The Financial Commission combines a global approach with extreme local expertise. This includes an important expansion of our services to the Russian market. Now traders in Russia are able to resolve their dispute in their native language, this will definitely make things easier for the client and shorten the dispute resolution process.

www.financialcommission.org/ru

Posted By Forex Magnates

Financial Commission brings a fresh direction to resolving trader/broker disputes in the Forex industry

Composed of experienced and influential figures of Forex, the Financial Commission is launching today an alternative dispute resolution committee to provide the industry a way to review and resolve complaints without legal or regulatory interference.

(المزيد…)

September 15th, 2017, The Financial Commission, a leading independent member-driven external dispute resolution (EDR) organization for international online brokerages that participate in global foreign exchange (forex), derivatives, and cryptocurrency markets, today announces certification of the Genesis Vision Initial Coin Offering (ICO).

ICO Certification Process

Following Genesis Vision’s voluntary application for ICO certification with Financial Commission, a rigorous review of its planned ICO – including its business and proposed platform was conducted to determined if it met set of requirements established by Financial Commission’s newly formed Initial Coin Offering Certification Committee (ICC) division.

During the due diligence phase of Financial Commission’s ICO certification evaluation process, over 150 important points were checked across categories including those set forth in Financial Commission’s certification guidelines for ICO applicants.

ICC Driven and Industry Standards

Financial Commission’s ICC consists of a panel of Financial Services (Finserv) and Financial Technology (Fintech) experts with backgrounds across multiple asset classes including foreign exchange, cryptocurrency markets, and digital blockchain assets, who volunteer to help drive the certification standards and protocols, as part of the ICO Certification service.

Commenting on the Genesis Vision certification, Financial Commission Chairman, Peter Tatarnikov, said: “I would like to congratulate Genesis Vision on their successful ICO certification with Financial Commission and wish them all the best with the Genesis Vision project. I am also glad to see that ICC, a newly formed division within our organization was able to contribute to help meet the pressing need of developing minimum industry standards while helping ICO applicants and the broader marketplace.”

“Our standards for ICO certification are new, yet are evolving quickly and alongside other recently formalised efforts including the ERC20 standard for Ethereum, and best practices issued by Consensys for smart contracts, a framework has been established for helping applicants demonstrate compliance while determining if they are capable of obtaining certification.”

About Genesis Vision

Genesis Vision will unite exchanges, brokers, traders, and investors into a decentralized, open and fair network, making the financial market even more global. The Genesis Vision platform combines blockchain technology and smart contracts to allow successful traders to rapidly scale their trading strategies by attracting investments from around the world. The Genesis Vision platform aims to provide an automated and absolutely transparent system for investment and profit distribution while helping to solve industry challenges that market participants face with existing platforms.

GVT is an internal currency of the platform and will be used to establish and settle transactions made on Genesis Vision. The official website is https://Genesis.Vision which contains the project’s white paper and details about the GVT Pre-Sale that is scheduled to start on Sep 15 09:00 UTC, as well as the planned Genesis Vision ICO start date.

 

About Financial Commission

Founded in 2013, Financial Commission is an industry-supported Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) whose members join on a voluntary basis, subject to approval and strict adherence to membership rules, to maintain good standing.

Financial Commission provides efficient compliance solutions to its members, alongside its External Dispute Resolution (EDR) mechanism that serves as an effective channel for processing complaints from clients of member firms.

The ICO Certification service will be initially offered out of Financial Commission’s St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) entity, FinaCom Ltd. To learn more about Financial Commission’s technology certification services, including the ICO Certification service for Fintech companies, click here or visit https://xcv.financialcommission.org

29 Agustus 2017, Financial Commission, sebuah organisasi penyelesai sengketa eksternal yang berbasiskan anggota bagi pialang daring internasional dan nasabah-nasabah mereka, yang berpartisipasi di pasar valuta asing (forex), derivatif dan mata uang kripto global, hari ini mengumumkan perluasan cakupan sertifikasi Teknologi Finansial (Fintech) bagi perusahaan-perusahaan yang mencari/mengumpulkan modal (emiten) melalui penawaran Koin atau disebut dengan Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).

Selain menyediakan jasa penyelesaian sengketa kepada konsumen produk-produk keuangan ritel yang ditawarkan oleh anggota, Financial Commission juga mensertifikasi platform teknologi perdagangan bagi pialang dan bursa , yang dioperasikan di pasar valutas asing (forex), derivatif dan mata uang kripto sejak 2014.

Komite Sertifikasi Initial Coin Offering (ICC)

Sebagai bagian dari layanan sertifikasi ICO, Financial Commission dengan bangga mengumumkan pembentukan Komite Sertifikasi ICO (ICC), yang terdiri dari ahli-ahli Fintech yang berasal dari pasar valuta asing dan mata uang kripto, dimana mereka akan membantu mendorong standar sertifikasi dan protokol dan dengan dukungan Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) Financial Commission, yang sudah terbentuk lebih awal.

