GBE BROKERS NOTICE TO APPLY EVEN IF
YOUR COUNTRY IS NOT ON THEIR LIST
I ran across GBE Brokers, and notice that they
omit countries from their application list, but
they invite inquiries if you really want to work
with them ?? Here’s a screenshot. I haven’t
asked them, but perhaps I will…
[EDIT] I did give them a sob story as a U.S. trader, asking for a
long term relationship; so I’ll report back what they say ! ??
[EDIT] I’d certainly like to have a long term relationship:
I never traded any size with these guys because the accounts are denominated in BTC. For me, that’s suicide.
The other hurdle I’ve encountered, after establishing residency outside the US, is the question “Are you a US tax payer?” If so, you are not welcome. So. the search continues.
Honestly, the simplest solution in my mind would be to trade by proxy, and have a foreign entity create an account for you…whether that be a friend, investor or service provider etc… If you wanted to further-legitimize things, you could set up a foreign company and partner with a local. There are law offices that offer this as a service in some countries. Just keep in mind that some countries require foreign-owned businesses to be majority-owned by a local. Fortunately, in the case of trading, trust almost becomes a moot point when you are managing the account and handling all of the funds.
But, I honestly do not see the point unless you are trading large volume. But, I could be missing something. It is all relative, after all.
For anyone interested,Trader’s Way now offers crypto trading. Looks like 9 different instruments. I truly believe Trader’s Way to be the best option by far for US traders. I use FXChoice only becauase spreads are tighter on metals and they offer indicies (which TW does not). On forex, spreads are tighter on TW on all instruments. As far as the others, just have a “gut” feeling.
I got shut down by every major EU/UK/AUS broker unless ECP qualified (>5M assets). I had an off the record discussion with someone @ Tickmill… according to them, an IBC w/ a nominee director can work around this, but only if they are also the sole signatory on the bank account… way too risky for me!
When CFTC style regs hit the UK and then ESMA swept across the EU I completely lost all interest in the subject.
I pretty much decided to build up my capital as quickly as possible with >50:1 offshore to the point were <50:1 stateside would no longer be a problem, especially since >50:1 gets increasingly more risky with much more to lose.
I still utilize FXChoice since they have a long track record of handling larger account sizes, but I’m currently back stateside with Oanda using their raw pricing feed w/ commissions & AMP trading the major USD FX futures.
hmmmmmm… Coinexx has the best spreads out of all the brokers that offer Crypto trading (CRocket/Hugo, Coinexxx, FXChoice & Trader’s Way) but you’re limited to 5:1. Trader’s way is 20:1 <5K (1/50 FX leverage)
I currently have a VPS setup with Binance (malta) to continue to operate below the radar but it makes me nervous… this might be a solid alternative.
I have heard similar things. I agree, it’s not an option I want to risk. @MrInvisible, Did you have you have any thoughts on @HyperScalper 's idea in his post above?
"Establish a Seychelles Foundation, which provides that the founders
are not publicly disclosed, and uses the fact that the beneficiary of the
Foundation is the Foundation itself. Now, such a foundation is not
a commercial entity itself, but is able to invest in, and to own commercial
entities.
Establish (probably in another jurisdiction) a company similar to
what is generally referred to as an “IBC-like entity” which will be
provided a Nominee Director. This Trading Company will be
wholly owned by the aforementionned Seychelles Foundation
and any of its excess profits will flow to the Foundation."
quote from the above link: “And if you choose a Seychelles Foundation when the bank or brokers asks who is the beneficial owner of the company/account you can lawfully answer “the Foundation” as section 71 of the Seychelles Foundation Law clearly states that the legal AND beneficial owner of any asset transferred to a Seychelles Foundation is the Foundation itself. That can get you access to brokerages/trading platforms that won’t accept US residents as customers.”
I am not advocating this specific offshore entity provider, but here
are the basic concepts behind an entity which would own an offshore
trading company with no U.S. beneficiaries.
A U.S. trader(s) could be employed/retained as Consultant(s), and given
compensation for services rendered. The offshore trading company
would be able to open accounts at any brokerage in the world.
