December 26, 2016 – Hong Kong & New York: Leading external dispute resolution (EDR) organization, Financial Commission, catering to the financial services industry and operated by FinaCom PLC, today announces JustBroker as its newest approved member.  

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JustBroker’s status as a member of the Financial Commission took effect on December 15, 2016, following the approval of its membership application by FinaCom PLC’s board, thus allowing the company and its customers to be entitled to related membership benefits.

Financial Commission provides brokerages and their customers with an unbiased 3rd party mediation platform that helps resolve complaints in instances when parties are unable to directly come to an agreement over disputes.

For approved members and their clients participating in CFDs and foreign exchange (forex) markets, Financial Commission helps facilitate a simpler, swifter resolution process than through typical regulatory channels such as arbitration or local court systems.

JustBroker joins a diverse range of brokerages and independent services providers (ISPs) that utilize the services of the Financial Commission and as part of their commitment to their clients while upholding membership requirements.

About JustBroker

JustBroker states that the people behind company, are traders themselves. They wanted to create a reliable brokerage, a service would want to use for their own trading. The name speaks for itself; at JustBroker there is no bid on bonuses and promotions to attract new traders but offer quality trading, clear commission plans and a convenient user interface to deposit and withdraw the money instead.

About Financial Commission

Financial Commission is an independent external dispute resolution (EDR) organization for consumers/traders who are unable to resolve disputes directly with their financial services providers that are members of the Financial Commission.Financial Commission initially set out to provide a new approach for traders and brokers alike to resolve any issues that arise in the course of trading electronic markets such Foreign Exchange, and then expanded into CFDs, Binary Options and related derivatives, in addition to certifying technology platforms used for trading.

For more information please contact us at info@financialcommission.

The collective global foreign exchange markets are undergoing a gradual shift at the highest levels that should bring greater integrity for participants including major dealers and individual retail traders in the months and years ahead.

Meanwhile, regulators are collaborating across borders on efforts such as the global fx code to help standardize best practices for major dealers and banks when it comes to fair and ethical dealing at the interbank level.  

What triggered these changes?

The developments to reform the foreign exchange markets come on the heels of major investigations (recent and ongoing) of FX market price manipulation at some of the largest banks and dealers in recent years.

The Global FX Code was created to bring a standardized approach to best-practices in the FX Markets to help ensure best-execution while preventing market price manipulation, among other expected benefits of the code.

The effort was organized through the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) under the Foreign Exchange Working Group (FXWG) and in collaboration with the others across numerous regulatory bodies and the Federal Reserve of New York.

The first phase of the code launched softly during the middle of 2016, allowing firms to voluntarily adopt its code of conduct rules, while the second edition of the code is set to update during the first half of 2017. The code is like a giant pilot program, helping regulators and participants gather collective feedback to improve future iterations.  

Progress at the interbank level

Already banks and some dealers are beginning to state that they will only trade with other dealers that adhere to the code. This is an indication of its positive effects already, and something that regulators will be surely gauging as this pilot program gathers feedback from the industry during its first year in voluntary operation.

One size fits most

However, if financial market regulators try to create a unified set of rules to govern the origination and dissemination of FX prices as well as the execution of orders against prevailing market prices, then the Global FX Code will be a good place to start reviewing such data.

Already regulators such as the FCA have numerous programs underway including after recent studies that the FCA conducted on its members, and with regard to last-look, time-stamping and the process of marking-up rates (adding spreads), among other areas of concern by the FCA.

Need for a solution

A recent report by BIS cited by Reuters said that there has been an increase in outbursts of volatility and flash events and that shrinking fx volumes could cause stability risks. This means that significant market reforms could help bolster the integrity of the markets while aiding its operational efficiency. Improving the market framework should help regulators have better oversight over firms’ execution practices while encouraging firms to adhere to such rules.

Retail traders in focus

For retail traders, the FX market could see an influx of new market entrants as the integrity of the market is bolstered thanks to the initiatives underway including a reduction in leverage which essential makes trading less risky when compared one a dollar for dollar basis in terms of the buying power in a margin account.

Although the Global FX Code is underway at the interbank level, over time this could reach down to online brokerages and other market participants and eventually affect retail traders where best-execution from a broker can be verified more easily.

Mid-level challenges

Other areas of concern pointed out by the FCA’s findings has to do with the practice of ‘last-look.’

Similar to asymmetrical slippage, last-look is a form of asymmetrical execution. When an order is received by a dealer for execution from a client, rather than executing it immediately at the rate that had been advertised or that is currently available, the dealer gets to decide whether the rate has since changed unfavourably – and instead cancel or re-quote the order.

