Hello Clint,
I noticed that a new Estonia-based broker, AnnexFx accepts US residents. Haven’t opened an account with them yet, but account opening page says “US residents accepted”. Trading terms look pretty good to me.
Update: Turns out AnnexFx is owned and operated by AssetsFx Trading, which I think is the same Finnish broker already on your list.
Hello, SLS
Long time, no hear. Glad to know you’re still in this business, and still checking in with us from time to time.
Re: AnnexFX (Estonia), they do appear to be a subsidiary of AssetsFX (Finland), although they certainly are not very forthcoming about the relationship (if any) between these two brokers.
AnnexFX (Estonia) states the following on their About Us page:
AnnexFx.com is owned and operated by AssetsFx Trading OÜ, company reg.no.12504349, a licensed forex broker, registered by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (license no. VVT000308, FRA000042) in Estonia.
And AssetsFX (Finland) states the following on their About Us page:
AssetsFx Trading is a division of Oy Nettico Ltd., main offices in Kauniainen, Finland. The company has been established in 2002. Company reg.no 1793716-6
The name Annex is kind of a give-away though, don’t you think?
I compared the Trading Conditions pages on both websites, and they are virtually identical, right down to the wording and the format. Same trading conditions, same sample swaps, and same list of countries they don’t deal with.
As of right now, I’m not sure how to handle AnnexFX. If AnnexFX (Estonia) is essentially a branch or subsidiary of the Finnish broker, then I would opt to ignore them. That’s been our policy up til now with brokers who have branch locations in other countries.
On the other hand, if it can be determined that AnnexFX (Estonia) is totally independent of AssetsFX (Finland), so far as company policies, financial liability, etc. are concerned, then I would lean toward adding them to our List.
If you discover any further information about this situation, please post it here.
And, don’t be a stranger!
Hi Clint,
Yes, I guess it would be redundant to list AnnexFX.
Also, I should mention that yesterday I tried unsuccessfully to open an account with X-trade Brokers (XTB).
There have been some recent changes to their website. I remember there used to be an “international division” that US residents could use to sign up for an account. But now that’s gone. Instead, the homepage automatically links to the XTB UK division for the English version. Same thing happened when I went to the XTB Poland Division and selected English – it kicked back to XTB UK Division.
Didn’t think XTB UK would take me due to FCA regulation, but tried anyway on a lark. Surprisingly, the site did let me complete the registration process. But later I received an email from customer support stating they do not accept US residents.
I did not try to sign up for an account via the XTB Poland Division site (in Polish). But I can say for sure that the XTB UK site cannot be used to open an account.
Hi, SLS
Based on your attempt with [B]XTB,[/B] I think it’s pretty certain that they no longer welcome U.S. clients.
I searched their website for additional info, but found none. Tried to [I]Live Chat[/I] with them, but something went awry, and nobody responded to me. Didn’t send them an email, or try to pursue this further.
For now, I will reference your post in the listing for XTB. In a few days, if we haven’t been able to confirm that they will accept U.S. clients, I will send them to the dustbin (Group 2).
Just tried signing up with FXPIG. They sent me a form and told me that they do not accept clients from the United States unless they are “Eligible Contract Participants.” Here is a copy of what it takes to be one of those people:
Is a corporation, partnership, proprietorship, organization, trust, or other entity that has total assets exceeding $10,000,000;
Is a corporation, partnership, proprietorship, organization, trust, or other entity that has a net worth exceeding $1,000,000; and will enter into foreign currency transaction solely in connection with the conduct of the client’s business or to manage the risk associated with an asset or liability owned or incurred or reasonably likely to be owned or incurred by the entity in the conduct of the entity’s business;
Is an individual who (i) has total assets in an amount in excess of $10,000,000; or (ii) has total assets in
an amount in excess of $5,000,000 and who enters into the agreement, contract, or transaction in order to manage the risk associated with an asset owned or liability incurred, or reasonably likely to be owned or incurred, by the individual;
Is an investment company subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.) or a foreign person performing a similar role or function subject as such to foreign regulation;
Is a commodity pool that has total assets exceeding $5,000,000, and was formed and is operated by a person or entity registered as a Commodity Pool Operator with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission or a foreign person performing a similar role or function subject as such to foreign regulation;
Is otherwise qualified as an Eligible Contract Participant as defined by Section 1a(12) of the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act
Therefore, for our purposes, I do not think that FXPIG accepts “standard” US clients. I believe that any brokerage with a memorandum of understanding may accept US clients if one of the above are true. Just wanted to pass this along.