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Anggota pendiri ICC, Ketua Financial Commission, Peter Tatarnikov, menyatakan: “Layanan sertifikasi ICO merupakan tambahan natural kepada layanan sertifikasi teknologi yang telah ada bagi perusahaan-perusahaan Fintech. Popularitas pendanaan kripto (Cryptofinancing) melalui ICO terus meroket namun masih banyak kendala bagi emiten dan investor dalam prosesnya – jadi diperlukan penyusunan praktik terbaik bagi perusahaan-perusahaan Fintech yang ingin mengumpulkan modal melalui pendanaan kripto dan Financial Commission senang menawarkan layanan sertifikasi  bagi perusahaan yang memenuhi syarat yang ingin menggelar ICO.

Sertifikasi terbatas pada penilaian yang dilakukan oleh ICC berdasarkan platform mata uang kripto emiten yang selaras dengan serangkaian kriteria yang telah ditentukan oleh ICC, beberapa diantaranya mungkin wajib untuk mendapatkan persetujuan sertifikasi. Financial Commission hanya akan menerbitkan sertifikasi ketika semua persyaratan tanpa kecuali telah dipenuhi oleh perusahaan yang mendaftar untuk sertifikasi ICO dan standar sertifikasi ICO akan terus berkembang berdasarkan pengarahan Komite Sertifikasi ICO Financial Commission”.

Seruan untuk Praktik Terbaik dan Standar Industri ICO

Financial Commission sepenuhnya mendukung kebutuhan akan praktik terbaik yang akan didirikan bagi emiten ICO. ICC akan membantu mengarahkan upaya ini dan akan disokong oleh Fintech, blockchain, valuta asing dan para ahli dan penasehat industri pasar mata uang kripto yang akan menyusun garis haluan praktik terbaik dan standar yang wajib diikuti setiap emiten ICO juga sebagai bagian dari proses Sertifikasi ICO.

Oleh karena struktur organisasi dan pengalaman bekerja dengan perusahaan internasional termasuk diluar negeri dan wilayah hukum yang sedang berkembang, Financial Commission diposisikan secara ideal untuk memenuhi meningkatnya permintaan berbagai perusahaan yang mencari modal melalui ICO dengan cara menyediakan layanan Sertifikasi ICO kepada perusahaan internasional.

Financial Commission menyambut para ahli industri Layanan Keuangan (Financial Services (Finserv)) ke dalam komunitas Fintech untuk mendaftar dan mengisi posisi komite – pertimbangan aplikasi – di dalam ICC yang baru saja terbentuk, memberi sokongan kepada upaya peningkatan standar emiten ICO.

Fokus pada ICO Fintech

Blockchain dan mata uang kripto adalah penting bagi Fintech – berdasarkan makalah riset  terkini dari Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Jumlah dana yang dikucurkan perusahaan modal usaha – yang ditopang blockchain terus meningkat per Q2 2017, data yang dikumpulkan oleh CB Insights seperti terlihat pada kutipan berikut:

 

ICO

(Klik untuk lihat)

 

Layanan sertifikasi ICO Financial Commission akan tersedia khususnya bagi Perusahaan Fintech  yang ingin mengumpulkan dana melalui ICO atau sudah mengumpulkan dana dan ingin melakukannnya kembali melalui penawaran baru. Financial Commission mewajibkan perusahaan agar memperlihatkan kepatuhan terhadap serangkaian persyaratan untuk mendapatkan sertifikasi dan seperti yang diminta oleh ICC Financial Commission.

Financial Commission hanya akan mengeluarkan sertifikasi setelah sebuah perusahaan menenuhi semua persyaratan tanpa kecuali seperti yang telah ditetapkan oleh ICC.  Meski sertifikasi bukanlah indikasi apakah ICO akan sukses atau gagal maupun bertindak sebagai sokongan atas kesesuaian ICO untuk investor manapun, Financial Commission tetap mengharuskan setiap ICO wajib menenuhi serangkaian kriteria minimum yang diperlukan untuk mendapatkan sertifikasi karena ketika standar ini meningkat kualitasnya maka akan membantu berkontribusi pada peningkatkan standar industri secara keseluruhan untuk para emiten ICO.

Sifat hubungan kepada emiten ICO

Komite Financial Commission termasuk ICC, DRC, dan para pemegang sahamnya, dewan anggota, anggota, para penasehat, konsultan dan staff lainnya atau kontraktor yang mungkin terlibat – baik langsung maupun tidak – kepentingan investor modal usaha venture capital) atau investor ritel yang sudah berinvestasi di atau seseorang yang tengah mempertimbangkan untuk berinvestasi diberbagai ICO yang diajukan/dibawa ke Financial Commission untuk sertifikasi/pertimbangan.

Oleh karena ICC Financial Commission akan menguji banyak ICO terkait hubungan diatas, maka sertifikasi hanya bisa dikeluarkan ketika pelamar sertifikasi ICO tunduk kepada semua standar wajib ICC.

Cakupan Sertifikasi

Seperti disebutkan diatas, ICC akan mensertifikasi emiten platform mata uang kripto yang dinilai pantas untuk melakukan penawaran dan selaras dengan karakteristik penawaran yang telah dicantumkan pada kertas putih. Laporan sertifikasi ICC tidak boleh dijadikan sebagai dasar investasi, keuangan, hukum, pajak atau saran dalam bentuk apapun dan tidak boleh digunakan sebagai pengganti untuk pengambilan keputusan mandiri. Investor bertanggung jawab melakukan penyelidikan dan analisa sendiri dari informasi yang terkandung di dalam laporan sertifikasi.

