Freetrade, the company offering commission-free stock trading services, has come under the scrutiny of the United Kingdom’s
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the largest financial regulator for all financial markets in the United Kingdom (UK).The UK regulator is responsible for the conduct of firms authorized under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Moreover, the FCA is also responsible for the regulation of behavior in retail and wholesale financial markets, supervision of the trading infrastructure that supports those markets, and the prudential regulation of firms not regulated by the PRA. Its role includes protecting consumers, keeping the industry stable, and promoting healthy competition between financial service providers. The FCA publishes and updates a guide handbook that sets out the rules, guidance, and provisions made by the FCA under its powers. The FCA has supervisory authorities overall financial services firms conducting regulated activities, such as offering loans, car financing deals, any consumer credit. Investment firms carrying on certain activities concerning financial instruments such as shares and bonds, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) requires you to be authorized. Businesses are providing pre-paid cards or other such financial services, money transfers, E-money, and credit cards. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ExplainedThe Financial Conduct Authority is responsible for all financial activities conducted in the UK or by UK citizens. Parliament gave the FCA a single strategic objective – to ensure that relevant markets function well – and three operational goals to advance, i.e. protecting consumers, integrity, and promoting competition.The FCA has been instrumental in policing the forex industry, including curbing market abuse in the form of scams, schemes, clones, etc. Recent years has seen the authority take a harder stance on investment products, including forex, contracts-for-difference (CFDs), and binary options.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the largest financial regulator for all financial markets in the United Kingdom (UK).The UK regulator is responsible for the conduct of firms authorized under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Moreover, the FCA is also responsible for the regulation of behavior in retail and wholesale financial markets, supervision of the trading infrastructure that supports those markets, and the prudential regulation of firms not regulated by the PRA. Its role includes protecting consumers, keeping the industry stable, and promoting healthy competition between financial service providers. The FCA publishes and updates a guide handbook that sets out the rules, guidance, and provisions made by the FCA under its powers. The FCA has supervisory authorities overall financial services firms conducting regulated activities, such as offering loans, car financing deals, any consumer credit. Investment firms carrying on certain activities concerning financial instruments such as shares and bonds, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) requires you to be authorized. Businesses are providing pre-paid cards or other such financial services, money transfers, E-money, and credit cards. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ExplainedThe Financial Conduct Authority is responsible for all financial activities conducted in the UK or by UK citizens. Parliament gave the FCA a single strategic objective – to ensure that relevant markets function well – and three operational goals to advance, i.e. protecting consumers, integrity, and promoting competition.The FCA has been instrumental in policing the forex industry, including curbing market abuse in the form of scams, schemes, clones, etc. Recent years has seen the authority take a harder stance on investment products, including forex, contracts-for-difference (CFDs), and binary options.
Read this Term) for ‘misleading’ promotional campaigns on social media.
The supervisory agency has flagged multiple promotions of the platform for the violation of its Conduct of Business Sourcebook (COBS) rules that demands regulated financial services platforms to ‘fair, clear and not misleading’ promotions.
According to the latest supervisory notice issued this week, the FCA wants Freetrade to remove all sponsored advertisements and posts from all social media platforms. Further, the broker needs to conform to the regulator that it has complied by submitting a list of all advertisements and posts removed.
Freetrade is headquartered in London and offers commission-free trading services, much similar to the popular American platform, Robinhood. It is now focused on expanding services across Europe.
Non-Compliant Ads
The tussle between the FCA and Freetrade started in March 2020 when the regulator first expressed its concern regarding the social media promotions of the company. For instance, one of the landing pages did not include a mandatory capital risk warning.
The British regulator identified further Freetrade promotion violations and communicated with the firm about the
regulation
Regulation
Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) are the most widely dealt with authorities in the FX industry.In its most basic sense, regulators help ensure the filing of reports and transmission of data to help police and monitor activity by brokers. Regulators also serve as a countermeasure against market abuse and malpractice by brokers. Brokers adhering to a list of mandated rules are authorized to provide investment activities in a given jurisdiction. By extension, many unauthorized or unregulated entities will also seek to market their services illegally or function as a clone of a regulated operation.Regulators are essential in snuffing out these scam operations as they prevent significant risks for investors.In terms of reporting, brokers are also required to regularly file reports about their clients’ positions to the relevant regulatory authorities. The most-recent regulatory push in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 has delivered a material shift in the regulatory reporting landscape.Brokers typically outsource the reporting to other companies which are connecting the trade repositories used by regulators to the broker’s systems and are handling this crucial element of compliance.Beyond FX, regulators help reconcile all matters of oversight and are watchdogs for each industry. With ever-changing information and protocols, regulators are always working to promote fairer and more transparent business practices from brokers or exchanges.
Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) are the most widely dealt with authorities in the FX industry.In its most basic sense, regulators help ensure the filing of reports and transmission of data to help police and monitor activity by brokers. Regulators also serve as a countermeasure against market abuse and malpractice by brokers. Brokers adhering to a list of mandated rules are authorized to provide investment activities in a given jurisdiction. By extension, many unauthorized or unregulated entities will also seek to market their services illegally or function as a clone of a regulated operation.Regulators are essential in snuffing out these scam operations as they prevent significant risks for investors.In terms of reporting, brokers are also required to regularly file reports about their clients’ positions to the relevant regulatory authorities. The most-recent regulatory push in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 has delivered a material shift in the regulatory reporting landscape.Brokers typically outsource the reporting to other companies which are connecting the trade repositories used by regulators to the broker’s systems and are handling this crucial element of compliance.Beyond FX, regulators help reconcile all matters of oversight and are watchdogs for each industry. With ever-changing information and protocols, regulators are always working to promote fairer and more transparent business practices from brokers or exchanges.
Read this Term breaches a year after. However, the broker continued with its social media promotions.
“The further breaches of related financial promotion rules indicates to the Authority that the Firm did not adequately amend its approach to approving and issuing financial promotions when it conducted its internal reviews,” the latest supervisory notice noted.
“The previous breaches related to financial promotions originated and communicated by the Firm, and the Authority considers that the financial promotions communicated by paid for or sponsored influencers also breach the financial promotion rules.”
Meanwhile, the advertising regulator of the United Kingdom has put crypto promotions on the ‘red list’ and flagged the promotional campaigns of several firms, including one of football club Arsenal’s, for misleading advertisements.
Freetrade, the company offering commission-free stock trading services, has come under the scrutiny of the United Kingdom’s
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the largest financial regulator for all financial markets in the United Kingdom (UK).The UK regulator is responsible for the conduct of firms authorized under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Moreover, the FCA is also responsible for the regulation of behavior in retail and wholesale financial markets, supervision of the trading infrastructure that supports those markets, and the prudential regulation of firms not regulated by the PRA. Its role includes protecting consumers, keeping the industry stable, and promoting healthy competition between financial service providers. The FCA publishes and updates a guide handbook that sets out the rules, guidance, and provisions made by the FCA under its powers. The FCA has supervisory authorities overall financial services firms conducting regulated activities, such as offering loans, car financing deals, any consumer credit. Investment firms carrying on certain activities concerning financial instruments such as shares and bonds, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) requires you to be authorized. Businesses are providing pre-paid cards or other such financial services, money transfers, E-money, and credit cards. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ExplainedThe Financial Conduct Authority is responsible for all financial activities conducted in the UK or by UK citizens. Parliament gave the FCA a single strategic objective – to ensure that relevant markets function well – and three operational goals to advance, i.e. protecting consumers, integrity, and promoting competition.The FCA has been instrumental in policing the forex industry, including curbing market abuse in the form of scams, schemes, clones, etc. Recent years has seen the authority take a harder stance on investment products, including forex, contracts-for-difference (CFDs), and binary options.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the largest financial regulator for all financial markets in the United Kingdom (UK).The UK regulator is responsible for the conduct of firms authorized under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Moreover, the FCA is also responsible for the regulation of behavior in retail and wholesale financial markets, supervision of the trading infrastructure that supports those markets, and the prudential regulation of firms not regulated by the PRA. Its role includes protecting consumers, keeping the industry stable, and promoting healthy competition between financial service providers. The FCA publishes and updates a guide handbook that sets out the rules, guidance, and provisions made by the FCA under its powers. The FCA has supervisory authorities overall financial services firms conducting regulated activities, such as offering loans, car financing deals, any consumer credit. Investment firms carrying on certain activities concerning financial instruments such as shares and bonds, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) requires you to be authorized. Businesses are providing pre-paid cards or other such financial services, money transfers, E-money, and credit cards. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ExplainedThe Financial Conduct Authority is responsible for all financial activities conducted in the UK or by UK citizens. Parliament gave the FCA a single strategic objective – to ensure that relevant markets function well – and three operational goals to advance, i.e. protecting consumers, integrity, and promoting competition.The FCA has been instrumental in policing the forex industry, including curbing market abuse in the form of scams, schemes, clones, etc. Recent years has seen the authority take a harder stance on investment products, including forex, contracts-for-difference (CFDs), and binary options.