Just looked at the front page of this thread and realized FXPIG wasn’t ever there. I guess it was somewhere else that I read they accept US clients. Oops…
You’re right about [B]FXPIG (New Zealand).[/B] They do not deal with ordinary U.S. retail clients.
This statement appears in the fine print on each page of their website —
“FXPIG does not open or maintain accounts for U.S. based entities or residents whom are classified as retail or low net worth clients as per the most recent definition of such by the CTFC.”
And you are correct that the CFTC’s restrictions regarding U.S. clients of offshore brokers do not pertain to so-called “eligible contract participants” — which, in the case of individual traders, basically means high-net-worth individuals. Here’s some commentary on the subject from 3 years ago —
As you may have noticed from page 2 of the Offshore Broker List, we have had no success finding brokers in Australia or New Zealand who will deal with Americans.
BTW, why would you want to trade with a broker with a name like PIG?
In the interest of completeness, I will add FXPIG (New Zealand) to Group 2 of our List.
Thank you for humoring me, Clint 
I really thought I read somewhere that they do accept US based traders. So yesterday when I went onto their site looking to open an account I didn’t bother reading the fine print on every webpage…like with everything else 
I will be sticking with Trader’s Way
Important information regarding PaxForex (listed as a Seychelles broker on the first page of this thread, however this is not mentioned anywhere on their site).
The broker lists that they are domiciled in Saint Vincent on their site: PaxForex - Contacts - PaxForex
However, on the Saint Vincent Financial Services Authority Website, they state the following:
[I]The Financial Services Authority wishes to advise that an entity called “PaxForex” claiming to offer Forex Services as a registered St. Vincent and the Grenadines International Business Company, is not and has never been registered by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Financial Services Authority.
The purported entity PaxForex advertises its services through the website http://www.paxforex.com/paxforex. It also claims that its address is Cedar Hill Crest, Villa,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The Financial Services Authority therefore advises that persons who have paid funds to PaxForex through its website and are experiencing difficulties recouping their funds, should consider contacting their relevant authorities.
Issued By:
Financial Services Authority
29th May, 2014[/I]
This warning can be found here: The Finanical Services Authority - St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Thus, I have no idea where PaxForex is located nor do I have any faith in their legitimacy. I was on the Saint Vincent FSA site for other reasons and was very surprised when I saw that.
Regarding [B]PaxForex (Seychelles? - British Virgin Islands?)[/B]
Thanks for bringing this up, Tom.
I will move PaxForex to the Caribbean section, and list them as [B]PaxForex (British Virgin Islands).[/B]
And I will reference your post #2261 in the listing.
Back in April 2012, [I]Gypsy Trader[/I] pointed out the issue of whether PaxForex was domiciled in British Virgin Islands.
I don’t remember why we listed them in the Seychelles.
A few months later, a conversation about PaxForex took place in another thread, part of which I will quote here. (I placed certain portions in [B]bold-face[/B] for emphasis.)
Clearly, PaxForex never should have been listed in the Seychelles.
Clint,
Given how they have posted incorrect information as to where their company is registered, I had assumed that perhaps they were bouncing their address around, from Seychelles to Saint Vincent and then who knows where it will be next.
While their services may be excellent, I would be very hesitant to trade with them. It is very easy to get an IBC registration in Seychelles or Saint Vincent. BVI would be a bad choice now for brokers serving US clients as I believe they are taking action against it there.
Not sure if you have finished posting on the first page of this thread but the PaxForex information is only showing up as “• PaxForex (British Virgin Islands) —”
Based on the Saint Vincent FSA, it is a common practice for companies to pretend they are from there. Not sure why they do this.