Tentang Financial Commission

Didirikan pada 2013, Financial Commission merupakan Organisasi Mandiri yang didukung oleh industri ini dimana para anggotanya bergabung secara sukarela, setelah mendapat persetujuan dan mematuhi secara ketat peraturan keanggotaan , untuk menjaga nama baik.

Financial Commission memberi solusi kepatuhan yang efisien kepada para anggotanya, disamping mekanisme Penyelesaian Sengketa Eksternal (External Dispute Resolution (EDR)) yang bertindak sebagai saluran efektif dalam memproses keluhan nasabah perusahaan yang menjadi anggota.

Layanan sertifikasi ICO saat ini akan ditawarkan oleh entitas Financial Commission St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), FinaCom Ltd. Untuk mempelajari lebih lanjut tentang layanan sertifikasi teknologi Financial Commission, termasuk layanan sertifikasi ICO untuk perusahaan-perusahaan Fintech, klik disini  atau kunjungi https://xcv.financialcommission.org

Tentang ICO

Berinvestasi di ICO merupakan bentuk paling spekulatif dari modal usaha (venture capital), sebanding dengan private-placements (penempatan sejumlah modal) yang terjadi sebelum perusahaan mencari tambahan modal melalui initial Public offering (IPO) dengan mendaftarkan perusahaan di bursa; akan tetapi, ada banyak perbedaan (dan resikonya meningkat) pada pendanaan-crypto dibandingkan dengan metode-metode tradisional.

Statistik ICO Saat Ini

Akhir-akhir ini, investor membanjiri ICO berkat prospek produk-produknya yang diajukan dibangun pada sistem yang berjalan pada Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) juga dikenal dengan teknologi blockchain yang diperkirakan oleh banyak orang sebagai revolusioner, yang menyebabkan naik tajamnya pendanaan ICO akhir-akhir ini seperti terlihat pada grafik CoinDesk berikut.

 

ICO

(Klik untuk lihat)

 

Karena pengembang teknologi berupaya mengintegrasikan token digital (kontrak pintar) ke pengalaman pengguna (user experience) produk/layanan mereka yang terintegrasi dengan blockchain, pendanaan-kripto melalui ICO muncul sebagai alternatif bagi pendanaan tradisional. Untuk mempelajari lebih lanjut tentang blockchain, fintech dan ICO, kunjungi laman resmi Financial Commission di https://xcv.financialcommission.org

April 12, 2017, Financial Commission, a leading External Dispute Resolution (EDR) organization, operated by FinaCom PLC, servicing online brokerages and technology providers within the financial services industry is pleased to announce its recent successful participation at the Asia Trading Summit in Shanghai.

asia-summit1 Financial Commission took part in Asia Trading Summit in Shanghai on March 29th through the 31st at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre, with over 3,000 professional traders and industry executives and more than 50 exhibitors present.

Our representatives met in person with event delegates and helped answer questions while increasing industry awareness of Financial Commission’s efficient dispute resolution process and membership benefits.

In addition, there were over 20 senior financial experts who participated in various panels and theme-focused workshops.

 

During the event, many asian oriented brokerages indicated interest in applying for membership with the Financial Commission, reflecting an increase year-over-year compared to the 2016 iFX EXPO Asia in Hong Kong, as interest in client education and maintaining positive customer relationships remains of paramount importance.

 

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Lidia Bekenova – Senior Relationship Manager

Roberto d’Ambrosio – CEO Alpari Research & Analysis

Artem Karpichenko – Senior Operation Officer

Lidia Bekenova – Senior Relationship Manager

Artem Karpichenko – Senior Operation Officer

Tai Jiang – Founder and CEO of FX168

 

Commenting about the event participation, Financial Commission Chairman, Peter Tatarnikov said, “We are proud to announce another successful participation in Asia Trading Summit in Shanghai and want to thank all our members and delegates at the event that showed support.”

“We are excited to see such great interest from Asian market participants in services we providing. The participation in Asia Trading Summit shows great necessity in mediation services we providing for our Members from the side of Asian brokers and this is the first step to expand in Asian region helping native companies to handle dispute resolution and improve its overall activity. Thus, we are expecting significant growth in the number of Asian brokerages becoming members of the Financial Commission by the next year.”

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Mr. Tatarnikov added: “Financial Commission is well positioned to accommodate demand from firms in Asia that want the benefits of providing their clients with fair and efficient dispute resolution by becoming members.”

To learn more about how Financial Commission provides companies and their clients with an effective dispute resolution channel visit FinancialCommission.org or contact us to learn more about membership requirements.

March 23th, 2017, Financial Commission, a leading External Dispute Resolution (EDR) organization, operated by FinaCom PLC, catering to the online brokerage industry, today announces the launch of Trader Education as part of our mission to educate clients while providing fair and efficient dispute resolution to members.

traders-education

As part of a collaboration with Traders Education, a series of educational resources including video tutorials and eBooks are now available to Financial Commission members and their clients. This was made possible following the recent appointment of Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) member Ran Cohen, CEO of Traders Education.

The new educational material includes videos and eBooks about Forex and CFD trading, and is provided at no charge to Financial Commission’s members and their clients and can be found on our website at FinancialCommission.org.

