Hi Clint,
I think we have to take Varchev off the list. This is the email I received today.
Hello Mr. Xxxx,
Sorry to inform you that we no longer accept US citizens to trade with us. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Varchev Brokers
Thanks for posting this information.
I attempted to send an email inquiry to [B]Varchev Financial (Bulgaria),[/B] using the email address in our List, but I found that it has been disabled. And their website offers no contact info, except telephone numbers in various European cities.
Would you be willing to give us the email address that Varchev used to contact you? If so, you can post it here, or you can send it to me via [I]private message.[/I]
Later today, I will update our List. I might leave Varchev in Group 1 for now, pending additional information from them. If so, I will flag the listing with a Caution, and I will reference your post #2313.
Clint,
Thanks for starting this awesome thread. Unfortunately I didnāt keep the email. I was so disappointed I deleted it. I was really looking forward to utilizing that broker. I think Iām going to stick FinFx for now. I also opened an account with Tradersway. I was using Profiforex but they donāt allow paypal deposits and none of their other deposit methods work for me.
Apparently the troubled broker MMCIS has died (at least once) and come back to life (at least once).
And apparently itās still a scam. See Forex Magnates ā and ā realscam.com
We currently have this broker listed as [B]Forex MMCIS (Panama)[/B] in Group 2 of the Offshore Broker List.
It seems that Panama was merely a āregistration addressā for a ponzi operation run out of Ukraine.
Sometime in the recent past, they āmovedā from Panama to St. Vincent and the Grenadines ā¦
ā¦and then they āmovedā again to The Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Maybe the Marshall Islands are becoming the current favorite hideout for shifty forex brokers.
Anyway, I will move MMCIS to our new Marshall Islands sub-category, when I get around to it.
Clint,
I must also add a word of caution about Varchev. Although I have not received any direction to close my account, I did try to contact them a couple of weeks ago using <[email protected]> and <[email protected]>, but received no reply. Unfortunately they do not have a āback officeā or live chat for traders. Iāve stopped trading with them in hopes things will eventually sort themselves out.
I will be sure to post new info received on Varchev status. Advise not initiating the account opening process (which involves mailing a hard copy application to their office in Bulgaria) without positive confirmation from Varchev staff that it will be accepted.
ā¦on a positive note I see FX Choice has added 14 more CFDs to their MT4 āClassicā accounts, including traditional US Dollar Index. Nice for those who donāt want to hold full size futures positions.
Thanks SLS,
Iām close to kicking Varchev to the curb. For now, I will leave them where they are (in Group 1), and I will reference your post #2317 in our Varchev listing.
Please keep us informed of any further news from this broker.
Edit: Thanks for the heads-up on FX Choice. Iāll note it in the FX Choice listing.
Been away for a little while. I just found the email that I received from EvenForex last month regarding US clients:
Hello,
As per our regulation we cannot accept US Clients, But if you have any other business relationship out of US (Like trading account, Bank Account, Agreements, Invoices ) and If you provide me the proof on same, I can get your trading account opened.
You should wire your funds from your Bank to EvenForex Bank account which is with EuroPacific Bank Ltd, St.Vincent & Grenades.
We accept Skrill payments as long as you are comfortable and your limits are high. I would suggest to go for Wire Transfer for which we can supply you with invoice for bank submission.
Thanks
I thought I was crazy when I chatted with them and found that they actually do accept clients from the USA. This email above was received from <[email protected]> on October 17th. They were never āregulatedā to begin with.
Anyway, I will continue to search our Prospect List further.
I have sent emails to the following brokers and will let you know of their responses soon:
[U]Awaiting Email[/U]:
[B]Alpha Trading CM[/B] ā Cannot find location. Has open issues on FPA
[B]ATIG Securities[/B] ā Broker from Turkey (first one I have seen). Website
[B]Forex Ukraine[/B]/[B]Forex LTD[/B] ā The former has webpages that keep redirecting to the latter. When trying to email [B]Forex Ukraine[/B] directly, the contact form came back with an error. So I emailed F[B]orex LTD[/B] instead.