Another alarming practice that has plagued traders in the FX industry for years that is only now coming to the spotlight by regulators is known as “stop-hunting”, or when a firm arbitrarily widens its bid or ask price to trigger client’s stop-loss orders.

 

Financial Commission welcomes the work underway via the Global FX Code and supports this voluntary effort, and calls upon brokers to join as members where they can demonstrate their commitment to self-regulatory compliance while meeting the guidelines that our members uphold to best serve clients.

December 8, 2016 – Hong Kong & New York: The Financial Commission, a leading financial services independent external dispute resolution (EDR) organization, today announced the successful certification of the Libertex web and mobile trading applications.

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The Financial Commission conducted its rigorous review of the Libertex trading terminal, to ensure it met the technical information requirements of the Commission’s technology certification evaluation process. The Financial Commission established a comprehensive list of points to verify including system security, capacity, business disaster recovery and a continuity plan, as well as reporting and record keeping, among other fields deemed important to certify.

Financial Commission Chairman Peter Tatarnikov said regarding the new certification, “In order to provide traders with fair dispute resolution we must fully understand their system’s construction and working process. The Libertex trading terminal is the latest platform certified by the Financial Commission. The company also provides secure and effective mobile application which allows to trade from smartphones and tablets using the same set of functions as in the web version. We will be happy to see more software providers certifying their products with us. Today we gladly announce successful certification of Libertex and believe it is a great step to leverage its credibility and grow its business globally.”

Libertex Head of Products Eduardo Remedios commented regarding the certification, “Libertex is one of the best web and mobile platform for effective trading with different financial assets: stocks, currencies, indices, and commodities such as gold, oil and gas. This important Certification demonstrates the high standards, top quality and sustainability of the Libertex platform.”

About Libertex

Libertex is an international brand with a twenty years’ history of operating in financial markets and online commerce. Since 1997, Libertex has helped investors to effectively trade stocks, currencies, indices, commodities, gold, oil, gas and many other financial instruments. Libertex provides first-class service to clients in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Libertex has more than 150 financial instruments. In 2016 Libertex was recognized as the Best Trading Platform by FinEXPO and the Best Trading Application in EEU by Global Banking and Finance Review.

For more information, please contact Libertex: [email protected]

About Financial Commission 

The Financial Commission is an external dispute resolution (EDR) organization for consumers/traders who are unable to resolve disputes with financial services providers that are members of the Financial Commission. The Financial Commission set out to provide a new approach for traders and brokers alike to resolve any issues that arise in the course of trading the Forex market. The Financial Commission was established to be a neutral 3rd party committee to fairly review and resolve complaints in an effort to facilitate a simpler, swifter resolution than through industry regulators and the legal system.

Technology developers seeking membership status with the Financial Commission can learn more about the process and expected requirements as part of the technology certification process in advance of applying for membership or in the preparation of submitting an application.

For more information, please contact The Financial Commission: [email protected]

Financial Commission Rule 6.2 of Membership Rules and Guidelines places responsibility on every Member to diligently notify their customers about risks associated with advisory service provided verbally or orally (via telephone or digital voice communication) or other digital methods from another human staff, management, contractor, analyst, consultant, affiliate or IB partner of a brokerage firm that is member of the Financial Commission.  

The Rule also requires every Member to obtain client’s written and voice acceptance of the relevant risks they are undertaking as well as the risks of relying on or considering investment advice. Members should follow the procedure, which outlines necessary measures that must be taken before providing verbal or oral advisory services to their clients.

New requirements will come into effect on January, 25th 2017 and Members must adopt new Voice Risk Disclosure Requirements till that date.

For more information please contact Financial Commission at [email protected]

Financial Commission Rule 6.2 of Membership Rules and Guidelines places responsibility on every Member to diligently notify their customers about risks associated with advisory service provided verbally or orally (via telephone or digital voice communication) or other digital methods from another human staff, management, contractor, analyst, consultant, affiliate or IB partner of a brokerage firm that is member of the Financial Commission.  

The Rule also requires every Member to obtain client’s written and voice acceptance of the relevant risks they are undertaking as well as the risks of relying on or considering investment advice. Members should follow the procedure, which outlines necessary measures that must be taken before providing verbal or oral advisory services to their clients.

New requirements will come into effect on January, 25th 2017 and Members must adopt new Voice Risk Disclosure Requirements till that date.

For more information please contact Financial Commission at [email protected]