The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of New Zealand, the government agency responsible for financial regulation, have issued warnings against FernFx and OlympusMarkets brokers. The regulator states the companies are not registered as New Zealand Financial Service Providers or licensed to provide derivatives products 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.

Fern is a forex broker, operated by FERN GROUP NZ LIMITED and claims to be a registered Financial Service Provider in New Zealand. However, it is actually not authorized there and has been using the name of the FMA regulated broker, not associated with Fern. 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.

Another blacklisted broker, OlympusMarkets is simply an offshore company, registered in Vanuatu. Which means it is an offshore entity and there is a high risk for the customers when dealing with this firm.  

We always advise traders to avoid dealing with unregulated offshore-based forex brokers like Fern and OlympusMarkets, 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 Fern and OlympusMarkets here.

Spain’s financial markets and services regulator CNMV has issued a warning against two forex brokers Wise Banc and JustForex. 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.

JustForex is a forex broker owned by JF Global Limited. The company is registered offshore in St. Vincent and the Grenadine. Those brokers registered offshore are not considered as reliable ones, because they are basically are not overseen by any authority. 

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.

As to the Wise Banc, the broker claims to be located in Bulgaria, however, it is not regulated by local regulator Financial Supervision Commission. Also, the owner-company Orion Service EOOD has been blacklisted by several regulators. It is better to stay away from Wise Banc.

Generally, we always advise traders to avoid dealing with unregulated forex brokers, as they may be involved in investment scams. There are a number of properly licensed brokers to choose from, like the ones regulated by the FCA or the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. You can read our reviews on Wise Banc and JustForex here.

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) warned the public against another company – Affliated Trade Group. The regulator states that the company Affiliated Trade Group and its representatives are not registered in Ontario to solicit investments or provide advice on investing in, buying, or selling securities.
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is a regulatory agency which administers and enforces securities legislation in the Canadian province of Ontario. The OSC is an Ontario Crown corporation which reports to the Ontario legislature through the Minister of Finance.

Affiliated Trade Group is a Forex broker that operates through the website www.affiliatedtradegroup.com. The company doesn't disclose information about the terms and conditions, company-owner or its regulation, which already looks quite suspicious. The broker also claims to have the main office in Zurich, Switzerland and regional offices in Tokyo, Japan, and Calgary, Canada. In order to be able to legally provide financial services in a particular country, a broker needs to be licensed and regulated by local authorities. Affiliated Trade Group doesn't hold any license and is not regulated in any of the mentioned on the website countries.
According to the regulator's notice, the broker is disseminating a fake document suggesting it has received exemptive relief from applicable securities law in Ontario. However, Affiliated Trade Group has never filed an application for exemptive relief or been granted any discretionary relief under securities legislation in Ontario.
The Alberta Securities Commission also recently published an Investor Alert on December 14, 2018, about the Affiliated Trade Group. The regulator names several “red flags” common to illegal investment schemes present in Affiliated Trade Group’s promotions and sales techniques, including lack of registration, suspicious contact information, and high-pressure sales techniques.
If you are considering an investment opportunity through a company that is not registered, be sure to understand whether the company is complying with applicable securities laws. We encourage all investors to check the registration status of any company offering financial services.
You can read our review on this broker here.

In the recent regulatory statement, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority has reported against the forex broker Get Financial and warned that this company has been offering financial services to the UK clients without being authorized in the country. Get Financial company is incorporated on the Island, but isn’t affiliated with the local regulator. Get Financial is a Forex and CFD broker, which offers its services from the website getfinancial.com. This trading platform has all Major Currency pairs as well as minor crosses.There is a large selection of other assets are available for trading, including Commodities, Futures, Indices, Stocks and Crypto currency. The broker firm is owned by Get Financial Markets Ltd., registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. There is another company mentioned on the website - ASTRORO INVESTMENTS LIMITED, located on Cyprus. Although, the Cyprus location has nothing to do with the Cyprus regulation. The companies registered with the offshore regulators have a bad reputation, as in comparison to the serious agencies such as FCA in UK or ASIC in Australia, it is easier and cheaper to get the offshore license. It is one of the reasons, why it is better not to deal with the Get Financial firm. Another reason to stay away from this broker, is the loads of negative reviews from unsatisfied and angry clients. People lose their money, usually with the trades they haven't even opened. Their emails are not answered and it's impossible to reach the support team over the phone.  It is recommended to deal only with the highly regulated companies and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is one of the most respectable agencies. You can read our review on this broker here.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK financial regulator, has issued a warning about EU-Capital, an online entity claiming to provide forex trading. The broker has been providing its financial services to UK customers without being authorized in the country.

EU-Capital (which operates from the eu-capital.co website) is a Forex and CFD broker. EU-Capital offers a relatively wide variety of forex pairs, as well as CFDs on commodities, indices, a few specific stocks and even cryptocurrencies. The platform is owned by a Marshall Islands-based holding company called Gelko Partners LTD. Their registered office address is at Trust company complex, Ajeltake Road, Ajeltake Islands, Majuro, MH96960 Marshall Islands. The Marshall Islands is an offshore destination where usually brokerage services are not regulated. The biggest concern is that there is no information about the legal entity behind EU-Capital. All legitimate firms provide an actual company with a place of registration and which is registered with a trusted financial regulator. Doing business with offshore brokers is extremely risky and it is highly recommended to avoid such companies and to select 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. They are also involved in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). It is a fund that works as an insurance company for the brokerage firms and their investments. You can read our review on this broker here.

UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a warning against CT-Trade, a clone of the properly regulated Forex brokerage Citibank Europe plc.The regulator says the broker has been providing financial services and products targeting people in the UK without a license. 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 details. In this case, CT-Trade uses the official address of the authorized firm, Citibank Europe plc. The broker  CT-Trade operates through the website ct-trade.com, where claims to be under the regulation of Citibank Europe plc and provides the address (71-75 Shelton Street, London, WC2H 9JQ, UNITED KINGDOM) and the firm reference number of the Citibank Europe plc. The broker cannot be regulated by the Citibank Europe plc simply because it is not a regulatory institution. Although the Citibank Europe plc is authorized and regulated by the FCA in UK. It is clear that the CT-Trade tries to get investors trust by providing the details of the regulated entity, so it is highly recommended to avoid this broker and stay away from dealing with it. All firms and individuals offering, promoting or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorized by FCA and warns that some firms act without authorization and knowingly run investment scams. In addition to that, the FCA warns that if you are investing with unauthorized brokers you are not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. You can read our review on this broker here.

Spain’s financial markets regulator, CNMV, has warned of Forex broker MCH Investment Strategies. According to the official notice on CNMV’s website, this entity is not registered in the corresponding registry of the commission and, therefore, are not authorized to provide investment services.

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 broker operates through the website www.mchinvestment.com and offers Forex, CFD and cryptocurrency trading. The broker claims to be based in London, the UK, however, it doesn't provide any information about its regulation. If the broker is actually located in the UK and targets British residents, it would need to be licensed by the UK's regulator Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), but there is no such entity found in the FCA register. Also, the terms and conditions state that the broker is authorized by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), and again we didn't find any records about the broker in the CySEC public register. It is a first red flag, as the brokers who provide false regulation information definitely cannot be trusted.

Moreover, it turned out the broker is not just using fake regulatory details, it is also using the name of a CNMV regulated entity: "Not to be confused with the entity MCH INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, AGENCIA DE VALORES, S.A. (MCH INVESTMENT STRATEGIES) and its web http://mchinvestmentstrategies.mch.es/es/, which is duly registered with the National Securities Market Commission with the number 237."

It is now clear that MCH Investment Strategies 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.