[U]Bad or Out of Business[/U]:
[B]ATG Marketplex[/B] - Aaron Trading ā Websiteno longer works
[B]Hoard-FX[/B] ā This broker is a fraud, letās completely remove them from the list. Source: Belize IFSA
Their website also does not work. DO NOT go to it as it kept redirecting to various links, who knows what it will load.
[U]Other[/U]:
[B]Back Bay FX[/B] ā Appears to be an IB out of Boston, Massachusetts. Website
[U]Purging a couple of shifty brokers from our List[/U] ā
ā¢ I think the evidence points to major problems at [B]Varchev Financial (Bulgaria),[/B] and Iām ready to remove this broker from Group 1. ā Comments on Varchev?
ā¢ [B]Even Forex (Dominica)[/B] is another broker which doesnāt belong on our List, in my opinion. I regret having added them to Group 1 just a few days ago, and I now believe they should be relegated to Group 2. They donāt seem capable of giving a straight answer to the simple question āDo you accept U.S. clients?ā. And the fact that their website lists 4 email addresses for contacting them, and [I]not one of those email addresses is active,[/I] really makes me suspicious. Too shifty for my taste. ā Comments on this one?
If no one on this thread can make a good case for retaining either, or both, of these brokers, I will move them to Group 2 by the end of this week.
I hate to see our list of friendly brokers in Group 1 shrink even further, but it is what it is.
Edit: Varchev Financial and Even Forex have been removed from Group 1.
I am definitely in agreement with you on [B]EvenForex[/B]. While our aim is to simply provide a list of brokers willing to accept clients from the United States, I wouldnāt want to see members of our community trying them out. Honestly, the chat service was horrendous.
I just called the Varchev London office and they told me they donāt accept US clients. When I mentioned that āseveral membersā were trying to email them but werenāt receiving responses. The response was the following (Verbatim):
āUh-huh, well we donāt accept US clients, sorry.ā
Then he hung up.
Remove them too.
Just went through the list. The only one not on our list that would be added is Larson & Holz: https://www.lh-broker.com/
Has USA as a country choice in the registration area. Currently they are not available to chat and I cannot find any definitive information on their website.
I went through that list, as well, and eliminated every broker on it [I]with the possible exception[/I] of Larson&Holz.
My concern regarding that broker is the Russian connection: it appears to be an unregulated Russian outfit using a Caribbean registration address ā either BVI or St Vincent (but not Belize as indicated on the ForexChurch site).
Needs further vetting, before we can consider adding it to our List.
Apparently, they are in India, based on these listings in Bing, Google, etc. ā
Forex Trading Company in India | Alpha Trading CM
Forex Trading Company in India | Alpha Trading CM
Start Forex Trading in India. Alpha Trading CM is a leading online Forex trading company. Join us today and get cutting edge Forex signals absolutely free for your ā¦
Forex Currency Trading in India - Top Forex Rates ā¦
Forex Currency Trading in India - Top Forex Rates | AlphaTradingCM
Forex Currency Trading. Alpha Trading CM offers 60 currency pairs to trade on our platform; Automated, anonymous system that matches buyers to sellers.
Furthermore, it appears that they do not welcome U.S. clients, as U.S. cannot be selected in the drop-down menu on the page for opening an account.
First one Iāve seen, as well. They are a 2-year-old broker domiciled in Istanbul, Turkey.
It appears that they welcome U.S. clients.
I had a hard time finding basic information on their website ā like spreads, for instance ā but, the English-language text is grammatical and easy to read.
This broker is worthy of further vetting.
We can forget Forex Ukraine. Evidently, they refer inquiries from certain countries (the U.S., and probably the U.K. and Canada, as well) to Forex LTD (UK), and we already know those guys wonāt deal with us.
Here is a list of all the brokers in Group 1 and Group 2 on our List, in alphabetical order.
