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The irony of financial markets is that this business that officially has got as much regulation as arms trafficking, has also got the same problem –- numerous illegal entities that evolve around the niche.
Scam brokers, funds recovery services that rob the robbed traders, HYIPs, “learn how to make millions overnight” trading courses and a number of other schemes all tend to exploit the weak point of human nature – the belief that there is the magic device with the “MORE MONEY” button out there, that someone can sell you.

A thief shouting “Thief!”

Considering the above there is a high demand in society for truthful and unbiased information about the market players. WikiFX claims to be the provider of such honest information about brokers but in fact, makes money by blackmailing brokers and promoting any company that offers to pay enough in their rankings.
WikiFX is a classic illustration of a thief shouting “Get the thief!” louder than anybody else in the crowd. The strategy works unfortunately and traders tend to trust WikiFx broker’s ratings without questioning what these ratings are based on and who sponsors this global brokers’ database.

Paving the road with some good intentions

Even the most horrible crimes against humanity were done under the cover of best intentions. Starting with the first crusades and ending with the holocaust. There are always some sound arguments, protected people and reliable methods.
Ask any trader whether each forex broker must be regulated by a third party? The answer will be “yes” with a near 100% probability and this answer is totally correct. Know-your-customer procedures and some unbiased third-party control are essential for maintaining the overall transparency of any business in a sphere of finance. This is the argument that WikiFX starts with when promoting its service and there is absolutely no point to argue. Starting with an indisputable truth is a good strategy to win the debate.
“The long-term presence on the market adds credibility”, – says WikiFX, and hears “yes” again.
“Don’t you agree that the longer the company is in the business, the better?”. “Sure”, – the trader agrees one more time.
The mission is completed. This is when the broker ranker can add any other criteria to their appraisal methods. Traders will tend to trust the service because they’ve agreed upon the most important criteria. The rest are minor details.
But what if the rest of the appraisal methods are not just minor issues? What if these details can be the means to manipulate the facts as much as they want to?

Can WikiFX appraisal criteria be trusted?

If we take a look at any broker’s WikiFX rating, we can see that the criteria of appraisal are the following:

• The year of registration
• Regulations
• Market Making license
• Software license

For example, this is what the top-rated broker’s summary looks like at WikiFX:
WikiFX Forex com example
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Looks good. Really. Regardless of the attitude to this particular brokerage, the work seems to be done fine. All the regulators are listed below, the information on the used software, licensing, and years of operation is included.
But what if we take some other random brokerage with one of the lowest rankings at WikiFX?
NinjaTraderBrokerage WIkiFX Ranking
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This is where the truth reveals itself. Once again, regardless of the attitude to this particular brokerage this is really easy to find out what they do, what licenses they’ve got and what kind of software they use.
Suspicious clone? Seriously? If WikiFX staff cared enough to do any investigation prior to stamping that “Suspicious” mark on the brokerage, they would have seen that both domains, nijatrader com and ninjatraderbrokerage com belong to the same entity.
NinyaTrader whois data
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If they cared enough to collect information on the brokerage from at least one reliable source, like Investopedia or any other similarly known database, they would also have found out that the company not only provides the brokerage service, but also is known for its trading platform with advanced technical analysis tools. But the only trading software that WikiFX considers reliable seems to be MT4/MT5. They simply ignore the fact that trading does not evolve around MetaTrader products, no matter how good and popular they are. WikiFX lowers the score of any brokerage with custom-developed software. We can clearly see this with the above example.
Other criteria that WikiFX is proud to use for the broker’s appraisal are regulations. Using the same example let’s see how well they do the appraisal in this field. As you can see above, WikiFX used the “Suspicious Regulatory License” stamp for NinjaTrader Brokerage.
And here is what The National Futures Association, that NinjaTrader is registered with as a futures broker has on its record:
NFA regulation of NTB proof that WikiFX did not consider to be trustworthy
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We can’t expect every trader to know that any futures broker that wants to operate on the US market must be a member of NFA. This is the requirement of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regarding the futures broker’s operations. But this is totally unacceptable for a broker ranking website, which WikiFX claims to be, to mark NFA-registered futures brokerage as non-reliable.
By the way, did you notice on the above screenshot that NTB has obtained the NFA license in 2004? Yet, this does not prevent WikiFX from claiming that the brokerage has only been providing its services for 1-2 years only, instead of the factual 16 years of operations.
We can long discuss the reasons that lie behind such selectivity of WikiFX but this random example clearly shows that any brokerage that provides access to non-forex derivatives trading or dares to suggest custom-developed software to its traders is in danger of receiving a negative review at WikiFX regardless of the factual reliability and regulations.

What lies beneath WikiFX selectivity?