The educational videos cover the following categories starting with basic classes then progressing to more advanced topics, making it easy for novices to begin and for intermediate traders to jump to a specific class:

Financial Commission Chairman, Peter Tatarnikov commented: “As part of our ethos to help educate traders while delivering fair and efficient dispute resolution tools, Financial Commission is delighted to collaborate with Traders Education in order to provide our members and their clients with even more value when it comes to educational content.”

Mr. Tatarnikov added: “We expect to further broaden this offering in the near future, as part of our goal to educate consumers about financial products such as trading forex and CFDs.”

About Traders Education

Traders Education is a pioneer in online financial education and continues to support traders around the world with a wide range of educational resources available in 30 languages and while helping brokerages to improve their most important business metrics.

About Financial Commission

Financial Commission was founded to provide traders and brokerages a new approach for resolving issues that arise in the course of trading electronic markets such Foreign Exchange (forex), CFDs, and related derivatives’ markets, in addition to certifying technology platforms used for trading. For more information on our services and membership requirements, please contact us or visit www.FinancialCommission.org for more information.

March 14, 2017, leading external dispute resolution (EDR) organization, Financial Commission, catering to the financial services industry and operated by FinaCom PLC, today announces Gerchik & Co. as its newest approved Member.

gerchik-logo1 Gerchik & Co’s status as a Member of the Financial Commission took effect on February, 2017, 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.

Gerchik & Co. 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.

Financial Commission Chairman, Peter Tatarnikov said, “We are pleased to see new brokers continuing to join the Financial Commission and proud to welcome A-Сategory Member Gerchik & Co. as our latest approved client and the most recent brokerage to join the Financial Commission. Our ongoing membership growth reflects the importance of efficient dispute resolution, and companies and their clients value when it’s provided by a neutral 3rd party. Financial Commission provides an unmatched dispute resolution process which is now extended to our newest member Gerchik & Co.”

gerchik-pr Founder and President of Gerchik & Co., Alexander Gerchik commented, “Gerchik & Co’s long-term goal is to continue creating honest, reliable and safe conditions for all clients and partners of the company. We are aiming to become the world’s leading broker company at the forex market, providing to traders and investors clear, honest and efficient conditions for profits on the international forex market. Therefore Gerchik & Co. has formed a partnership with The Financial Commission – the first, neutral, third party Dispute Resolution Organization that is dedicated specifically to Forex industry. The Financial Commission is a professional organization that operates in a way where transparency, swiftness, and education are the paramount values.” He also noted, “By being a Financial Commission members, we at Gerchik & Co. ensures that traders and our client get  

their disputes resolved in a quick and efficient manner. Our company will always meet the needs of traders and investors and aim to offer all services necessary for their comfortable work. We are happy to announce the partnership with The Financial Commission and provide worldwide transparent and honest services.”

About Gerchik & Co.

Gerchik & Co. company provides brokerage services on forex market. The company follows the idea of creating honest, reliable and safe conditions for all clients and partners of the company. Co-owners of Gerchik & Co. are professional traders, with practical experience of trading at forex and with understanding of real tasks and problems, which traders face in their work. The main company’s strengths are knowledge and understanding of client’s needs, readiness to share the knowledge, experience and information, also as the aspiration to provide transparent, reliable and comfortable services.

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 and related derivatives, in addition to certifying technology platforms used for trading.

March 7, 2017, Financial Commission, a leading External Dispute Resolution (EDR) organization, operated by FinaCom PLC, servicing online brokerages and technology providers within the financial services industry is pleased to announce its recent successful participation at the iFX EXPO Asia in Hong Kong.

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Financial Commission took part in iFX EXPO Asia in Hong Kong on February 21st through the 23rd at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, with over 80 exhibitors and sponsors and more than 2,500 attendees present.

Our representatives met in person with event delegates and helped answer questions while increasing industry awareness of Financial Commission’s efficient dispute resolution process and membership benefits.

In addition, there were over 30 industry speakers who participated in various panels and theme-focused workshops, including Andrew Ralich, a member of Financial Commission’s Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC), among other distinguished industry figures.

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Anatoly Bulanov – FinaCom Head of Dispute Resolution Committee 

Michael Greenberg – FinaCom Board Member, CEO Finance Magnates

Artem Karpichenko – Senior Operation Officer

Anatoly Bulanov – FinaCom Head of Dispute Resolution Committee 

Artem Karpichenko – Senior Operation Officer

Lidia Bekenova – Senior Relationship Manager

 

During the event, at least 8 brokers indicated interest in applying for membership with the Financial Commission, reflecting an increase year-over-year compared to the 2016 iFX EXPO Asia in Hong Kong, as interest in client education and maintaining positive customer relationships remains of paramount importance.

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Anatoly Bulanov – FinaCom Head of Dispute Resolution Committee 

Andrew Ralich – Co-Founder oneZero Financial, 

Anatoly Bulanov – FinaCom Head of Dispute Resolution Committee 

Lidia Bekenova – Senior Relationship Manager

Commenting about the event participation, Financial Commission Chairman, Peter Tatarnikov said, “We are pleased to have exhibited at yet another successful event in Hong Kong at this year’s iFX EXPO Asia and extend many thanks to our members and delegates at the event that showed support.”