Read this Term) for ‘misleading’ promotional campaigns on social media.
The supervisory agency has flagged multiple promotions of the platform for the violation of its Conduct of Business Sourcebook (COBS) rules that demands regulated financial services platforms to ‘fair, clear and not misleading’ promotions.
According to the latest supervisory notice issued this week, the FCA wants Freetrade to remove all sponsored advertisements and posts from all social media platforms. Further, the broker needs to conform to the regulator that it has complied by submitting a list of all advertisements and posts removed.
Freetrade is headquartered in London and offers commission-free trading services, much similar to the popular American platform, Robinhood. It is now focused on expanding services across Europe.
Non-Compliant Ads
The tussle between the FCA and Freetrade started in March 2020 when the regulator first expressed its concern regarding the social media promotions of the company. For instance, one of the landing pages did not include a mandatory capital risk warning.
The British regulator identified further Freetrade promotion violations and communicated with the firm about the
regulation
Regulation
Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) are the most widely dealt with authorities in the FX industry.In its most basic sense, regulators help ensure the filing of reports and transmission of data to help police and monitor activity by brokers. Regulators also serve as a countermeasure against market abuse and malpractice by brokers. Brokers adhering to a list of mandated rules are authorized to provide investment activities in a given jurisdiction. By extension, many unauthorized or unregulated entities will also seek to market their services illegally or function as a clone of a regulated operation.Regulators are essential in snuffing out these scam operations as they prevent significant risks for investors.In terms of reporting, brokers are also required to regularly file reports about their clients’ positions to the relevant regulatory authorities. The most-recent regulatory push in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 has delivered a material shift in the regulatory reporting landscape.Brokers typically outsource the reporting to other companies which are connecting the trade repositories used by regulators to the broker’s systems and are handling this crucial element of compliance.Beyond FX, regulators help reconcile all matters of oversight and are watchdogs for each industry. With ever-changing information and protocols, regulators are always working to promote fairer and more transparent business practices from brokers or exchanges.
Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) are the most widely dealt with authorities in the FX industry.In its most basic sense, regulators help ensure the filing of reports and transmission of data to help police and monitor activity by brokers. Regulators also serve as a countermeasure against market abuse and malpractice by brokers. Brokers adhering to a list of mandated rules are authorized to provide investment activities in a given jurisdiction. By extension, many unauthorized or unregulated entities will also seek to market their services illegally or function as a clone of a regulated operation.Regulators are essential in snuffing out these scam operations as they prevent significant risks for investors.In terms of reporting, brokers are also required to regularly file reports about their clients’ positions to the relevant regulatory authorities. The most-recent regulatory push in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 has delivered a material shift in the regulatory reporting landscape.Brokers typically outsource the reporting to other companies which are connecting the trade repositories used by regulators to the broker’s systems and are handling this crucial element of compliance.Beyond FX, regulators help reconcile all matters of oversight and are watchdogs for each industry. With ever-changing information and protocols, regulators are always working to promote fairer and more transparent business practices from brokers or exchanges.
Read this Term breaches a year after. However, the broker continued with its social media promotions.
“The further breaches of related financial promotion rules indicates to the Authority that the Firm did not adequately amend its approach to approving and issuing financial promotions when it conducted its internal reviews,” the latest supervisory notice noted.
“The previous breaches related to financial promotions originated and communicated by the Firm, and the Authority considers that the financial promotions communicated by paid for or sponsored influencers also breach the financial promotion rules.”
Meanwhile, the advertising regulator of the United Kingdom has put crypto promotions on the ‘red list’ and flagged the promotional campaigns of several firms, including one of football club Arsenal’s, for misleading advertisements.
Source: https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/brokers/fca-orders-freetrade-to-pull-down-misleading-social-media-promotions/