And the winner is … Using Awards to Find a Safe Broker – 19/11/20

With so many scams and scammers in operation, it’s essential to check your shortlist of brokers using every method available. One item on the due diligence checklist is the crowdsourcing information on brokers. The recently announced Global Forex Awards offer one route to doing that and staying safe.

Global Forex Awards 2020

The 2020 Awards have just been released and are an excellent place to start cross-referencing names of brokers.

FXTM picked up two awards in the booming Africa market

• Best Forex Trading Experience – FXTM
• Best Forex Trading Support – FXTM

ATFX also picked up awards, one in the Global category and the other in Europe.

• Best Forex Trading Innovation (Global) – ATFX
• Best Forex Trading Experience (Europe) – ATFX

Pepperstone are well-known for the quality of their customer support and picked up an award in that category

• Best Forex Trading Support (Middle East) – Pepperstone

Tickmill picked up three awards.

• Best Forex Introducing Broker Programme (Asia) – Tickmill
• ​Best Forex Introducing Broker Programme (Middle East) – Tickmill
• Best Forex Trading Support (Global) – Tickmill

The prestigious Global Forex Broker of the year award went to XM

• Global Forex Broker of the Year – XM

Global Forex Awards describe the purpose of the awards as per the below.

“The awards champion cutting-edge technology, low-cost trading, comprehensive market research tools, advanced educational programs and world-class customer service for direct to consumer/trader businesses.”

Source: Global Forex Awards

This is a worthy task in its own right. The prize-giving ceremony is also valuable in terms of due diligence checks. There is a risk that a scammer might set up their own awards event but that would be an additional cost to the bottom line. Nothing is for sure, but given the cost of setting up awards ceremonies, they form another piece in the ‘how to trade safely’ jigsaw.

While the Forex Fraud analysts are unaware of scam awards being created, we’d never put anything past fraudulent brokers. There is certainly something to be gained from searching out information on the different award givers to gain extra comfort from knowing more about them.

Receiving an award is not 100% confirmation that a broker is safe but it is part of the process of building up a better picture of a broker.

Other Signs of a Scam Broker

Fraudulent broker sites face the same challenges as a bona fide business. Costs and revenue have to be considered and as a result, fraudulent sites often give themselves away by running short-cuts in operational processes.

This explains why awards ceremonies have so far not been their chosen hunting ground. It also explains why scam brokers might not have full-scale onboarding questionnaires. If a broker doesn’t ask you a range of KYC (Know Your Client) questions, it could be that they aren’t regulated.

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, fraudulent sites are out there, but carrying out your due diligence can protect your cash pile from them.

Cross-referencing industry awards tables is one way to go about it. One check on its own is not sufficient but the awards tables are something worth checking out.

Nigel Frith

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Safest Forex Brokers 2024

	Broker	Info	Best In	Customer Satisfaction Score
#1	Your capital is at risk Founded: 2014	Global Forex Broker	BEST SPREADS Visit broker	4.8
#2	Your capital is at risk Founded: 2006	Globally regulated broker	BEST CUSTOMER SUPPORT Visit broker	4.9
#3	* 82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money Founded: 2008	Global CFD Provider	Best Trading App Visit broker	5
#4	Between 74-89 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs Founded: 2010	Global Forex Broker	Low minimum deposit Visit broker	4.9
#5	76% of CFD traders lose money Founded: 2007	Global CFD & FX Broker	ALL-INCLUSIVE TRADING PLATFORM Visit broker	4.9
#6	Your capital is at risk Founded: 2009, 2015 and 2017	Global Forex Broker	Low minimum deposit Visit broker	5
#7	Your capital is at risk Founded: 2006	CFD and Cryptocurrency Broker	CFD and Cryptocurrency Visit broker	5

Forex Fraud Certified Brokers

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.