Webpage Analysis:
TradeATF operates through 2 different websites. The first website of the company is broker.lp-tradeatf.com/
It is believed to offer Contracts for Differences on Bitcoins, Ethereum, Lite coin, Ripple, etc. The website of the broker contains no information about the services. It is full of unresponsive links.
All of the links to Assets, Commission, Spreads, Support, Demo Account, education materials lead to a vague application form only.
When I click on any of the links, this same form pops up. The broker does not provide any details on the website.
There is a single registration form that asks for your name, contact details, and email ID. There are no details about the terms and conditions policy, privacy policy, and the risk disclosure as mentioned on the registration form.
The missing details on the website broker.lp-tradeatf.com/ are not a good sign. There should be stability in the website’s details of the broker. The unresponsive links and absent details about the CFDs are not appreciable.
There are no details about the client’s agreement on the website. There is no outline of the trading accounts provided by the company and the details about the trading services are unclear. The trading platform and information about the trading services are unavailable just like the particulars about the transfer methods and the conditions related to them are not mentioned.
The duplicate websites of a single broker are hard to understand. A single website is enough for the broker to provide the essentials to the traders. The identical web pages are doubtful as one of the websites does not have any information related to the broker. It is a cruel tactic to mislead the traders.
There is no place to look for guidance in case of any problem traders face any problem. A website is the prime-facia of a broker and its services.
If I cannot find the required information on any website of the broker, there is no purpose in progressing further. The absence of a demo account makes the situation worse as I am not able to check their trading platform without using real money. In my TradeATF Review, I tried to fetch the information from the second identical website of the company to help the traders.
The second website of the company is global.tradeatf.com/
The major problem of this website is that it does not provide all the details to all of its visitors. This website is region-specific. While writing my TradeATF review, my team tried to access the website from different locations, but we found that the broker has provided access to certain regions only. The limited access to the global website is a serious concern. The website claims to be operational globally but allows access to selective areas only.
The global domain of the company is secretively maintained and there are no details about the same.
I somehow managed to collect the information that the domain of the broker was registered in the year 2019, recently. This is the reason for creating limited access and providing limited details to the traders.
Secondly, the owners have not registered the domains using their details. The limited access for any website is a red flag to the visitors about the fraudulent activities going on within this organization. It deepens the doubt over their operations.
Absent Team:
TradeATF fails to mention the details of the team responsible for the operations of the company. They have hidden the basic details of the senior management of the company, which should be clear so that the traders are aware of the origin of the company.
A broker firm trades in volatile markets and uses huge amounts of investments from its clients. In the lieu of above-cited conditions, the absence of the standard team of a CEO, CFO, Customer Support, and an Operations Head creates doubt over the workings of the organization.
All of the regulated brokers put special attention in stating the details of their company’s staff. The missing details hint that the company is using the name of a bigger group but is run by amateurs only. Verified accounts of their team members on professional networking websites like LinkedIn could back the claims of the company.
The missing details of their board members can be due to two reasons only. The first reason is that there is no such hierarchy in the company and it is run by a group of individuals through a virtual address only. It hints towards the fraud operations of a dummy firm. The second reason is the non-linking of the board members in some third-party businesses of the group.
TradeATF demotivates the traders by providing no details about its staff of investment professionals. There is no tactful and strong evidence of the broker being run by finance professionals. A newly established broker, run by unknown people with no investment background cannot offer anything worthy to its traders.
A broker can understand and respect the needs of a trader only and only if it is aware of the basics of trading. In this TradeATF review, I was shocked to see these deliberate steps of this company to deceive prospective traders.
The False License of TradeATF:
TradeATF claims on its website that it is working under the supervision of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). The CySEC was founded in 2001, and since then, it has been responsible for the regulation of the financial service providers in Cyprus. It is headquartered in Nicosia. All of the regulations of the CySEC are abiding by the European MiFID Laws as Cyprus is a part of the European Union.
The governance of the regulatory body extends to all types of stock exchanges, investment services companies, brokerage firms, etc. Sadly, TradeATF is not registered as a financial service providing entity with the CySEC. It can be verified at the link www.cysec.gov.cy/search/?searchtext=
A detailed analysis of the regulation claim found that TradeATF is claimed to be the trading domain of Hoch Capital Limited. It is a company based out of the Cyprus region.
Did You Know?
The most prominent mark in the American consumer history is the ‘ Dodd-Frank Act’. The Act prevents the risk, ceasing the occurrence of a complete financial crisis. The Act also provides common-sense protection for American families by preventing exploitation from pay-day lenders and mortgage firms.