[B]X-Trade Brokers (XTB) (Poland)[/B] has been moved to Group 2.
Maybe to scam and rip off traders? No?
Actually every trader should conduct simple but important procedure for testing his broker for integrity fair approach and legality of business - I mean checking regulator website, checking scam section, checking ToS (not just downloading their PDF on the desktop). You are going to work on financial markets which closely tangled with legal commitments for both of the sides. When I was going to read my Hotforex ToS I was in doubt that I would discern it from other brokers’ heap of legal documents. But to my surprise, I found some interesting points which build some trust to them. Read your broker legal docs and I am sure you will never get scam issues with your broker ( whether you leave them because it gonna be scam or conform their rules if the broker is legal)
Well, I was referring to other companies that aren’t necessarily providing trading services. On the webpage in my post, there were numerous companies mentioned that aren’t actually located in Saint Vincent.
It is very easy to set up a business in those places.
It is not permitted to run a Forex Brokerage from Seychelles.
I emailed them regarding details on how they regulate such entities and this was their response.
Kindly note that Forex Trading/Brokerage is not a permissible activity by the
Financial Services Authority(FSA) in view that there presently is no legal
framework in place which caters for the regulation of same.Please note however that the following legislations; the Securities Act,2007 and
the Mutual & Hedge Fund Act, 2008, can provide guidance to the different
activities/products within the securities and funds industry and which are
administered and regulated by the FSA.
But this does not mean it is illegal, technically. Any comments?
All this info on “offshore brokers” has my head spinning! )-:
Is there anyone out there who is willing to commit to a “legit” offshore broker?
Right now, I’m leaning toward SmartTrader, but I have gotten emails from TradersWay,
and yes when I googled their address it came up with 8 Copthall, Roseau Valley, Dominica.
Of course, that address also shows numerous other business entities.
As I am writing this thread, I have received another email response from TradersWay with an explanation of their address.
It seems it’s nothing more than a “mailbox drop”. So now, I’m wondering where do they actually reside in cyberspace???
And, I’m wondering is this guy “Tomd100”, a legit trader or just a shill for TradersWay???
A footnote: I was with FXSystems for a couple of years, and all of a sudden “poof”, they disappeared!
No. I am giving my honest experience regarding all of the brokers I have tested. I have been around this forum for a while, then I signed up last year, and just recently I decided to start being an active member. And… a “shill” ?
And why don’t you just call them and ask?
Also, I believe I have been providing pretty decent information to this thread as of late as I am trying to help out the community in some small way. You come here, post once, and accuse me of being a shill. Did I mention that I trade with other brokers as well? Yes I did. What isn’t to say that you don’t work for SmartTrader? See my point?
I’m a frustrated trader from America, just like you. I signed up with Forex.com two weeks ago but their price quotes keep freezing up on me. I have had to take video recordings of my screen and email it to them. I hate FIFO, the inability to hedge and the leverage restrictions. I hate transferring money overseas because it is expensive.
I was with Forex FS from Australia earlier this year and have since been kicked out. Trader’s Way was the first broker I signed up with and I keep having to fall back on them, as no one else decent is willing to nor able to accept my business, at least for an extended period of time. And I have never heard of SmartTrader. What do you like about them? Apparently they accept US clients and are not on the list, so would you be willing to share a link with us? Or did you mean SmartTradeFX?
“…why don’t you just call them and ask?”
What would that accomplish???
For starters, their Sales Dept number has an an area code of “849” which is the Dominican Republic, and not Dominica. Can you explain that???
Dude,
If you noticed I ended that sentence with question marks. I wasn’t making an accusation, I was asking a question. But, I have to wonder about your response. You do sound like you’re being awfully defensive.
And all this stuff about Forex.com, ForexFx, etc.???
Yeah we all know about what goes on with US brokers, that’s why I’m trying to find a “legit off-shore” broker.
Finally, my bad on the “SmartTrader” , which should have read SmartTrade…
Jose, aka Joe
