Universal Markets Trades (referred to as "the platform") claims to provide multi-asset trading services including forex, precious metals, stock CFDs, indices, commodities, oil, and cryptocurrency CFDs. According to its website, the platform is operated by "Universal Markets Trades Financial Services Pty Ltd." However, extensive searches reveal that this company entity has no verifiable registration information, and the platform's actual establishment date and company background significantly differ from the information disclosed on its website.
Website Information and Company Background
Establishment Date and Domain
The platform claims on its website that the company was founded in 2007, but a Whois search shows that the domain universalmarkettrade.com was registered on February 18, 2024 (with the new domain universalmarkettrades.com registered on November 23, 2024). This contradicts the website's claim of over a decade of history, raising serious questions about the authenticity of its stated history.
Company History and Content Source
On the "ABOUT US" page, Universal Markets Trades details its company history and scale. However, upon review, it appears that nearly all the content is copied from the website of broker Axi (formerly AxiTrader), including background, development history, and business scope.
Company Reality and Operations
The platform claims "Universal Markets Trades Financial Services Pty Ltd" as its operational entity, but on the "Contact us" page, the name "AxiCorp Financial Services Pty. Ltd." is used. The listed address "36 - 38 Leadenhall Street London EC3A 1AT United Kingdom" also matches Axi's official address.
Trading Products and Account Types
The platform primarily promotes offering various trading categories, including forex, precious metals, stock CFDs, indices, commodities, oil, and cryptocurrency CFDs. The website lists three account types: Standard Account, Pro Account, and Elite Account. The platform offers spreads from 0 points and varying leverage across different account types.
Standard Account
- Account opening fee: Free
- Spreads: Starting from 0.4 points
- Commission: None
- Minimum trade size: 0.01 lots
- Minimum deposit requirement: $1,000 (sometimes described as "S$1,000" on the website)
- Tradable products: 140+ forex pairs, metals CFDs
- Quotation mode: Five decimal places
- Leverage/Margin: Up to 30:1 for retail clients
- Base account currencies: AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, USD
- Demo account duration: 30 days
- EA compatibility: Supported
- VPS: Free (subject to conditions)
- Tools like Autochartist, myfxbook Autotrade, PsyQuation: Free
- Applicable clients: All clients
Pro Account
- Account opening fee: Free
- Spreads: Starting from 0.0 points
- Commission: $7 per round lot
- Minimum trade size: 0.01 lots
- Minimum deposit requirement: $10,000
- Tradable products: 140+ forex pairs, metals CFDs
- Quotation mode: Five decimal places
- Leverage/Margin: Up to 30:1 for retail clients
- Base account currencies: AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, USD
- Demo account duration: 30 days
- EA compatibility: Supported
- VPS: Free (subject to conditions)
- Tools like Autochartist, myfxbook Autotrade, PsyQuation: Free
- Applicable clients: All clients
Elite Account
- Account opening fee: Free
- Spreads: Starting from 0.0 points
- Commission: $3.50 per round lot
- Minimum trade size: 0.01 lots
- Minimum deposit requirement: $25,000
- Tradable products: 140+ forex pairs, metals CFDs
- Quotation mode: Five decimal places
- Leverage/Margin: Up to 400:1 (for professional clients/institutions only)
- Base account currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, AUD
- Demo account duration: 30 days
- EA compatibility: Supported
- VPS: Free (subject to conditions)
- Tools like Autochartist, myfxbook Autotrade, PsyQuation: Free
- Applicable clients: Only for institutional and professional clients
Trading Software
The website shows that the platform supports trading software like MT4, MyFXBook, and Zulutrade. However, verification reveals that none of these third-party software providers have any server records for "Universal Markets Trades." This means investors cannot find servers or accounts related to this platform on these platforms. Such false claims of supporting mainstream trading software are not uncommon among certain unscrupulous brokers.
Deposit and Withdrawal Methods
The platform claims to support multiple payment methods, including:
- Credit/Debit Cards (Mastercard, Visa, JCB)
- Third-party payments (Neteller, Skrill/Moneybookers)
- Bank transfers (local and international)
- BPAY
- UnionPay, WeChat Pay
- Wire transfers
However, the platform does not specify the processing time for deposits and withdrawals or disclose whether any fees are charged during these transactions. The lack of detailed information regarding such critical financial security issues usually implies that investors might face hidden fees or delays when withdrawing funds.