WikiFX claims to have a team of professionals that are all involved in objective appraisal of broker’s services, licenses and used software. The methods used by these professionals remain unrevealed and as we see from the above comparison two similarly reliable brokerages can get any score from 1.0 and up to 10.0 at WikiFX, no matter what regulations they’ve got, for how long they’ve been in the business and what kind of software they use.
This is difficult to say what lies behind such selectivity with 100% confidence. The first thing that comes to mind is that WikiFX might be affiliated with some brokers. The hypothesis gets even more realistic if we try to understand who sponsors WikiFX.
There are no transparent built-in ads neither on the web-version of the website nor in its applications. There are no paid subscriptions for access to the database. This means that users sponsor the service with neither their attention to ads nor directly. Being the non-charity and non-governmental organization WikiFX can’t be sponsored with donations or a government. The only option that we have left is that brokers sponsor this ranking system directly, which automatically makes the whole system non-reliable and highly biased.
The only transparent method that we know WikiFX uses to collect money is sponsorship fees they collect from their offline events participants. Let’s have a look at the exhibitors of the recent WikiFX Expo in Thailand.
WikiFX Expo Exhibitors

• TLC is a non-regulated investment platform that was founded in 2019
• Samtrade FX is not regulated by any of the agencies that WikiFX itself lists as reliable
• Forex4you is not regulated by any of the agencies that WikiFX itself lists as reliable
• B2 Broker is a non-regulated broker
• XDL FX is a non-regulated broker
• VAT FX is a non-regulated broker
  Six out of sixteen WikiFX recent expo exhibitors do not have proper legal status according to the “standards” of WikiFX itself. This fact does not prevent them from promoting the services of these companies at their offline events. This conspicuous fact tells a lot about the attitude of WikiFX to common traders looking for reliable partners. Reputation is nothing but a sale item for this brokers’ ranking system.
  

Murky & Murkier

So far we’ve only discussed the facts that anyone can check himself using free tools and sources.
It was not that difficult to discover that WikiFX uses non-transparent standards for brokers’ appraisal. It ignores the specifics of some brokerages lowering their scores due to non-standard derivatives they offer to trade or custom trading software. It also promotes non-regulated and non-licensed brokerages, which is 100% against the declared WikiFX values and mission.
The rumors are that this company was also noticed blackmailing brokers with the purpose of making them pay for better reviews at WikiFX. There are also some signs that indicate suspicious promotion of WikiFX platform through social media and Quora. Some of the WikiFX positive reviews also look highly suspicious. All of the above is a matter of further investigation.
Nevertheless, thousands of users keep relying on the information provided by this scam ranking system. It may even look like all these users are satisfied. WikiFX has got 4.5 starts at Google Play, which sounds good enough. However, positive WikiFX reviews use similar semantics and are also highly suspicious. Despite the high average grade, Google Play finds the following messages to be most relevant and brings them to the top of WikiFX reviews:
Google Play most relevant WikiFX reviews
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You’ve got the facts now and it’s time to make your own conclusions.

One of the most common ways of getting started with Forex trading is through a Forex broker. When you are a beginner Forex trader you are most likely to opt for the same alternative, but the mistake that most rookie traders make is choosing the wrong broker. If your first step does not go right then you can merely depend on luck and in a competitive field like the Forex market, being lucky is very rare. The best alternative is to have the right information and also use it well.
If you are thinking that how a Forex broker can be so important, here it is. The broker you choose will be the one that will be keeping your invested money in the account. Apart from this, a good broker will also be providing you their expertise about the changes happening in the market. This expertise comes with a fee but it is a small amount to pay for the information that can help you not just earn profits but also convert a loss into no loss.
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Elite Trading Strategist
Choosing The Perfect Broker
A good broker will be transparent regarding his fees, commissions, etc. but mostly it is not the case. If you have not done your research on a broker, well you might have to face some unwelcome surprises. So you do not have to face all these unpleasantness, here is a guide to choose the right broker.
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Hafizzat Rusli trading masterclass

1. Figure Yourself Out As An Investor

Different brokers offer different kinds of services and you will have to figure which kind of service will suit you the most. Whether you are going to invest big or small, how often you would like to invest, these are the things that can help make a final choice but that is not it. Choosing the right broker takes a lot more than this.

2. Figuring Your Affordability

The brokerage companies charge you a transaction fee. If you are a beginner and invested a small amount just to try your luck or to gain initial experience. Turns out you earned the profit, but what if the brokerage fee is 2 times more than what you earned. This will be the kind of shock that will leave you feeling humiliated for not choosing wisely. As a beginner choose the broker with less fee but also make sure if the account being provided is secure. The next point is about all that.

3. Always Choose A Regulated Broker Firm

A regulated is important to choose because that will automatically take care of the various security issues. If you are choosing a broker in the United States of America, he will be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the National Futures Association (NFA). Similar organizations are present in France, Germany, United Kingdom, Austria, Canada, and Switzerland. The presence of regulating organizations does not mean that all the brokers are regulated so pick wisely. If you want to be sure if your broker is actually registered under the NFA, you can visit the website of NFA and cross-check to be sure and safe.

