TopForex
An Offshore Broker with Terrible Offers
TopForex is an offshore broker company owned by the Goldenburg Group Limited. It is a Cyprus based company and is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). The website of the company is https://topforex.com/
Any professional trader is already aware of the fact that only the regulation of the company by a financial body does not necessarily make it safe to trade with. The basic requirement of the broker company is to get a license from a reputed regulating authority. The second point which must be kept in mind is that the regulation must be checked for the region of allocation. Each license provided by any regulatory body has an area subjected to jurisdiction to that. For example- If a company is regulated by the EU, it is safe for the EU traders to invest in it. The company is as risky as an unregulated offshore broker for traders from the US or Australia.
Read also: FidelityGain
In preparing this TopForex review, I also noticed that the companies usually provide fake license details in their documents. It is strongly advised to go through the terms and conditions contract of the broker company, and a must to check for the governing laws in case of any dispute. There must not be any mismatch in the area of jurisdiction and the governing laws. Another strong option is to go to the website of the regulating body and you can search for the regulation details of the broker.
Fined by CySEC
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has fined the owner Goldenburg Group Limited. It was done due to the non-compliances of the company to the terms and conditions of the regulating license. The link is provided in the reference section.
It must be seen as a red flag in the undisclosed working structure of the company operated from a shady area of the East Mediterranean. Weak governing laws, easy access to the cheap location for office registrations and easy tax-evasion are the basic reasons as to why the broker companies choose to operate from small regions. These types of companies operate away from the regulating watchdogs like the UK Financial Conducting Authority. TopForex is not regulated by any other body except for the same region authority. It is an offshore broker.
Also, the client’s funds are kept in the segregated accounts in the banks belonging to the country of registration. For example that if you are a customer from the Czech, it gets deposited in the UniCredit bank. Henceforth, a regulation certificate does not ensure that your money is in safe hands. The traders are advised to check the associated bank services before they start investing with the TopForex.
No Demo Account (and Account Types)
TopForex is into commodities, Forex, indices, and CFDs. In terms of business policy, the company has mentioned the different types of trading accounts provided by it, but there is no such facility in actual.
There is no demo account provided by the company. A demo account works best for the newcomers in the trading industry so that they can check their trading skills. It is used with a real-time trading platform but paper money is used in the place of actual funds. A demo trading account helps the trader to understand the leverage offered and the floating spread. Sadly, there is no such facility provided by TopForex.
Similar post: Midtou Financials
The traders also complain about the absence of different trading accounts. The options in trading accounts, allow the traders to work according to their experience and understanding of the industry. For example, an amateur trader can start with a basic account with fewer minimum deposit requirements. A professional trader, on the other hand, is well aware of the trading patterns and can choose from competitive leverage, trading amounts limits according to the plans provided by the company. It is awkward that all of the traders have to start from the same line, thus rendering their previous experience useless.
Moreover, the live trading account provided by the company has a minimum initial deposit limit of $100. The hidden fact here is that if you deposit through the bank wire, which is the most prominent and hassle-free method of depositing funds in trading accounts, your minimum limit rises by 2.5x. Thus, you have to deposit $250 as a minimum initial investment.
It is a very high amount and also, in the case of the absence of a demo account, it is a risk worth investing in the live account directly. Competitors on the other hand, which are regulated by reputed authorities, have fixed the minimum deposits at not more than $50. Hence, TopForex is directly charging double and five times for its services.
TopForex does not provide any “non-withdrawable funds” also called bonuses. The broker companies provide a bonus to the customer, which cannot be withdrawn but can be used for trading purposes. This bonus range lies in between 25-35% of the deposit amount.
Inappropriate Trading Conditions
TopForex does not go beyond the regular Meta Trader 5 in the trading platform option. A variety of assets with the full support of analytics and customized trading signals makes it a trader’s favorite platform.
But the company has a losing percentage of 82%. Yes, it is very high compared to the average but the investors which are trading from TopForex accounts, have only 18% chances of successful brokerage.
Spread can be blamed for this. The company promotes the floating spread starting from 3 pips. It is found to be ranging from 30-160 pips while trading in EUR/USD pairs and XAU/USD pairs. In the case of EUR/RUB pairs it is enormous at 200 pips. A trader who works on a frequent strategy model will fail in this spread.
The company charges a triple amount on Wednesdays as compared to other working days on the account of the management fee.
A variety of assets are of no use until the swap rates are set to be minimal. TopForex has set gigantic swap rates which are not profitable. Also, it is indicative that the swap rates are not being counted daily. Thus, this is another contradiction in the company’s statement. The short swaps start from -23 for EUR/USD pairs and go to -611 for XAU/USD, while the long swaps for both entities are -38 and -326 respectively.
Fewer Payment Channels with an Undisclosed Fee
The payment options include bank wire, E-wallets like Skrill, China Union Pay, Credit/debit card, etc.
It takes a usual 4-5 days for the deposit to get credited into your trading account. It is a very long response time taken by the company. Until a week is completed from the day of the transaction from your account, you will not be allowed to trade unless the money is credited in the trading account. It does not observe fair trading practices.
The withdrawal request is accepted only for bank wire and the credit/debit card. Also, if you are withdrawing through the bank wire, you cannot withdraw less than $250. The time taken to complete the transaction also varies from 4-6 business days. The withdrawal fee is not mentioned in the terms of the business of the company.
I found that the company has maintained in its policy that it will be charging undisclosed amounts as a brokerage fee, commission, interest payments, and special service. Contrary to the commitment, nothing is mentioned over the website which can provide details about the actual fee to be deducted in lieu of commission, interests, maintenance or any other applicable fee.
Social Media and Customer Support
TopForex has provided phone numbers and live chat support options over its website. Reliability of support cannot be established as the problems related to funds are of least concern to the team.
On social media, TopForex is present on Facebook with 14 followers only. It is not updated regularly and the last posting was done in the year 2016 only.
Twitter has no other story to share. It has not been updated after the year 2015.
Weak support along with slumbering social media accounts is self-explanatory of the type of services extended to the customers.
Conclusion
Undisclosed charges, complaints against the company and its least effort to build a brand among the customers raise many eyebrows. Opening new offices, dishonest dealing with clients and inadequate record-keeping has been already detected in the company.
I got advice, I like commodities the most, I invested in silver and after a few months I came to success
Umm, when trading, you need to keep a calm mind, each trade bears its own risks, there is no success without risk, success depends on the level of risk and the importance of the broker is customer support, it is at a good level
Top Forex is one of the worst forex brokers in the industry. I had registered there last year and haven’t been able to withdraw any money since! All the funds I had deposited in my account are still there. Not recommended.
Worst forex broker in the industry. Stole $500 from me and didn’t even issue a refund. I would rate them 0 star if that was possible. Not even worth a free trial. Stay away from these thieves!!!