Well, damn, the bug-zapper doesn’t seem to be working.
The issue with PokerStars, FullTilt, etc have been settled. USA wanted in on the profits as all poker participants volunteer to play. And they want to track the US residents who where playing. The USA gov’t would have a much more difficult time with shutting down non-US brokerages. The worst that could happen is a domain name snatch if it comes down to that.
Although I do agree that it is a fool’s strategy to open an account as a US resident at any brokerage. That brokerage can change their mind at any time. Better to open as non-US (or non Canadian) resident.
What is wrong with an African business? Clearly the USA forex market is not stepping up to the plate. And the US regulators aren’t doing much better either. Quick to go after businesses for petty discrepancies, but companies in their own backyard that actually defrauded clients of their money there is nothing that can be done. Nothing wrong with a legit forex business offering services from the African continent. It would be interesting to see what some of these companies have on offer.
I know how you feel sometimes.
hi clint,
thanks for the list. I will need a broker that is outside the us jurisdiction. If possible he also need to have an API. let me know or send me am email plz.
thanks.
This thread really doesn’t work that way.
This a [I]do-it-yourself[/I] proposition, where you are expected to perform your own due diligence.
We have tried to organize our List in such a way that [I]you[/I] can sift and sort the data we have mined, according to [I]your own[/I] requirements and parameters. Nobody else can make those determinations for you.
You want a recommendation? — See the first three pages of this thread, and take your choice.
How can a us resident open an account off shore a a non us resident,if you don’t care to share in the forum you could email or pm me, please. Really need a off shore account.
Let me first direct you to these two links:
http://forums.babypips.com/rate-my-broker/36221-going-offshore-escape-cftc-40.html#post357232
http://forums.babypips.com/rate-my-broker/36221-going-offshore-escape-cftc-41.html#post364961
http://forums.babypips.com/rate-my-broker/36221-going-offshore-escape-cftc-42.html#post371580
Then the short answer to your question is to establish residency in a non-US country that is friendly to most other nations where forex trading and other financial products wouldn’t be a problem. Mexico is the closest for people coming from USA, but plenty of other forex-trading countries to continue your trading career with. Note: no purchasing or obtaining a 2nd passport is needed, and i don’t recommend buying offshore companies blindly without physically going to at least one of the places and being active in the process.
Cannot send you PM.
“illegal poker sites”? That comment made me laugh out loud. We have lunatics in government over-regulating everything. The pure simple thing to do is make online gambling legal. It’s that simple. Also, Dodd Crapstein really made our economy worse nor did it protect consumers any. It made things worse. And all of Dodd Frank proposals have YET to be put in place. That’s the scary part. Another answer is trading with established offshore banks that do not have any branches opened in USA. If you look harder, you can find many such brokers without going to Nigeria or Mexico.
Originally Posted by sman1109
Are you guys still at this?
Isn’t this called breaking the law why are you guys influencing americans to use offshore brokers? This is wrong the American Government will freeze all profits in those accounts and possibly impose a fine on you or imprison you for doing such unscrupulous acts.
We shouldn’t try to find ways to evade the Dodd Frank law that is illegal.
------->>>>>>>
Thanks Mr. Dodd Frank. Spoken like a typical untrustworthy snitch. Now, shut up!!!
And it is only “illegal” if that foreign entity is doing business in USA.
If that entity is NOT afraid of US, government, they can and will do anything they want; including
accepting US investors. But most are deathly afraid of US government’s confiscatory lawsuit happy ways.
The problem with this strategy is that the bank or broker can change their mind at any time. What the new rules have done is opened up the possibility for charlatan brokers offshore to emerge. So many of the larger popular offshore brokers pre-Dodd-Frank said that USA cannot dictate to them rules of engagement because they are not in USA jurisdiction. But when the law actually was enacted, just about all those same big-chested brokers folded and rejected USA clients. Now if legitimate, established brokers who have had US resident clients for years decided its not worth the headache, why would you have better luck with a newer broker? I’m not saying it cannot be done this way, but it is fighting an uphill battle.
Setting up residency in a forex trader-friendly country is a more permanent solution. Not only is it more correct legally, but it is not difficult to do and will work out in your favor over the long run. It can take a few weeks in some cases.
yes, it is sure that some brokers want to run away from a lot of rules, but that doesn’t mean you can’t beat them taking their money.
The worst case is when you deal with none-regulated forex broker because if your money goes, you never know if it is going to come back.
Only complete idiots would push people from the regulated domestic brokers to the unregulated foreign ones by making the domestic brokers’ trading conditions unbearable. Yet it’s exactly what the CFTC did and takes pride in.
These guys have an excellent product for the experienced trader. Only restrictions they have is no native Belizans. Check the press, they have certified independently that they are a non-dealing desk only Straight Through Processor. Incredible spreads. Easy access to your money (especially if you are funding by C.C.). Wires are 3 days. Metatrader4 with Syrix. No newsfeeds. No Spam. No calling for “the latest special”. In fact there are no specials because they carry no “b” book.
StrategemFX just a clean portal for your trades.
