refusing to withdraw clients' investments, draining the money and cold calling.

Trading with offshore brokers is extremely risky. Many of these brokers are scam companies seeking to cut financial and regulatory corners. Unlike with the FCA and other EU financial regulatory entities, offshore agencies pay very little attention to compliance-check, reporting and, they don't report individual transactions, denying the withdrawals.

You can read our review on this broker here.

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has updated its warning list with unlicensed Forex brokers. The latest addition includes Gulf FX. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong is the independent statutory body charged with regulating the securities and futures markets in Hong Kong. The SFC is responsible for fostering an orderly securities and futures markets, to protect investors and to help promote Hong Kong as an international financial center and a key financial market in China. The broker’s website  www.gulffx.co gives the regulatory information of the company and that it is owned by Golf Fx EOOD and registered in Sofia, Bulgaria under the registration number 204445448. Although, there is no information about this company on the Financial Supervision Commission website (Bulgarian regulator). Also, the only contact details that can be found on the website are two phone numbers: one is British and the other one is with the Bahrain's country code. It is obvious now that the company targets UK residents and most probably people from the Middle East without being registered in any of those countries. Considering the above said, this broker seems highly suspicious. There are many fraudulent firms out there and most of them are operating without a proper broker license. Investing in such companies is extremely risky and it is recommended to select among brokerages regulated by UK’s FCA, Australia’s ASIC or CySEC. You can read our review on this broker here.

The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) warns the public against the activities of two forex brokers Swissinv24 and FX NextGen. These companies have been offering investments without complying with Austrian financial legislation. According to the official statements, these brokers are not entitled to carry out banking transactions in Austria that require a licence.

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.

Are these brokers legit?

Swissinv24 is a Forex broker, owned and operated by Swissinv24 Ltd, registered in the Marshall Islands. The Marshall Islands is notorious for its practically absent requirements and regulations. Due to the setup cost is low and it does not regulate forex trading. The broker has also been blacklisted by several regulators, including FINMA and CONSOB. You can read our full Swissinv24 review here. 

FX NextGen broker is operated by FX NextGen Ltd and claims to be located in Kutaisi, Georgia. However, there are also mentions of such offshore licenses as Vanuatu and Belize. We have a detailed article explaining the risk of trading with brokers from Vanuatu. As it is not very safe to invest with offshore-registered companies, we advise traders to stay away from FX NextGen. 

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 share your trading experience with Swissinv24 and FX NextGen by commenting on this post.

The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) warns the public against the activities of TopTradePro a company that offers investments without complying with Austrian financial legislation. According to the official statement, TopTradePro (Ideas in Motion Ltd.) is not entitled to carry out banking transactions in Austria that require a licence.

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.

TopTradePro offers trading Forex and CFD and operates through the website www.toptradepro.com. Our main concern about the broker is the confusing information provided on the website, which doesn’t add much trust to it. The company is registered offshore in the Marshall Islands. Those brokers registered offshore are not considered as reliable ones, because they are basically are not overseen by any authority.

If you still have plans to invest with TopTradePro, check the reviews online. Most of those reviews are negative, where people complain about withdrawal issues and losing huge amounts of money with this broker.

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.