“Asia remains an important region for Financial Commission to support due to the high growth of new market entrants from mainland China, and an evolving regulatory landscape across ASEAN economies for brokers and trading technology developers.”

Mr. Tatarnikov added: “Financial Commission is well positioned to accommodate demand from firms in Asia that want the benefits of providing their clients with fair and efficient dispute resolution by becoming members.”

To learn more about how Financial Commission provides companies and their clients with an effective dispute resolution channel visit FinancialCommission.org or contact us to learn more about membership requirements.

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]


iFX EXPO International 2016

Come See our Exhibitor Booth 101 at IFX Expo International this May in Cyprus!

The Financial Commission will be exhibiting at the 2016 IFX Expo International which will take place on 24-26 May, 2016 at Palais des Sports – Spyros Kyprianou, Limassol, Cyprus.

The organization joins a list of 103 confirmed exhibitors and representatives from hundreds of financial services providers expected to attend the exclusive industry gathering.

The Importance of Industry Events:

The announcement follows prior events that the Financial Commission participated in including in Hong Kong,  Russia and England.

Participation in the IFX Expo International event supports the industry and provides market participants with the chance to learn more about how the Financial Commission operates.

This includes how the organization is helping its members improve the services they offer to clients using a 3rd party dispute resolution process afforded via membership status within the Financial Commission.

In addition, the Financial Commission expects to meet new market participants who could be potential candidate member firms, including Forex, Binary Options and Cryptocurrency related brokerages and technology developers.

 For more information please contact us at [email protected]

21 April 2016 – Hong Kong & New York: FinaCom PLC, operator of FinancialCommission.org, a neutral mediator serving the online foreign exchange and binary options industry, announces today its newest member firm Starfish Markets Limited (Starfish FX).

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Starfish FX is managed by Starfish Markets Ltd. – an online brokerage firm that provides FX, CFD and Binary options trading,with its main office in New Zealand and licensed under the laws of Vanuatu.

It is the latest member to engage the services of the Financial Commission to provide its customers with a neutral 3rd party mediator to help resolve complaints in cases of disputes where customers are unable to come to an agreement with their broker.

Following the approval of its application by the FinaCom PLC’s board, Starfish FX’s status as an official member of the Financial Commission took effect on April 19th, 2016.

Financial Commission Chairman Peter Tatarnikov commented, “We are proud to welcome Starfish FX as our newest member and glad to see more brokers joining the Financial Commission. In addition to obtaining any existing regulatory licenses, it has become increasingly important for providers to demonstrate their participation with industry associations and commitment to self-regulatory efforts, such as by becoming a member of the Financial Commission.”

StarfishFX Chief Marketing Officer Michael Townsend commented, “We offer a number of products that we want to continue to build clients’ trust around and we believe that by joining the Financial Commission, we show customers our level of commitment in helping to ensure they receive fair treatment from us by having a third-party that they can go to if any disputes arise that we are unable to resolve.”

Mr. Townsend added, “As people explore foreign exchange trading for the first time, we believe that providing them with additional options and education can only be a benefit, and we believe this step we have undertaken helps meet that objective in addition to what we have already established internally at StarfishFX.”

About Starfish FX 

Starfish Markets Limited is a large player in Asia’s FX market formed by a group of experienced and established finance professionals. Having received multiple global awards and accolades, the company specializes in forex and binary options trading and has a strong commitment to maintaining a long-term relationship with their clients. Starfish FX has established multiple service centers in many countries while increasing their exposure in fast developing Asian regions.

About The 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.

For more information please contact us at [email protected]

 

CRFIN Peter Tatarnikov participated in a roundtable discussion as a member of the CRFIN’s advisory and consultative board. This very important discussion took place at MIA “Russia today” and was attended by the members of the CRFIN Association, members of the CRFIN’s advisory and consultative board, representatives of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the Bank of Russia, as well as the Russian Ministry of Finance.

March 29th, 2016. Honk Kong & New York: The Financial Commission is proud to announce that Andrew Lane, founder and Managing Director of Acuity Trading Ltd. based in London, UK, has joined the Dispute Resolution Committee.

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Andrew’s 10-year career at Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal put him at the forefront of development in the field of financial technology and while helping clients revolutionize their trading activities. Andrew’s knowledge of the financial markets and financial technology spans the globe and coupled with his creativity for next-generation trading tools, Andrew’s flair for product development shows no signs of abating. Andrew is also a regular speaker at industry events focused on financial technology used by online brokerages.

 

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Peter Tatarnikov, Financial Commission Chairman said concerning the announcement, “The Financial Commission is glad to welcome Andrew Lane to our most professional Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC). His expertise in news analytics and news-based products coupled with his knowledge of the financial markets and trading technologies, will be a great complement to an already robust committee of industry members. We believe his skills will add, even more, to our ability to process complex cases in related complaints.”