To my utter shock, the company Hoch Capital Limited does not mention anything about a trading business with the name of TradeATF on its website. It can be verified at the link www.hochcapital.com/.
The ownership crises are further deepened. If Hoch Capital Limited is the actual owner of the TradeATF, why is there no mention of them in Hoch Capital’s website?
If TradeATF is registered with the financial supervisory body of Cyprus, why is it not mentioned in the registers of CySEC with the name of TradeATF? The third and the most important question is that if Hoch Capital is already into broker business, why has the company set up a different trading name recently?
In myTradeATF review, I strongly advise traders that the word “regulated” should not be taken for granted. The broker flaunts about the regulation but forgets to mention that Hoch Capital is regulated and it is a new business name of the Hoch Capital. It should be kept in mind that the audit reports which are sent to the CySEC are of Hoch Capital only.
In other words, TradeATF has no relations with Hoch Capital Limited and so, it is not regulated by CySec.
The traders should confirm the origin, the team of the broker, and the address before starting investing.
Fined by CySEC:
The company Hoch Capital Limited was fined by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission with a gigantic sum of 30,000 Euros. It is an administrative fine imposed on the firm.
The administrative fine is imposed in case of non-adhering to the data and the records compliances of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. This fine comes as an eye-opener for the traders who simply trust the mentioning of the regulation as the barometer of the safe operations of the broker. They were fined a huge amount and this indicates a high level breach in the administrative guidelines as set by the regulatory body of the Cyprus government. It should be kept in mind that the fine is imposed after giving a warning. It can be looked upon at the link www.cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/public-info/decisions/46718/
Settlement in Another Case
The next setback to the traders is the settlement of the fine paid by the TradeATF with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. To run away from the strict judicial review overseen by the CySEC, the company paid a settlement of 200,000 Euros. It is clear that the company is at fault and tries its best to stay away from a detailed investigation by a supervisory body.
The settlement by the company is a resolution method adopted by the firm to keep it clean in the eyes of the traders. Thanks to the public listing of the warnings and the fines of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, I can find the covered truths of the weak operations of the broker. It can be examined at the link www.cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/public-info/decisions/82417/.
CONSOB Warning:
Next in the list of disappointments is the warning to TradeATF by the reputed financial regulator of Italy. The Commissione Nazionale per Le Societa E La Borsa (CONSOB) informs directly to the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) about the fraud services offered by the firm in the region of Italy. The CONSOB is the regional government body that is responsible for the regulation and smooth operations of the financial companies there. The Commissione Nazionale per Le Societa E La Borsa receives several complaints from the Italian traders about the scam activities of the TradeATF. This step was taken by the regulatory body to ensure that CySEC takes suitable steps in this direction. It can be further investigated at the link www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/bollettino/documenti/hide/cautelari/soll/2019/d21171_en.htm
Website Blocked by CONSOB:
The fourth major drawback of TradeATF is that CONSOB has already blocked the website of TradeATF. It is a step by step procedure done by the Italian regulatory body to protect its traders from such frauds.
First of all, it writes to the regulatory body of Cyprus. Then, it issues the notice of block listing of the website of the broker. The TradeATF was already warned about its illegal operations in the region of Italy. When the company didn’t amend its ways, CONSOB issued a notice to blacklist the website from operating in Italy. It is a harsh step taken in the interests of the traders. TradeATF does not have a license to provide any type of financial services to Italian traders. It can be checked at the link www.consob.it/web/consob-and-its-activities/warnings?viewId=ultime_com_tutela
Warning by DFSA:
The fifth in the list of warnings to TradeATF is the warning issued by the DFSA against its illegal operations in the Denmark region. The DFSA is responsible for the supervision of the financial markets of the Denmark region. It received a number of complaints from the regional traders over the services of the TradeATF. The DFSA thus issued a warning to all of the traders of the region to stay away from the services of illegal brokers like TradeATF. It can be investigated at the link www.dfsa.dk/News/Advarsler-fra-andre-tilsynsmyndigheder
TradeATF claims to be a regulated broker with no details about its team of experts. While regulation is a creep trap of the firm the list of fines, warnings, and blacklisting is much longer. The broker has received warnings from time to time since its inception in the year 2019 due to its unlawful services. The gripe of the traders is multiplied by the blacklisting and the fines on the TradeATF.
My TradeATF review does not recommend you to trade with such deceptive brokers. It is a recently established broker firm with no association to professionals in the trading industry. It would be unsafe to invest with a broker that is already facing fines and warnings from different regulatory bodies.