Edit ā the alphabetical list of brokers has been moved to post #4 in this thread.
A wealth of misinformation
I was on the PassMark site, browsing computer cpu specs, when I noticed a banner at the top of the page touting the ā10 Best Forex Brokersā. So, naturally, I had to check it out. I was directed to the DailyForex site, where I eventually landed on THIS PAGE.
The list on that page is supposedly tailored for U.S. clients. The blurb at the top of the list discusses the special limitations faced by U.S. traders searching for brokers, either here or offshore.
I hold DailyForex in high regard in most cases, but their list of top-rated brokers for U.S. clients is a disappointment. Here is their list:
- Forex.com
- FXCM
- ForexBrokerInc
- eToro USA
- Oanda
- Saxo Bank
- Dukascopy
- FX Solutions
- Zecco
- Markets.com
Okay, 1., 2., 3., and 5. are good recommendations.
Then the list gets sketchy.
-
eToro USA is an IB for eToro (Cyprus),
and their website says that they are not (yet) available to U.S. clients. -
Saxo Bank (Denmark) does not accept U.S. clients.
-
Dukascopy (Switzerland) does not accept U.S. clients.
-
FX Solutions (US) is out of the forex brokerage business.
-
Zecco has been merged into TradeKing (US) ā see additional comments below.
-
Markets.com (Cyprus) does not accept U.S. clients.
So, once again, it seems that the List we have compiled here on Babypips is more accurate and more up-to-date than anything else out there.
An interesting additional note:
Regarding TradeKing/Zecco: this broker (located in Charlotte, North Carolina) requires more initial margin than the CFTC dictates. In other words, they offer less leverage than the already-restricted 50:1 CFTC maximum.
In a standard account (trading 100,000-unit standard lots), this broker requires available margin of $2,500 (which is 2Ā½% margin = 40:1 leverage). And in a mini-account (trading 10,000-unit mini-lots), they require available margin of $500 (which is 5% margin = 20:1 leverage).
Opened a Profiforex account last Wednesday.
So far I have completed a total of two deposits to the account. Support is available by chat even on Sunday! I will attempt a withdrawal and update everyone when I do that.
Hello, Dreher ā Welcome to Babypips, and welcome to this thread.
Let us know how things work out with Profiforex.
Iām considering a reorganization of the first three posts on this thread ā the posts containing our List.
Specifically, Iām thinking about
ā¢ combining post#1 and post#2 into a [B]new post#1[/B] which will contain all of Group 1
(brokers who [B]will[/B] do business with us)
ā¢ moving all of Group 2 (brokers who [B]will not[/B] do business with us) to a [B]new post#2[/B]
(from its present location in post#3)
ā¢ placing the alphabetical index of all the brokers we have vetted (see HERE) in a [B]new post#3.[/B]
Comments?
Edit ā The reorganization could not be done as outlined above for technical reasons having to do with post size-limits. However, a different approach was taken, and the first 4 posts on this thread now look a little different than before. Check it out.
Hello Clint, hope all is well. You asked me to give a report on my experience with Forex Broker, Inc. It was a while ago, but I have been trading with Profiforex mostly since then using a different strategy that was not conducive to this brokerage. BTW, Profiforex is an excellent brokerage.
There have been two disappointing experiences with Forex Broker, Inc. I can say to their credit that they did return my deposit both times, so it was not a loss of capital that I experienced, just a loss of time which is much more valuable than money. Money cannot buy time.
The 1st disappointment was regarding inquiries with their online chat, support department, and the assigned manager about the # of open orders allowed. They all claimed to allow unlimited # of open orders with no problems. After making a $1,000 deposit and opening several accounts, my strategy opened 500 orders per account on the 1st day. Their Dealing Desk contacted me before the morning via email requiring me to close out the orders because it was a drain on their servers. I was surprised, because after contacting their staff and reading their terms and policies I was convinced they allowed āunlimited open orders.ā I informed them about the confirmation received regarding unlimited orders from their staff and terms and policies, but they responded by demanding the orders be closed immediately or they would close them for me. Well, I was not going to take a loss because of their incompetent staff, so I left the strategy continue as it was. They closed all orders, froze all accounts, and refunded the deposit by the next morning. I was grateful for the refund, but told them to counsel their staff and change their terms and policies if they were going to be two-faced hypocrites.