4. Be Thoroughly Informed About The Terms And Conditions Of The Brokerage Firm

The rules and regulations of a brokerage firm can be tricky to understand at times. If you do not take your time to understand these terms well and choose the broker just like that, there will be times when you will want to change the past but will not be able to. For example, some brokerage firms do not allow you to withdraw your investment or trade it instantly. In situations like these, you will be at a major loss. Although such terms also come with benefits, but that depends on the kind of investor you are.
With some brokers, the rules are as such that closing your account will be a tedious task. The broker does not want to lose you as a client and he/she can try various things for this. So, if you are willing to withdraw back you might have to waste a week's time or more with unnecessary things like filling lengthy forms, speak to the company's representative, take surveys, etc.

5. Find Out If You Will Get 24/6 coverage

24/6 means that you can consult your firm's customer service anytime between Sunday afternoon and Friday afternoon. Before you finally invest, put your broker through a small test. Give a call and see how quick and relevant are the responses from the broker's end.
Apart from choosing the right broker, you will also need to have a mentor to learn more about currency analysis and other factors responsible for Forex trading. You can always look up for a trading course online but if you want the best then Ha is your answer. to know more about his Forex trading course click here.

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Thinking about starting your own Forex Brokerage? The first logical question is "Where is the best location to incorporate and license your broker?".
However before we proceed on to answer this question, there are other related questions a person who has a serious interest in opening his FX Brokerage needs to answers.
Q1) Which regions are your going to concentrate on for retail clients?
Q2)When do you plan on launching your company & product?
Q3)How much money do you plan on establishing your brokerage?
Q4)Which business model are you going to have ? (STP,Market Maker,DD,Mixed)
Q5)Which bank will open you a corporate bank account?(depends on license & country of incorporation)
Q6)How're you going to collect the payments from your clients?
For the purposes of answering the question, we will divide certain geos(regions) in Tiers based on the level of reporting, capital requirement & tight regulated environment each jurisdiction has.
1) Tier 1 :
To safeguard investors from fraudulent and ponzi schemes, many countries have established private or state owned organizations to monitor and regulate the Forex Market and are actively supported by the governments. Example of countries in this Tier are JAPAN(FSA JAPAN) & USA(NFA & CFTC).
There are profound reporting requirements, broker required to provide high quality in services and prove the availability of $20 Million USD of free liquid capital not including clients money. There is also a compulsion to have local offices and a significant membership fee as well.
2) Tier 2:
Regulations like FCA UK & ASIC Australia fall under this category. These jurisdictions require lower initial capital and are committed to reporting. Obtaining a license from these authorities may take anything between 6 months to a year depending on how fast the required documents are submitted.
Applying for a license from these regulatory authorities typically requires one to have a minimum of $100,000 USD of non client funds. The cost for this is approximately $35,000 to $50,000(depending on what license you take) for example if you plan to have a Dealing Desk which doesn't forward the liquidity flow to a third party then you need to show a high availability of disposable liquid funds available approximately $1 Million USD where as for STP(Straight Through Processing) models where you forward all the liquidity flow it's about $100,000 USD.
3)Tier 3:
Offshore with certain level of protection for investors like Cyprus(CySEC),, Malta(MSA), New Zealand (FSP) are the Tier 3 jurisdictions.
These regulators require the availability of a local office, simpler reporting & very low taxes. Specially Cyprus which offers good access to EU and is also ESMA compliant. The cost for CySEC range from 125,000 Euro to 750,000 Euro depending which model you're going for STP or Dealing Desk and the process time remains on par with the Tier 2 regulators.
4)Tier 4:
BVI, Marshall Islands, Belize & Seychelles are the Tier 4 jurisdiction and have a official regulation and license the broker needs to obtain if providing FX Instruments. Obtaining a license and getting a license usually takes 3-4 months and cost around $20,000 to $30,000 USD with a $500,000 USD in capital requirement(Belize). Also with these licenses it's easier to open and maintain a bank account.
5)Tier 5:
There are certain offshore jurisdictions Like St. Vincent & Grenadines or Bermuda where there getting a Forex license is not compulsory. Setting up a company needs only a little capital and the money saved can then be used on operations or marketing.
It's a bit difficult to obtain an account in a credible bank for Tier 5. Most startups go around this issue by listing their company for more than one service for example Consultancy, Marketing,FX, Travel etc or through EMIs which can provide an online IBAN. (B2B accounts mostly).
Many big brokers around the world start with small licenses and obtain their bigger licenses much later such examples include big names like Alpari, Admiral, Primus etc.
To keep up to date with the latest trends in FX industry or info on brokerages or white labels visit Stratton Forex. We'd love to hear from you.
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