 

acuity-logo Acuity Trading Ltd. is a sentiment-based technology company focused on bringing big data solutions to the retail investment community including online brokers and platform providers. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in the UK, Acuity Trading uses sophisticated Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing technology to analyze millions of news items daily to quantify the mood of the market towards any given stock, currency or index. The company’s ability to bring institutional style products in news analytics and sentiment to the online market is helping investors make actionable use of today’s Big Data

 

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, CFD and Binary Options markets. 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

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

2015 Membership Growth, New Appointments, Key Events and Industry Observations

February 4 2016: New York & Hong Kong: FinaCom PLC, operator of the Financial Commission (FinancialCommission.org) – the first independent neutral mediator for multi-asset brokers offering Forex, CFD’s, Binary Options and Cryptocurrency, announces today its Annual Report for 2015.

Presented here below, Financial Commission’s 2015 annual report highlights another outstanding year which further solidified the need for increased self-regulatory efforts, such as the benefits provided by the Financial Commission to its members – who join and maintain membership voluntarily while adhering to strict guidelines.

About the Financial Commission

FullSizeRender The Financial Commission provides an unparalleled dispute resolution process between online brokerages and their end-customers and encompassing a wide range of complaints-processing related to product, market and pricing related issues brought by financial market participants. The Commission guarantees protection of the interests of both brokers and traders, thus providing a fair and neutral platform to effectively resolve complaints.

Key Milestones in 2015: Growth Channels

2015 saw growth across many of Financial Commission’s key business drivers including the number of important news that was reported on the website of the Financial Commission during the year that aided the organization’s developments.

New appointments to the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) were made during 2015, and three new members of the Commission were approved, bringing the current total number to fifteen members. In addition, Financial Commission participated in key industry events across the globe, meeting with clients and members at important industry conferences.

Below the Commission presents its Annual Report for 2015, which also provides statistics on the number of complaints handled and key metrics regarding processing and mediation results.

The statistics information is insightful to our Members, their clients and the public, and for brokerages that are considering the benefits of obtaining membership with the Financial Commission, and interested in learning about the organization’s structure.

Complaint Statistics for 2015 in Review

The need for transparency continues to grow. Building trust is more important than ever, and a using fair and neutral 3rd party dispute resolution – that Financial Commission provides – is an effective solution in cases where clients or brokers cannot resolve matters together and seek an independent channel, and wish to avoid often complex legal or costly arbitration alternatives. The Financial Commission continues to achieve this objective – by providing brokerages and technology firms with the benefits that accompany membership status – and as seen in the statistics reviewed for 2015.

60% higher Year-over-Year (YOY), a significant increase in the total number of complaints received in 2015, 18% YOY increase in the proportion of complaints that escalated to the Arbitration Committee. The increase was mainly fueled by the addition of new members, when compared to the prior year.

The monetary amounts of complaints filed during 2015 ranged between $27 to $40482, from a total of 93 complaints filed.

From the total number of complaints, 82 were Forex related, and the remaining 11 were related to Binary Options trading.

73 complaints were successfully resolved through the Financial Commission Dispute Resolution Process, and 1 still remain in progress (as of this writing), and 15 complaints lacked sufficient information to further proceed. Overall, from the number of complaints that met the information requirements to proceed nearly all have been successfully processed with one case still in progress and pending resolution.

General complaints Statistics:

Summing up 2015, several important points and trends are noted in the activity of the Financial Commission below:

Complaints Related to Stop-Out Liquidations

Just as in 2014 a significant portion of complaints (about 25%) were related to the problem of forced liquidation of clients’ positions by brokers in view of margin deficit (also known as “stop-out”).

Traders often do not pay enough attention to the risk management and consequently get a stop-out from the combined leverage and/or market volatility that can turn even a small position into a huge loss forcing a liquidative margin call or stop-out to occur.

This can either happen quickly on large positions – even with stop-loss orders attached – or over a long period of time (or sooner) when a stop-loss order is not attached to a trade.  The main risk factors that are overlooked by traders with lack of experience are:

It’s important to note how while the mechanism of Stop Out (i.e. margin-call or liquidation-call)  may vary by broker, the main proponents are to protect the brokers trading capital and the client’s capital from adverse price fluctuations.

Background on Stop-Out Liquidations:

The liquidation of trades that occur when a stop-out (i.e. margin call or liquidation call)  is triggered attempts to act as a sort of insurance in the form of a financial airbag or safety net that is used by the parties of transactions in situations that could otherwise cause a deficit balance or more substantial loss.

Quite often the situation is such that if the broker does not forcibly close the loss-making positions of the client, the client’s losses will exceed the amount of the available margin (or cash deposit) in their account, and consequently, the broker will have to cover this difference at their own expense or based on the customer agreement if enforceable.

The most common reason for closing positions by Stop Out or Liquidation Call is that during the period of increased market volatility the amount of spread on financial instruments is expanding as well as the price itself moving rapidly.

As a consequence, having an opened position or several opened positions, can add to the amount of floating loss (or Marked-to-Market) into the unrealized Profit and Loss (P&L) total, while the amount of floating income – if any – is falling or offset by a larger degree.

The consequence or cause of this phenomenon is mainly lack of margin – as the available margin is eaten up by the floating losses thus creating the stop-out scenario, without which could not prevent to attempt to stop a negative balance from occurring.

Thus, when the ratio of Equity/Margin (cash equity including floating P&L relative to margin collateral used for opened positions) falls below the critical stop-out level (triggering a liquidation) defined by the broker, then the closure (stop-out) of unprofitable positions of the client occurs, or in some cases all positions may be closed during the stop-out event (depending on the broker/customer agreement) and stop-out/margin-call policy (and level or percentage).