Educational Resources and Agency Policy
According to the website, Universal Markets Trades offers free e-books and educational courses under the name "Universal Market Trading Academy" aimed at helping investors begin and improve their trading skills. However, details regarding the quality of these courses, depth of content, and teacher qualifications are not disclosed.
Regarding agency collaboration policies, the platform does not provide a clear IB (Introducing Broker) or white-label partnership plan on its website, nor does it disclose information about promotional fees, tiered systems, or rebate mechanisms.
Regulatory Information
The website claims that "Universal Markets TradesCorp Financial Services Pty Ltd" is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA), listing several company registration and regulatory authorization numbers:
- Australia: ACN number 127 606 348, license number 318232
- New Zealand: Business number 9429042567608, license number 518226
Upon verification, neither the Australian nor New Zealand company registration and financial regulatory agencies have any record of an entity named "Universal Markets TradesCorp Financial Services Pty Ltd." In fact, the numbers and information provided on the website are largely identical to those of the well-known broker Axi (AxiCorp Financial Services Pty Ltd), indicating the credentials are likely misrepresented or copied directly from Axi.
Website Traffic and Design Template
According to the website analysis tool Semrush, universalmarkettrades.com has an average monthly traffic below 100, indicating almost no investor activity.
Additionally, the platform shares an identical or very similar website design template with several suspected scam platforms like 24Pro Elitehub, AluCryptos Trade, and Strategic Wealth Advisor, especially in terms of page layout, company introduction, and trading product descriptions. Such "mass-produced" websites are often quickly created at low cost with the primary intent not being to provide genuine and reliable brokerage services.
Contact Information and Social Media
The platform provides a phone number (209 904 9196) and an email address ([email protected]) as its primary communication channels on the website.
However, the platform does not have any official accounts on mainstream social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, nor does it provide an interactive forum or online chat feature. For a company purported to be "global," the lack of social media and online community promotion is highly atypical of regular forex brokers' public-facing operations.
User Feedback and Brand Exposure
Public searches reveal almost no user reviews, news articles, or forum discussions about Universal Markets Trades.
Risk Report and Summary
Unclear Company Background:
- The platform claims to have been established in 2007, but the domain registration date is November 23, 2024, indicating a clear discrepancy.
- There is no verifiable registration trace for the entity "Universal Markets Trades Financial Services Pty Ltd."
- The alleged company history and regulatory credentials are nearly entirely copied from broker Axi, including ACN number, license number, and address.
Discrepancies in Trading Software and Account Information:
- While claiming to support MT4, MyFXBook, and Zulutrade, no servers related to these were found upon inquiry.
- Despite offering promotional terms like zero spreads, up to 400:1 leverage, and a minimum deposit of $1,000, the actual fee structure or genuine trading environment data is not transparently disclosed.
Lack of Transparency in Fund Security and Deposit/Withdrawal Channels:
- Despite claiming multiple payment channels, there is no disclosure of exact processing times for deposits and withdrawals or any potential fees involved, posing evident risks.
- Though the platform offers multiple account types, it similarly lacks disclosure of critical information like fund custody and transaction logs.
Extremely Low Traffic and Shared Template with Other Scam Platforms:
- The website's average monthly traffic is below 100, showing almost no usage.
- Shares an identical template with numerous platforms suspected of being scams, suggesting it may belong to a "cloned" or "mirrored" fraudulent site category.
Lack of Real User Feedback and Brand Exposure:
- There are virtually no investor reviews or media coverage available online, nor any interactive channels via social media.
- No details are available about the platform's team members or company staff, indicating a lack of fundamental corporate transparency.
Conclusion
In summary, Universal Markets Trades presents significant doubts across its company background, regulatory credentials, trading software support, fund security transparency, and actual operations. The extensive similarities between its offered credentials and information and those of legitimate broker Axi further confirm its highly suspicious nature. For investors, despite the seemingly attractive account types and trading conditions, the inability to guarantee real identities and financial security risks significantly increase the chance of falling victim to financial fraud or facing withdrawal issues.
