Brokers flagged by FSMA
FSMA Has Flagged These Brokers. What This Means for You
The FSMA, Financial Services and Markets Authority of Belgium has warned the public about the following brokers. This should be taken seriously, since it is not just a slew of negative customer reviews on an unverified site, but is the carefully considered warning by a body empowered by the Belgium government to regulate financial companies and markets.
You should take any warning from a financial regulator seriously. It’s their task to warn the public about potential frauds. The Broker Complaint Registry team makes it our business to also warn consumers by compiling and constantly updating this list of suspected scam brokers.
We’ve made it easier for you to gain access to all of the information from individual regulators by aggregating these warnings in one convenient place and expanding on them in the form of broker reviews.
About the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA)
The FSMA is a private supervisory authority that is empowered by the Belgian parliament to supervise the country’s financial markets and to regulate its financial services. Its goal is also to educate the public about how to make wise financial choices and regularly issues warnings about suspected frauds. It will report brokers who aren’t abiding by the rules and regulations.
Why Were These Brokers Flagged by the FSMA?
There can be numerous reasons why the FSMA chooses to warn the public about financial services, but for the brokers on the following list, these are the most common reasons:
- Unlicensed
- Misleading claims
- Clone broker
- Non-compliance
- Numerous customer complaints
- Legal action against the broker
Unfortunately, a large number of brokers operating today online aren’t licensed. This is a serious issue, and many consumers don’t fully appreciate the importance of having a license from a top regulator. The FSMA will flag any broker that claims to be operating in Belgium without license or has Belgians as customers.
Reliable brokers should back up all of their claims with hard data, otherwise they are making misleading claims. For instance, even referring to themselves as “the best” or claiming credentials they don’t have can land them in hot water.
The FSMA is also alert to the problem of clone brokers–fake financial services that adopt a similar name to a licensed operation. This often confused the public, which is the goal of a fraudulent broker.
If a broker is the subject of numerous complaints to the FSMA, they will be flagged. Also, if they don’t comply with all rules and regulations, they may have a warning issued against them. The FSMA will also alert the public if a broker is facing legal action, such as a cease and desist order or is insolvent.
Brokers flagged by FSMA
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