Going offshore to escape the CFTC

Broker Discussion Forex Brokers
102

varengold bank, germany just confirmed that they will be accepting US clients.

103

This is weird. Could you, please, post the complete text of their reponse to you? Below is the response I got from them, saying they will not be accepting US customers:

Dear XXXXX,

no, the new regulations won’t change anything here. We still cannot accept US clients.

Regards,

Antje Wagner

CRM I Key Account Manager

Varengold Wertpapierhandelsbank AG
Grosse Elbstrasse 27
22767 Hamburg

T +49.40.66 86 49 0
F +49.40.66 86 49 49

<[email protected]>

Hedgefonds und Managed Futures / Varengold Wertpapierhandels Bank AG - Varengold Wertpapierhandelbank AG
Successful Forex Trading with Varengold Bank FX

104

I spoke to someone via live chat. I will look into it further, and get a definitive answer.

105

The live chat staff might not be competent enough. Better send them an email inquiry like I did.

106

Emails are not reliable either. I am going to call them directly. I will get an answer. I dont need any instructions on how to determine if a broker accepts us clients.

107

Will you post an audio recording of your telephone conversation with their representative for your claim to attain credibility?

109

Today I have been unable to do the follow-up emails (to European brokers) which I intended to send.

I will try to get that chore done sometime in the next 24 hours.

Here’s another rejection, this one from Latitude FX in New Zealand:

----- Original Message -----

From: Jeremy Jukes
To: Clint
Cc: Sargon Elias
Sent: Monday, October 11, 2010 5:15 PM
Subject: RE: New accounts for U.S. residents

Hi Clint,

No sorry we can’t open accounts for US Citizens.

Regards

Jeremy

I think that two things are going on behind the scenes, making it very difficult for us to get definitive answers to our questions.

First, the Dodd-Frank legislation raises almost as many questions as it answers, meaning that it just isn’t clear to anyone — including U.S. forex brokers, and especially including offshore forex brokers — what the rules of the game are going to be after October 18, 2010. Therefore, I suspect that many of those offshore brokers are simply not committing to an official position (on the U.S. client issue) until the dust settles. And I suspect that this explains why so many of them have not yet replied in writing to my email inquiries.

Secondly, for an offshore broker, the business risk involved in saying “yes” (to the U.S. client question) now, and then having to say “no” later, is significant. On the other hand, there is almost no business risk associated with saying “no” now, and then reversing that policy in the future. So, unless an offshore broker is very sure of their legal position, the safest thing to do is simply to say “no” to our U.S. client question. And that may explain why the negative replies are outnumbering the positive replies.

Thanks to [B]java guy, forexdiva, tom82, kneal, DaTrader, Supernova, sandpipper, alamoland, millerja01a, dragofx, jcgibson, and bravehoststamps[/B] for your recent contributions to this thread. You are all appreciated.

More later.

111

Glad I can be of help.
Anyway have found some more brokers for you to look at:

Bforex.com
Registed company in the British Virgin Islands, postal address Switzerland.

Phillip Futures in Singapore
Phillip Futures

UFX Bank (London, with offices/contact in several countries)
UFX Bank

You Trade FX
YouTradeFX - Forex Trading, Forex Platform, Forex Account

Maybe not seen as traditional finance centre, but they certainly are growing as one - re Singapore.

112

Adding AAAFx to my list of options:

Dear XXXXX,

Yes aaafx will accept US accounts with a 200:1 leverage and hedging. As you say, NFA has no jurisdiction over aaafx and cannot ask us to not accept US accounts.

Let us know if you have anymore questions.

Regards,

AAAFx
Sales Department
Contact Us
AAAFx is an EU Licensed and Regulated Broker. HCMC Licence no. 2/540/17.2.2010

113

Out of the 2 Forex brokers in Panama, I’m investigating the following:

Forex | Forex Trading | Currency Trading | Forex Broker

I went with live chat & they told me that they accept US citizens, but to apply before October 18th. When asked, they told me they won’t accept US applications after the 18th (does that makes sense?) maybe I can be grandfathered-in! LOL.

I also asked about who regulates them and this was the answer:
“eFOREX is Licensed in the Republic of Panama. eFOREX’s financial’s are Governed by the Superintendency of Banks in Panama.”

They offer 400:1 leverage, micro accounts, $250 minimum deposit. I’m originally from that country and know many bankers. I emailed my friends to run a check to make sure they are legit. If they are, I will open before the 18th. Their MT4 demo is working perfect.

114

I came to the same conclusion after extensive research. Tadawul seems to offer everything I need and seems to be well-capitalized, subject to EU regulation, and no US ties. (Dukascopy seemed like a good alternative, but I don’t know if Dukas will be available much longer). Look forward to hearing about your experiences with them.

115

Have you tried their MT4 Demo yet?

I would suggest try their Demo first. I’ve tested no less than 25-30 MT4’s from different brokers on my VPS and Tadawulf’s was one sick puppy, it would freeze, not all pairs were there, poor connections. That was a year ago…maybe they fixed it now. Anyways, it is always a good idea to test any broker’s Demo before dumping your hard-earned monies with them. Good luck!

116

Good point Apache, I’ll be doing that over the next few days with my robots.

117

FBS will also continue accepting US customers after October 18:

Dear XXXXX,

FBS will be accepting US customers after October 18, 2010

–

Best Regards,
FBS Support
Web: Online forex trading systems, forex trading strategies & platforms, online forex futures trading

FXCompany.net has stated the same via their live chat. Waiting for an email confirmation from their legal department now.

118

You guys rock!

Thanks for helping with the heavy lifting!

119

Swiss-based ACM Forex have also confirmed they will continue accepting US customers:

Will ACM Forex be accepting US customers after October 18, 2010 when the new US CFTC regulations come into effect?

Yes. We have no immediate plans to stop accepting US clients based on current interpretations of the regulatory changes afoot in the United States as we are wholly based in Switzerland.

120

aaafx and fbs both seem as though they should be added to the list.

The confusion with Varengold seems to be cap requirements. It appears that they will take a us client if they have a certain net worth.

Clint, do you want to give and updated list of the current brokers that have been confirmed?

I have spoke directly with a few reps I know personally and I think many firms are taking a conservative stance as mentioned saying no now, or restricitng it to only major high net worth clients, but they actually expect to accept us clients after a month or so, once the legislation has been confirmed.

121

Two more brokers to be added to our list - RVMarkets and FOREX MMCIS:

Dear XXXXX,

As we know, this regulation applies to US-based brokers only. Since
we are not a member either of NFA or CFTC, their ruling doesn`t apply
to us. We conform to Hong Kong regulations.

Let me know if you need further assistance, please.

Best regards,

Sophia Lian Su
Account Manager

RVMarkets Support Team

and

Hello, XXXXX.

As FOREX MMCIS group is regulated under the laws of the State of Panama, the new US CTFC regulations will not affect our company. After October 18, 2010 you’ll be able to open an account and trade with FOREX MMCIS group on the current conditions stated on the website.
If you have any other questions, please contact us. We will be happy to help you.

–

Best regards,
FOREX MMCIS group
Support service

122

And another addition to the list - Arab Financial Brokers:

Dear XXXXX

Since we regulated under Kuwaiti law and have no relationship with US rules , you can open an account with our company .

Kindly take a look what account types that AFB offer :

Islamic Investment, Forex Trading, Commodities Brokers, Oil Trading - AFB - Open real account

for further inquiries please dont hesitate to contact us, and we will be glad to assist you.

123

Hey, where’s the updated list of U.S.A friendly offshore brokers?