Financial Commission Warns Public Against List of Companies Not Recommended

Background

Considering that financial products are becoming increasingly more complex, detecting fraud is also becoming more difficult, despite strict regulations and ongoing reforms in many countries. In other cases, misleading advertising that promises gains while under emphasizing risk is more subtle and difficult to detect.

In addition, brokers operating without licenses or in jurisdictions where no formal rules exist may pose a significant risk to consumers as there is no recourse or oversight in cases of trade disputes, and no transparency over whether or not ethical standards of best-execution are being upheld, including honoring customer withdrawal requests.

Customer complaints

As part of its day-to-day business, Financial Commission receives customer feedback and formal complaints filed by consumers against their financial service providers, which may include member firms as well as non-member companies.

In cases when complaints filed with Financial Commission are regarding a member firm, Financial Commission uses a proven method to process complaints and a decision is delivered by the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC). However, in cases when complaints are regarding non-members, Financial Commission cannot process such complaints and no further action is taken.

As a result of complaints that have been filed with Financial Commission and from other sources, Financial Commission alerts the public with this warning that we cannot attest to the status or credibility of firms that are not members, as complaints regarding non-members are not processed.

List of firms Financial Commission does not recommend

The following list is not meant to be exhaustive of all firms that Financial Commission does not recommend, but rather it is the first update in a series of similar announcements that may be periodically published.

The below list of names is neither indicative of a company’s regulatory status or lack thereof, nor claims that any such firm is operating a scam or violating any laws, regulations, or failing to uphold high standards of commercial honor, as Financial Commission cannot validate such information for non-members.

For any questions regarding a firm you are considering using or pertaining to a name on the list, please check first with any local regulators including in the country where the entity is domiciled and/or in the country where you are being solicited to determine whether or not proper licensing exists – in addition to further due diligence that should be done when choosing a broker.

Financial Commission can be contacted about further information related to your due diligence but may be limited in cases when the broker in question is not a current or prior member.