Binary investment brands have been under the spotlight from investors and regulators alike recently. With the FCA’s publication of a long list of unlicensed firms, smart money is wondering whether to look somewhere else for anything like the type of returns binaries can bring.
FCA Back ESMA
As part of the ESMA initiative, the British FCA is enforcing regulations which came into force on 3rd January 2018, meaning any “firms in binary options trading in the UK have been required to be authorised by the FCA.”
To this end, on 12th January the Authority published a list of 94 firms which had not by then received FCA authorisation (Find more information on our scams page).
Catch Up
The FCA is in some ways playing catch up. Since 2015, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec) has been regulating binaries, in response to demand from traders.
Responsible sites such as our own have long been calling for regulation of binaries, and hopefully this development will help us achieve this. It has already sent scammers into other sectors where they hope not to come under such scrutiny.
Changes In Finance Sector
Recent announcements from world leaders have pointed to various positives for global economic growth. The message from Davos was, largely, that the catastrophe of a decade ago has played itself out; the current, sustained growth in stock markets points to the success of a largely unregulated globalization.
On the other, President Trump has used his State of the Union address to announce his continuing desire to put America first. In doing so, he is following Xi Jinping in putting China first. Meanwhile in Europe, the daily repercussions of Brexit give ammunition to one set of analysts one day and another the next day.
Markets Volatile
As millions of pounds are wiped off the board after the collapse of another major British infrastructure provider, there will certainly be some happy speculators. In this climate, binary options are still as viable as ever.
Uncertainty is the lifeblood of market investment. Since the beginning of the year, however, investors responding to approaches from binary brokers should ask, “are you authorised to trade in the UK?”