Financial Commission Publishes 2021 Annual Summary Highlighting Membership Growth and Record $15M in Compensation Sought

The Financial Commission / Commission News / Financial Commission Publishes 2021 Annual Summary Highlighting Membership Growth and Record $15M in Compensation Sought

January 17, 2022, The Financial Commission today announces the results of its operations for the previous year with the publication of the 2021 Complaints Summary. The organization achieved record annual growth in key metrics, as well as continued membership expansion during another challenging year impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic while maintaining a quick and efficient average dispute resolution time.

New records set in 2021

  • A record 2405 complaints filed – 80% increase YoY
  • A record $14.8M sought by all traders – 35% increase YoY

Other key metrics & accomplishments in 2021

  • $10.6M sought from nonmember brokers – 279% growth YoY
  • 3% YoY increase in complaints ruled in favor of traders
  • $6,537 average complaints value –  26% decline YoY
  • 7.1 days average dispute resolution time – 1% increase from 2020

Annual Complaints Summary

 

Key Takeaways

  • The Commission experienced another record-setting year in 2021 with traders submitting a record number of complaints and seeking a record amount of compensation while awarding a smaller amount of compensation to traders and resolving disputes in just 7.1 days on average
  • The organization expanded its international presence by 19% as compared to 2020 with the addition of 12 new approved broker members to its membership ranks and certifications of 2 collective investment platform providers and a new education provider.
  • New partnerships were formed with fintech providers, including Delkos RAZR and Your Bourse as part of Value-added services for broker members. 
  • The organization also provided members with the opportunity to enhance business practices by partnering with GetID and FinWizard HR consultants. 

Conclusions

The Financial Commission continued to provide quick and efficient dispute resolution services to traders and broker members in 2021 despite continued global disruptions related to Covid-19. Continued demand from retail traders and new investors provided for a record amount of new complaints for the organization and led to new records in operational metrics. 

The organization further expanded its membership ranks with large, internationally recognized brokers, as well as new members in the Middle East region. The organization’s free dispute resolution service to traders gained popularity in Asia, Latin America and Europe with new complaints from these regions growing 98%, 87% and 20% respectively, while complaints from the Middle East grew substantially by 357% in 2021. The Financial Commission also saw a continued decrease of 47% in complaints from Russia and former Soviet republics, as local market restrictions continued to impede the normal online trading operations FX and CFD traders had come to expect in the past. 

The majority of complaints in 2021 were related to non-trading issues with 58% of the total, while financial related disputes accounted for 23% and trading related complaints 19%. The most popular topics for complaints dealt with account blocking (32%), funds withdrawal (17%), price check (13%), non-market quotes (8%) and stop-out orders (6%). Of all resolved complaints, 59% were resolved “in favour of the broker” and 10% resolved “in favour of the client”, while 30% were found to be outside the organization’s jurisdiction. 

Heading into 2022, the Financial Commission expects to see global demand for trading and investing services continue to rise, particularly among younger generations of trades, with opportunities for volatility in prices of financial products, including commodities, energies and equities as a result of changes in fiscal economic policies and impacts from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.  In this regard, the organization is prepared to handle a growing number of new complaints from traders in the New Year.  

About Financial Commission

The Financial Commission has conducted dispute resolution services specifically for FX and CFD traders and broker member firms since 2013 as an independent, non-governmental self-regulatory organization and external dispute resolution (EDR) forum. For more information, click here or email us at [email protected].

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