News-Driven Increased Market Volatility

The publication of important economic and political news continues to attract many novice traders who are trying to earn large sums in short periods of time, based on the sharp fluctuations in price. However, it is necessary to understand that in such market conditions slips and expansion of the spread often occurs, among other risks during new events.

These events have been the main cause of market volatility contributing to the Stop Out or Liquidation calls examined by the Financial Commission’s 2015 complaint findings.

One of the complaints received recently by the Financial Commission deserves special attention, although it belongs to the type of complaints described above.

The situation faced by the client is extraordinary in the sense that Stop Out was made due to the specific queue of pending orders caught in a price gap. In this particular case several client’s pending orders of different volumes got caught in the price gap generated immediately after the publication of Non-Farm Employment report in the US. As a result, all pending orders were activated on the broker’s server simultaneously. However, the first order executed was the maximum volume order, but not the order that was the first in terms of the order price. Consequently, the margin deficit appeared on the client’s account, resulting in Stop Out. For instance, on the interbank market in the situation similar to the above-mentioned – it is more likely that the larger volume order would be executed first as it corresponds with the logic of the market. The technology of execution of orders/transactions is structured in a way where orders/transactions of a larger volume are executed first and only afterwards the smaller volume orders/transactions could be executed at prices that remained.

The Financial Commission notes that, in 2015 one of the problems that traders continue to face is the delay in payments of earned income and the remaining trading capital by dishonest brokers. It is important to say that none of these complaints were brought against member-brokers of the Financial Commission.

Broker Deposit Bonus Promotion Disputes:

Apart from the cases mentioned above, the Financial Commission received complaints on the brokers’ rejections to pay rewards citing violation of regulations set in some bonus programs offered. It should be noted that in some cases the terms and conditions were insufficient.

The Financial Commission strongly recommends that the brokers should describe such regulations or terms and conditions very carefully to clients, and also use various examples of trading requirement calculations (for bonus redemption) for a clearer perception of the information by the clients. This will help to avoid misinterpretation of data and reduce the number of disputes as well as the reputational risks for companies, or any stigma left on the bonus promotions industry-wide.

At the same time the Financial Commission strongly recommends that the clients should carefully study the conditions offered by brokers’ bonus programs and ask clarifying questions via e-mail or other recorded transcripts. If the communication with the company’s representatives is carried out via online chat, the client has to be sure that he keeps a log of the discussion for reference. This will help to protect clients’ interests if a dispute arises, and lessen the need for a complaint.

Special attention has to be paid to the bonus programs which restrict client’s access to their own funds. Typically, these promotion programs offer incredibly high bonuses (up to 100% of the deposit amount) and signing of a separate contract with the broker, and require clients to perform certain actions. Financial Commission found that in most cases the requirements put forward by the brokers were extremely high and led to a situations where the client had to make a large number of transactions (pay high commissions) and/or meet specific total trading volume thresholds, before getting access to their funds.

In other words, the client guarantees to pay commission to the broker, thus putting himself in a vulnerable position where the high-trading requirements add further pressure and increased risk. The Financial Commission does not encourage such programs and calls on clients to study the proposed conditions very carefully and decide whether the requirements warrant the effort and based on their experience and skill level. Ask your broker to show you the size of the required fees and required trading volume in US dollars, and also specify whether the bonus funds cover possible losses from trading operations.

Participation in Forex Industry Conferences in 2015

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In June, the Financial Commission participated in international forex conference FXIC in New York. On the agenda of the conference was innovations in trading technologies, development of international forex regulations as well as the development of cryptocurrency as a modern financial instrument.

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In October, the Financial Commission visited the MICEX forum in New York. The forum highlighted the success of modernization of Russian market infrastructure, problems of corporate governance that Russia continue to face and growth of domestic investors base.

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In November, the Financial Commission participated in Forex Magnates London event which was visited by over 1000 professionals from the online brokerage industry.  Broker-Members of the Financial Commission were able to meet with the organization’s representatives, including DRC members who were present and had visited the Commission’s dedicated exhibitor booth, including firms that cater to traders in forex, CFD, Binary options and Cryptocurrency markets.

 

Key Appointments

August: Maor Lahav – COO and co-founder of Panda Trading Systems in Haifa, Israel, has joined the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) of the Financial Commission.

October: Financial Commission Chairman Peter Tatarnikov joins CRFIN advisory board. In August of the same year, the Financial Commission and CRFIN announced a partnership.

December: Kristina Nettles, Vice President of Integral Development Corp, Palo Alto, CA United States, has joined the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC).

New Member Announcements during 2015

December: NPBFX is an international forex broker registered in Belize and regulated by International Financial Services Commission has joined the Financial Commission.

December: ЕQMarkets (Infinity Trade LTD) registered office is located in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, has joined the Financial Commission.

November: AITS FX is the new global brand in forex industry, which is located in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, has joined the Financial Commission.

