The Importance of Regulation
Developed by the well-known Russian financial software development company MetaQuotes, the MetaTrader series of software is currently the mainstream trading software. Most traders choose to use this software for trading. For investors, choosing a reliable broker is of paramount importance.
What defines a reliable broker? Different types of users undoubtedly have different needs, but there are some basic and essential conditions that are the same for everyone, such as safety, stability, low fees, quick feedback, etc. These conditions are considered by all types of investors and users, among which, safety is the most important.
For investors, it is important to consider earnings, but safety is even more important. Earning a lot of money but not being able to withdraw it means a total loss. Not only can the profits not be secured, but the principal may also be lost. At this time, the need for regulatory bodies and institutions to step in and manage becomes evident.
Currently, many countries have established financial regulatory bodies and have opened regulatory inquiry portals for ordinary users to check, such as the United States' NFA, Australia's ASIC, the United Kingdom's FCA, etc. Some small countries with finance as a main pillar of their industry have also launched corresponding regulatory institutions and inquiry websites, such as Cyprus, Vanuatu, Saint Vincent, Mauritius, etc.
The Emergence of Regulatory Inquiry Media
Despite these regulatory websites being open, most do not set barriers for inquiries. However, due to language and other factors, many investors are unable to perform checks themselves. Many scam websites target this vulnerability by not disclosing regulatory information or even forging it, to deceive users and steal their money.
Since a large number of users need to inquire about website regulations, naturally, a number of companies and websites have emerged to meet this demand. These sites employ professionals to input and check regulatory information on behalf of users, translating and summarizing complex information to intuitively inform users whether a site is regulated and if there is any suspicion of fraud.
This was supposed to be a win-win-win situation, where websites gain desired traffic and users, users quickly and conveniently obtain the needed information, and the websites also benefit from indirect promotion and introduction. However, the reality is often quite the opposite.
The Downfall of Regulatory Inquiry Media
Many unregulated scam websites, to deceive users, intentionally conceal or even forge regulatory information, an action that can fool most ordinary users, but not professional financial practitioners. If a site's suspicion of fraud is exposed, it will undoubtedly lose a large number of potential users and revenues. Therefore, these sites collude with regulatory inquiry media providing information.
The methods of collusion vary, with the most common and egregious being regulatory inquiry media directly providing false regulatory information for those scam websites, making these unregulated sites appear as “regulated” and “safe and reliable” platforms.
This action undoubtedly cheats the users who trust such regulatory inquiry media, “selling” them to scam websites. These users may end up forgetting why they chose this brand in the first place, only to blame the platform, overlooking the real culprit that deceived them.
The End of Days for Regulatory Inquiry Websites
However, the good days for these regulatory inquiry media seem to be coming to an end. MT4/MT5, the most mainstream trading software on the market, have recently added a regulatory inquiry feature. Users can now directly see if a target website holds a regulatory license. Although this feature is not perfect and only provides the country name without the full name of the institution, it has already made a leap from 0 to 1.
As MT4 and MT5 accumulate more information on more websites, users no longer need to search for regulatory information from regulatory inquiry media. They can simply open their commonly used trading software to conveniently check the regulatory information.
MT5’s Regulatory Inquiry Process
Some users may not be clear on how to check for regulatory information on MT5, here is the process:
1. Open MT5 and select “Manage Accounts”, then click the “+” icon in the top right corner to enter the broker search interface.
2. Enter the name of the broker you wish to investigate in the broker search bar.
3. Click the exclamation mark next to the broker’s name to open the broker information and see if it is regulated and in which country it is regulated.
In conclusion, Traderknows still needs to remind investors to carefully consider the websites and platforms they use; financial security comes above all else.
