Our AGMarkets review takes a closer look at this unregulated broker. They give traders access to both CFDs and forex. Their headquarters in New Zealand has been operational since 2013. Despite being a New Zealand broker, the company has not registered with the Financial Markets Authority. In fact, the FMA has condemned the broker.
AG Markets Misleads About Regulation
Companies often run afoul of financial regulators, like ETFinance receiving a ban from the FCA. Similarly, AGMarkets is in hot water with the FMA. The broker claims that they have the authorization to offer financial services within New Zealand. However, they have no such license. The FMA has issued a statement stating just that AGMarkets has no license with them. They warn traders that the broker has no authorization to offer their services within the country, or anywhere else for that matter.
Big Bonuses Bait for Trap
In addition to this warning, there are a few other red flags. AGMarkets offers deposit bonuses for new accounts. This is a sleazy tactic that most legitimate brokers shy away from. In fact, many jurisdictions have outlawed the practice. Traders receive a 100% bonus on their deposits, doubling the money they put in. However, they’ll never see that money. The broker has terms and conditions that make it practically impossible to withdraw any bonus funds before trading it away to nothing.
Trading With AG Markets
The broker has a free demo account, but there isn’t much to see. They use the standard MetaTrader 4 platform. Because the platform is so widespread, traders are already likely familiar with everything it has to offer. The broker has very high leverage, up to 1:400. This presents a substantial risk to novice traders who could quickly get in over their heads. Their spreads run much too high, about 2.2 pips for the benchmark EUR/USD pair. Anyone that takes a closer look at the broker will surely be put off.
Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late – Act Now
Be careful with your money, don’t ignore warnings from financial regulators. These organizations monitor brokers closely and put out warnings with good reason. Many traders think they can turn an unregulated broker’s lack of rules against them and make big money. They’re just digging themselves deeper into a hole. Contact us today to get your money back in your hands as quickly as possible.