The 2nd disappointment just happened last week. Only using a buy and sell breakout strategy for different market session openings and news events. The strategy sent hard take profits and stop losses to their servers, but were closed before and after the stops as a loss on several trades. I chatted with them online about it, and was told to contact their Dealing Desk again. It was only about $5 loss, because I was just testing the strategy in the live market, but a principle is worth dying for. I requested the restoration of the equity immediately, providing evidence of the trades from the MT4 Experts Tab, Journal, and Logs, but they claimed that my IP Address closed the trades. I refuted their lame excuse with the evidence of the orders being closed before and after the hard stops sent to their servers, and informed that that the same algorithm was being traded on another brokerages MT4 from the same private server at the same time without any issues. They responded by accused me of fraud, and referred the case to their Anti-Fraud Department, because my strategy appeared to be using an arbitrage strategy. What a joke! The next day, they closed my account, again refunded the minimal $300 deposit, and informed me that they would not do business with me anymore.
It does not benefit me to post this report. It is for the benefit of others to beware of the character of this broker, which claims to specialize in service to āUSA and Japanā customers for some reason.
Best regards
P.S. I will not be posting on FPA or any other forum about my experience with this brokerage, this is for the benefit of this thread, but if this post is not appropriate for this thread, please just delete it.
Here is a snapshot of the trades and correspondence.
On Mon, Nov 24, 2014 at 12:59 AM,
To Whom It May Concern;
Your server is closing trades in my account without my authorization. Please see all of the trades highlighted in yellow. They all have a comment āpendingā except for the last one that says āstoplossā, but they were all in violation of the set āstoplossā or ātakeprofitā parameters that I initially sent to your servers upon opening the trades. Please restore the equity for these trades in the account immediately.
Sincerely,
TRADES CLOSED BY FOREX BROKER, INC.
14824106 2014.11.20 06:14:39 buy 0.01 usdjpy. 118.466 118.265 118.765 2014.11.20 0723 118.622 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.32
123 pending
14821492 2014.11.20 0036 sell 0.01 nzdusd. 0.78384 0.78594 0.78094 2014.11.20 08:00:00 0.78404 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.20
123 pending
14831924 2014.11.20 1738 sell 0.01 usdcad. 1.12988 1.13193 1.12693 2014.11.21 07:01:34 1.13083 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.84
123 pending
TRADES CLOSED BY FOREX BROKER, INC.
14855638 2014.11.21 10:01:09 buy 0.01 eurusd. 1.25494 0.00000 0.00000 2014.11.21 10:03:01 1.25513 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.19
123 pending
14855639 2014.11.21 1016 sell 0.01 eurusd. 1.25371 0.00000 0.00000 2014.11.21 1038 1.25420 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.49
123 pending
14860731 2014.11.21 1557 buy 0.01 usdcad. 1.12695 1.12534 1.12934 2014.11.21 1500 1.12258 0.00 0.00 0.00 -3.89
123 stoploss
On Sun, Nov 23, 2014 at 4:03 PM, Dealing ForexBrokerInc wrote:
The information you have provided is being investigated and you will be emailed with the results of the investigation as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience.
Kind Regards
Dealing Team
From: Dealing ForexBrokerInc
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2014 4:23 AM
Subject: Re: Trades Closed by Forex Broker, Inc Without Authorization
Thank you for your email.
In regards if our server is closing trades without your authorization, please note that our clients are dealing straight with our liquidity providers, without us using a dealing desk in between.
Also please note that any pending or completed requests regarding a trade, are saved in our server journal , where is showing clearly the ip address from where the request came from.
In regards for the āpendingā commend, that means that the trade was originally a pending order that got triggered when the Market reached the price you set.
