The FinancialThe Financial Commission, a leading independent, non-governmental self-regulatory organization and external dispute resolution (EDR) forum announces unprecedented membership growth with 7 new brokers members joining its ranks in the first quarter of 2024. In addition, the organization experienced increases in several key operational metrics, including total resolved complaints, financial-related complaints, as well as complaints against non-member brokers as part of its quarterly Complaints Digest. The organization also recorded quicker dispute resolution times, with complaints being resolved on average in 5.1 days.
As part of its founding core principles to protect traders from possible scams, Ponzi schemes, and fraudulent activities online, The Financial Commission placed over 45 websites on its Warning List and identified and issued public warnings regarding clone websites and fake representatives.
Furthermore, the forum published its latest Case Examples for the previous year highlighting important complaints resolved by the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) in 2023.
Key highlights for 1Q 2024 vs. 4Q 2023:
- New filed complaints dropped 7%
- Total resolved complaints increased 3%
- Non-member complaints increased 25%
- Compensation sought from all brokers decreased by 39% to $2.245M
- Compensation awarded to traders totaled $75,839
- Average resolution times improved by 8% to 5.1 days
Quarterly Comparison
Key Takeaways
- Steady inbound complaints and improved efficiencies
- Increase in share of financial-related complaints
- Rise in mid-value ($500-$999) complaints category
- Complaints resolution times improved
Conclusions
The Financial Commission witnessed a slight slowdown in complaints from traders amid a continued period of investor interest in trading financial markets. Specifically, the organization experienced a 7% drop in new complaints filed, while the total number of complaints resolved in the quarter grew by 3%. In addition, complaints amounts sought and awarded and average complaint values decreased. In complaint categories, financial-related complaints jumped 11% from the previous quarter. Complaints valued at $500-$9,999 also jumped 37% during this period. A significant uptick was also witnessed for non-member complaints, which rose 25% Q/Q.
During the period, the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) managed to shorten the average dispute resolution time by 8% for efficient complaints handling in just over 5 business days.
About Financial Commission
The 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 who are members of the Financial Commission. The 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 as Foreign Exchange, and then expanded into CFDs and related derivatives, in addition to certifying technology platforms used for trading.
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