The trading company has no U.S. beneficiary, so brokerages would
do their “due diligence” and discover that the beneficiary is the
Foundation, with no U.S. beneficiaries to be discovered.
From my research into this, the entity is the lesser issue, the main hurdle is establishing a banking relationship for larger regulated brokers (Duka,tickmill, ICmarkets, CMC, saxo, pepperstone ect) without a US citizen on the bank account.
Now if you simply want protection to continue doing business with the lower KYC requirement brokers that we already have access to in the event they cave due to CFTC pressure, an offshore trust/foundation/corp/LLC with a nominee & no bank accounts might work.
What’s special about US citizens is the bank having to deal with the headache and added cost of complying with FATCA & reporting to IRS. The IRS now has information sharing agreements in place with basically every country/island on the planet with a sizeable financial center… Virgin Islands, Switzerland, Malta, Singapore, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Seychelles, Bahamas, Cayman islands ect… they all folded like a cheap suit to US taxing authorities.
So, most offshore banks will not accept your business unless you have >200K or you’re a US expat, with local residence and provable employment in the banks jurisdiction. Those that do accept your business at lower amounts might not have corresponding banking relationships to transact wires in USD… it’s a real headache trying to set this up, which is why i gave up trying.
I contacted 50 banks 3 years ago when I traveled down this same road… I found 1 bank in Singapore (no longer does business with US citizens), a few in the west indies (unable to do USD wires), a few in Liechtenstein & Austria (in person visit & >500K required) and 2 in Cyprus (in 2014 their banks confiscated deposits).
I did that too…4 year ago then 2 years ago…I gave up after the first few days 2 years ago because it has become even harder than 4 years ago… US Trader you are either playing legal with all the FIFO / bad leverage or you are with fly by night brokers who you might be able to get your money back. Maybe.
Their is no real good solution for US Trader…my opinion… I just limit my exposure to all the different offshore brokers to less than 10-15k. If I cannot get the money back then it’s not a 50k loss…10k offshore is like 100k in the USA…how I look at it…
I’ve actually done this, and the broker said they would work with an entity registered in a country they work with, even if the entity is owned by a US Citizen. They are regulated by CySEC. Which is better than my current unregulated broker.
But @MrInvisible has me concerned now that I wouldn’t be able to get the bank account set up.
Although from that website @HyperScalper you posted, it sounds like a Seychelles Foundation could be a means around the bank account issue, since the Foundation is the beneficial owner and not the US citizen. Or at least I hope so.
Glad I found this thread, this has been something I’ve been trying to figure and research and the Seychelles Foundation piece (and bank account issue) were two items I hadn’t seen mentioned.
@Mrinvisible , I think I misunderstood what you were saying.
Yes, U.S. persons would be a problem for foreign banks, but I
thought you were saying the U.S. person would help in the
establishment of the bank account.
“From my research into this, the entity is the lesser issue, the main hurdle is establishing a banking relationship for larger regulated brokers (Duka,tickmill, ICmarkets, CMC, saxo, pepperstone ect) without a US citizen on the bank account.” Maybe you meant to say with a US citizen… would be a hurdle.
Anyway, the goal would be that no offshore entity has a
beneficiary identifiable as a US person. The only way to do that
is for the US person to be an employee / consultant and receive
income in that way, I think. Of course the consultant fee would be
linked to the trading success, and the trader consultant would of
course be responsible for, and even play a part in execution of
the trading as an employee of the trading company.
Exactly correct. I have to put up 100K in the US to accomplish the same thing 10K does offshore. The fact still remains, despite the claim that the regulations protect us, there is no compensation/insurance with a US broker. While it is very unlikely a US broker would go bust, I still only have 10% of my capiaatl at risk offshore. If something happens to ALL of my brokers at once (very unlikely), I’m still in business. With a US broker, I’d be done.
Hey there. I’m new here but I’ve been following this thread for some time. Supposedly, when one starts an IBC, they are supposed to appoint a nominee director. Would the director be myself or it would it have to be someone from the country I am trading forex in? Also, how would you hide your name if you were appointing yourself as the director?