If the trade will close at the T/P or S/L price then the command will change accordingly.
If the trade will close manually then the āPendingā will remain on comment.
Also āPendingā commend can also be added by an Expert Advisor.
Here is an example for trade 14824106 in order to clearly understand that the request for its closure came from your ip address(for the other 5 trades please see attached file)
There are 2 possibilities that you are experiencing this :
a) You are using an EA or a Script without been aware of.
b) A third person from your household has access to your trading account.
In order to eliminate these 2 possibilities please re-install your platform from the link below and change your account password.
As you can clearly see all trades were executed and closed by your Ip and therefore we cannot proceed with your refund request.
Thank you for your understanding.
If you would like any other help or information, please do not hesitate to contact us again.
On Mon, Nov 24, 2014 at 4:42 PM,
To Whom It May Concern;
Thank you for your investigation. I am using an expert advisor, and it was the same exact expert advisor being used on another brokerageās MT4 platform at the exact same time, trading the exact same strategy, with the exact same set parameters, on the exact same currency pair, located on the exact same private server, and the trades were executed seamlessly, and closed at the set parameters that were sent to the brokerageās server, not before or after like Forex Broker, Incorporatedās servers.
So you Forex Broker, Incorporated is working against their clients trades, and not respecting their clients set parameters that were sent to the servers as āhard parameters,ā and now your department is refusing to accept responsibility for your actions, and blaming your clients of closing trades premature to their set parameters that were sent to Forex Broker, Incorporatedās servers, because āyour investigationā states that the close requests were made from the IP Address of the exact same Private Server where the other brokerageās MT4 platform executed the trades without any āmanipulation.ā If the stoploss parameter of order#14860731 2014.11.21 1557 buy 0.01 usdcad. 1.12695 1.12534 1.12934 2014.11.21 1500 1.12258 0.00 0.00 0.00 -3.89 123 stoploss was sent to āyour trading server,ā and the reason for the close in the comments is āstoplossā how could āyour clients IP addressā be responsible for that trade being closed 276 points past the āsent hard stoploss parameterā held by Forex Broker, Incorporatedās servers?
You will be held accountable by Another Person if you refuse to hold yourselves accountable for your actions.
Sincerely
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dealing ForexBrokerInc
Date: Mon, Nov 24, 2014 at 9:09 PM
Subject: Re: Trades Closed by Forex Broker, Inc Without Authorization
We are writing to inform you about your account that during our investigation for your requested trades our Anti-fraud Department has brought to our attention that the trading patterns in your Account raise serious concerns. For this reason your account is now on hold for further investigation.
We would reply you within 24 hours.
Thank you for your co - operation and patience.
Kind Regards,
Dealing Department
From: Dealing ForexBrokerInc
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2014 10:05 AM
Subject: Re: Trades Closed by Forex Broker, Inc Without Authorization
Dear Investor,
We are writing to inform you that we decided to return you your funds $300 along with your profit $25.44 and terminate our relationship. The report from our Anti - Fraud Department shows that in total you have placed 81 orders from which 44 were cancelled and 26 out of 37 were using arbitrage scalping strategy.
Even thought WE ACCEPT NEWS TRADING AND SCALPING, FOREX TRADING ARBITRAGE STRATEGY PATTERNS ARE NOT TOLERATED.
Also considering your previous history with Forex Broker Inc, we wish no longer to cooperate with you.
Thank you for your understanding and we wish you the best of luck in your future trading experience!
Kind Regards
Dealing Department
To Whom It May Concern;
Oh, give me a spineless break! The breakout strategy that was employed during the exchange session openings and news events have nothing to do with arbitrage strategies. Please inform the managers of both the Dealing Desk and Anti-Fraud Departments that they seriously need to train their staffs as both departments have no competence in trading strategies and lack the character and courage to face the truth and take responsibility.
Thank you very much for returning the investment capital. I am grateful not to waste my time with characters of your type.
Best regards