StrategemFX.com
Oh by way of disclaimer, I needed just this sort of brokerage after dodd-frank and a little word of mouth from friends (satisfied) pointed me to them.
Good luck
Pipstomylou
Good day
I’m in the same boat as everyone else here - US retail looking for an overseas account for better margin.
It looks like the three reputable brokers are:
[ul][li]Traders Way[]Forex Club[]PaxForex[/ul]
[/li]
Are there any better brokers than the above listed?
Most on this thread have small accounts. I will start small, however I plan to trade a low six figures account overseas as a retail customer. Is this okay?
50:1 makes it impossible to hedge for a retail trader. Even futures have better margin than that. :43:
Many thanks to the BabyPips community for putting together this excellent thread. 
Well, common sense is starting to prevail in the case of online poker sites. See HERE, HERE, and HERE.
It remains to be seen whether common sense will prevail in the case of offshore forex brokers.
I took a quick run through the StrategemFX website. This broker looks like a good addition to our List.
I’d like to hear opinions from other members of this thread.
If nothing comes to light [I]disqualifying[/I] this broker from our List, I will add them at the next update (in a few days).
[/li]
Regarding your list of three “reputable” brokers, I’m glad you mentioned Forex Club, because it forced me to take another look at this broker. I’m sorry to report that [B]Forex Club (currently included in Group 1 of our List) does not belong there, and must be removed.[/B]
Forex Club Ltd is, indeed, an offshore broker (in British Virgin Islands); but they are not available to U.S. residents. If a U.S. resident attempts to open an account with Forex Club Ltd (BVI), you will be re-directed to Forex Club LLC (US), which is domiciled in the U.S., and is regulated by the CFTC and the NFA.
When I update the List, I will move Forex Club (BVI) from Group 1 to Group 2 (brokers who will not accept U.S. clients).
A more general comment regarding your list of three “reputable” brokers: On pages 1 and 2 of this thread, I think you will find many more than three reputable brokers. Depending on your personal criteria, you might find that as many as half of the brokers listed on those two pages qualify as “reputable”.
As for the rest, there are definitely some on our List which may not be so reputable. In compiling our List, we set a fairly low bar: we included brokers which (1) are located offshore (meaning totally outside the U.S.), and (2) welcome U.S. residents as clients. We did not exclude any broker based on bad reviews, lack of legitimate regulation, or any other negative data. We did try to raise red flags, where red flags appeared to be warranted. But, in the final analysis, we have left it to those using our List to perform their own due diligence regarding the brokers we have listed.
Many thanks for the info. I guess I should have said “most reputable”. Thanks for the info on Forex Club too.
I’m using alexa.com to gauge how large each operation is. Traders Way is fairly large relative to the others, however it’s only been around for a year. They come off as just fine, given the paperwork and many customers. Although I’ll be moving a decent (not mammoth! ;)) six figure account size used for hedging.
[B]Central America / Caribbean[/B]
• The Collective FX Global (Belize) — note: this broker charges a [B]monthly fee[/B] in lieu of commissions
or mark-ups on bank spreads — exercise extreme due diligence
Platforms: __________. – Min. initial deposit: _______. – Max. leverage: _______. – Spreads: EUR/USD _______, GBP/JPY _______.
Website: thecollectivefxglobal dot com
Email: (available only through their website)
The Collective FX is no longer accepting US residents as clients. I went to sign up with them last week after Demoing them for six months but when going to their sign-up page for Live Accounts, US residents are directed to a page that states: “We are completing compliance review at this time. To be notified as soon as it is ready, please get on the notification list below.”
I contacted one of their staff members, Gary, who has been very helpful in the past on multiple occasions, to find out what was going on, as they used to accept US residents. (I think before they moved to Belize, they were based in the US for a few years, but saw the writing on the wall and hightailed it to safer ground.)
Here is his reply:
"The problem we have is that we shouldn’t accept any US residents according to the US CFTC, however, Belize law has no such regulation nor reciprocal agreement with the US. Nevertheless, we choose not to invite the wrath of the US CFTC and so we comply with the CFTC rules and don’t accept US residents.
"We had a solution for US traders due to be launched a couple of months ago in conjunction with a large US broker that would umbrella any US traders, however, in the light of scandals such as PFG, etc., we have chosen to steer clear completely and leave America behind.
"Sorry for the bad news.
“If you really get stuck, then send me your phone number and I’ll arrange a time with you to talk and offer some advice, if I’m able.”
He did call me back after I requested to talk with him via email. He was very apologetic and seemed sad at the situation here in the States.
I’m really disappointed that I couldn’t go with them, as their spreads are pretty good (0.7 - 1.2 for EURUSD most of the time) and I’ve never had a problem with their MT4 platform. The $147 monthly flat fee could be made up in no time with just a few trades due to those consistently lower spreads.
The hunt continues.
I get the same kind of spreads with FX Choice ECN and FinFX ECN, both of which continue offering high-leverage accounts to the US customers.
Thanks for the head’s up, bravehoststamps. I’ll definitely check them out.