Current Members of the Financial Commission

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HDFX

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Current Members of the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC)

  1. Anatoly Bulanov – Head of Dispute Resolution Committee 
  2. Ilan Azbel – CEO, AutoChartist
  3. Francesc Riverola – CEO, FX Street 
  4. Carl Elsammak – CEO, Kammas Trading
  5. Ilya Sorokin – CEO, ACT Forex 
  6. Simon Grunfeld   Founder, Gallant Partners
  7. Andrew Ralich – Co-Founder, oneZero Financial
  8. Lior Nabat CEO, Tradency
  9. Aleksey Kutsenko – CEO, Tools4Brokers
  10. Maor Lahav – COO/co-founder, Panda Trading Systems
  11. Juan Pablo Jutgla – CEO, Better Way FX Consulting
  12. Akin Abbak – Managing Partner,  Abbak Attorneys at Law 
  13. Kristina Nettles – Vice President, Integral

 

2016 Outlook: Expansion, Volatility, and Client Education

With 2016 already underway, the Financial Commission had just returned at the end of January after successfully participating as an exhibitor at the iFX Expo in Hong Kong.

The event marked expansion in Asia for the Financial Commission as new agreements were reached with providers in the region, and as the online brokerage industry sees strong demand in Asia. The growth noted both at the event and in the media – included from China and ASEAN countries, and as a large percentage of the world population circles within a dense area of East Asia where brokers eye to acquire new and existing market-share. The iFX expo event took place within the major financial hub that Hong Kong is, and at the modern Hong Kong Exhibition Centre in the city’s financial district.

In addition to future participation in key industry events during 2016, Financial Commission expects to see continued interest from brokers both in Asia, Africa, and Europe, as well as from the Americas, where both technology providers and brokers aim to build trust and integrity with their clients by taking steps to improve credibility and transparency.

Brand promise steps revolve around product offerings (marketing), sales efforts, customer support and retention, and include broker’s own steps from self-regulatory compliance,  obligatory regulatory mandates, and voluntary efforts – such as afforded by membership with the Financial Commission.

Volatile Market Conditions in FX, and Global Stock Markets

The increased market volatility of 2015 continues to escalate into 2016 and is still accelerating and creating huge risk/reward opportunities for market participants and as higher volatility drives trading volumes and broker revenues. While this can be an exciting opportunity for new and experienced traders, such market conditions can also provide traders – especially new entrants – with either unrealistic expectations or the exact opposite – an unexpected market move and potentially substantial losses.

If 2015 taught traders one thing, following the CHF anomaly, and subsequent weekend-opening volatility surrounding the GREXIT crisis, clients need to be aware of the risks of holding open positions through news events and especially over weekends or when markets are closed.

Customer Education still Key Driver of Relationship and Sales

Online brokerages who put their clients interests first, whether agency brokers, market-maker or both, show a firm commitment when joining the Financial Commission, as do technology providers who aim to employ best practices.

Client education continues to be on the forefront of brokers concerns as it’s seen as both a tool to improve sales results and conversions, while reducing the chance of complaints from misunderstandings, or scenarios where clients had misinformation about a product or service (i.e. education improves retention rates and conversion).

Financial Commission continues to aim to educate clients and support related initiatives, as a large number of complaints are related to such issues – compared with purely technical complaints – as an example.

To learn more about the benefits and requirements of joining the Financial Commission, available for brokerages and technology providers, contact us and visit www.financialcommission.org

Closing Remarks from Financial Commission Chairman

“We are pleased to report a successful 2015 in our annual report, and as the value that Financial Commission brings to the online brokerage industry has proven to be of great importance to companies and their clients, and as evidenced by our expanded membership growth.

Over the last few years the Financial Commission has evolved from a core mission statement and set of standards, to provide the online trading community with a specialized and reliable alternative dispute resolution platform, and since then our fitness has strengthened to process complaints and handle membership needs and certifications more efficiently and effectively. We’ve achieved a reliable and robust organizational structure and look forward to an already promising 2016.

We welcome brokerages and technology providers, both regulated or unregulated, and self-regulated, to join the Financial Commission and by doing so to remind your clients of your commitment to them. We will stand by both of your sides in cases where a complaint is brought, and with the aim to bring it to resolution quickly and fairly.”

Peter Tatarnikov,

Chairman,

Financial Commission

26 January 2016 – Hong Kong & New York: FinaCom PLC, operator of FinancialCommission.org, a neutral mediator serving the online foreign exchange and binary options industry, announces today its newest member firm Forex Club LTD.

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Forex Club is the leading global brand in online trading industry and servicing clients from over 120 countries since 1997.

The Financial Commission, an industry-specific dispute resolution service, is supported by a Dispute Resolution Committee comprised of recognized forex industry professionals. It provides value-added service to its members with an objective and cost-effective dispute resolution process that is independent of any broker and regulatory organization.

pt-thumb-150 In response to Forex Club’s official membership, Financial Commission Chairman Peter Tatarnikov said: “We glad to welcome Forex Club as our newest member. It is important and well made decision for Forex Club as the company seeks to leverage its regulatory licenses and grow its business globally.”

 

About Forex Club

Established in 1997, FOREX CLUB is the brand name for a group of companies that provides clients from over 120 countries with platforms and services for trading forex& CFDs with a wide range of financial instruments, including currencies, securities of world leading companies, gold and other metals, oil and gas, indices and other online trading and educational products.

About The 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.