Unsteady Trading Services:
The broker claims to be into the forex and CFDs for a long time but it was incorporated in the year 2019. The trading services of the company are weak.
No Demo Account:
There is no provision of a demo account with the TradeATF. There is no way to test the committed leverage and the spread of live trading accounts. The trader cannot execute trades with virtual money. A demo account is the best advantage to the traders to execute trades with full peace of mind. It not only gives the leverage to use virtual money but perfects a trader to execute head-on trades at the right time. Sadly, there is no such option with the TradeATF. The absence of a demo account is a hint of the creep policy of the broker to ensure that a trader does not have access to judge any of the services before investing real money with them.
No Social Trading:
In addition to this, the plight of the traders is multiplied as there is no facility of social trading. Insertion of the lack of scalping makes the thing worse for a trader. Social trading, scalping, demo accounts are the essentials of a trading system.
Undisclosed Payment Conditions:
There is no provision of PAMM accounts for professional traders. The deposits and withdrawal limits are set to $100. Withdrawals less than $100 attract a processing fee of $50. There is no clarity over the dormant fee or maintenance fee on the customers’ funds.
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The funds and related conditions should be given priority but TradeATF fails to realize this They have deliberately kept them ambiguous so they could charge hidden fees and steal from their customers.
Dubious Live Trading Accounts:
The broker provides 3 types of fluctuating live trading accounts to the traders.
- Silver Account: The silver account of the company requires a minimum initial investment of $100. It is double the standard minimum initial investment limit of $50. The spread offered in the account is not worthy as it starts with 0.07 pips. The ideal spread should start with 0 pips for the popular EUR/USD pair. A version of the Islamic account of the same silver account is provided to the traders who follow Islam. The leverage is believed to be 1:30. All of the claims related to the spread and the leverage ratio cannot be checked, however, due to the absence of a demo account with the broker.
- Gold Account: Their account requires a minimum initial investment of $100. There is a change in the spread to 0.05 pips and the leverage ratio is 1:400. Again, nothing can be drawn from the claims of the broker because there are no means to verify them. They don’t provide any new services with this account.
- Platinum Account: The initial minimum investment for a platinum account is set to $300. All of the services of the platinum account are the same as that of the gold account of the company. The only difference is the spread which is set to 0.03 pips but it cannot be determined in the real-time trading platform.
A list of trading accounts with no useful services is the best definition of the live trading accounts of the TradeATF. The commitments of the broker cannot be instituted due to the lack of demo accounts. Services like access to instruments, which are an inseparable part of the trading platform itself, are incorporated in the list of services to dupe the visitors.
There is no information on the trade sizes and the trade lots available in different trading accounts. The accounts look vague as there is no differentiation between a professional trader and an amateur trader here.
Debilitated Support to Traders:
TradeATF mentions that it is not available round the clock for the help of its traders. It provides technical customer support for five days a week only and that too between the restricted timings. There are no dedicated numbers responsible for the regional linguistic technical support to the traders. A lone email-id is provided for support purposes. The live chat option is also available for a limited time frame only.
The strong and reliable quality technical support should be the priority of the brokers. TradeATF once again disappoints the traders by giving no outline of the customer support. The traders are left to wait for weeks for their grievances to be addressed.
Low Lying Social Networking:
TradeATF joined twitter in the year 2020, and there are only 21 followers of the broker on the social media giant Twitter.
The Facebook account of the company is highlighted with the Argentine National Team’s details. The account should aim to provide details to the traders about the current developments and updates from the trading industry but the broker highlights the account with its association with the national team which is not useful from a trader’s point of view. It’s their method of humanizing themself so a trader would fall for them easily and as a result, become their prey.
These people deducted money from my trading account without notifying me. I have tried to contact the customer support but all I get is an automated response and nothing else. It’s clear to me that TradeATF stole from me. It was a huge mistake to sign up here and trade. If I knew they were a blacklisted broker, I wouldn’t have signed up there.
They are blocked by CONSOB? I did not know that. Thanks for sharing this review, why isn’t this information available in the mainstream blogs? Are they trying to manipulate us?
TradeATF is one of the best brokers you can trade in Europe. From the moment when the pandemic started, I needed a new income of money. Trading was the best choice for me. I recommend this broker
Glad they are exposed! I’ve been scammed by these forex brokers and trust me, it’s worse than you think. They’ll make false claims about earnings and then keep your money. It’s really scummy but it’s the reality.