POLICE in the Turks and Caicos Islands yesterday dismissed rumours that head of beleaguered investment club Olint, David Smith, had attempted to commit suicide by taking a drug overdose.
"He is alive and kicking as far as I know," Sergeant Calvin Chase of the Turks and Caicos police force told the Observer. "We have no such information and I am certainly not aware of it."
So where did these “rumours” come from? Who knows. So much about this Olint case is cloaked in secrecy. An email is leaked by an unknown source purportedly written by Smith stating the fund is a shambles forcing Smith to deny it. But later in the week Smith’s own lawyer hints that the email was in fact legit: http://investforlife.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/olint-broke-email-very-genuine/
Earlier this week Jamaican radio reported that Olint’s accounts at brokers like FXCM, Oanda and FX Solutions have been frozen and that David Smith is being investigated by the Department of Justice for possible money laundering (although none of these firms has gone on the record stating they even have any David Smith accounts at their firms, possibly because of client confidentiality agreements.)
And Government officials in the Turks and Caicos remain tight lipped and unwilling to shed any light on David Smith’s now defunct operation. In such an environment “rumours” will take hold. It is time someone in authority in Jamaica or the Turks and Caicos step forward and tell us all what the hell is going on.
On July 17, 2008, NFA's Executive Committee recommended that NFA's Board of Directors approve revisions to NFA Financial Requirements Section 11 to implement the increased capital requirements called for under the Reauthorization Act. Under these revisions, Forex Dealer Members will be required to maintain adjusted net capital equal to or in excess of $10 million as of October 31, 2008, $15 million as of January 17, 2009, and $20 million as of May 16, 2009. NFA staff expects that the Board of Directors will adopt these revisions at its meeting on August 21, 2008 and that the Commission will approve them shortly thereafter. We are providing advanced notice of the increase in capital requirements to give Forex Dealer Members sufficient time to make arrangements to come into compliance.
In addition to the increase in the required minimum capital, the Executive Committee also recommended that the Board of Directors approve revisions to NFA Financial Requirements Section 12 regarding the collection of security deposits. Section 12(a) requires that Forex Dealer Members collect and maintain minimum security deposits of either 1% or 4% of the notional value of each forex transaction, depending on the currency. Section 12(b) provides an exemption from this requirement for those Members that consistently maintain at least twice the required adjusted net capital. The revised rule would provide that a Forex Dealer Member that consistently maintains 150% of the required adjusted net capital would be exempt from having to collect the prescribed security deposits. As with the capital requirements, NFA staff anticipates this revision also becoming effective on October 31.
How does you firm stack up?
The following firms have net capital below $10 million
In particular you will notice that three firms are far below the upcoming increase to $10 million. Advanced Markets, Bacera and Money Garden. In fact, they are struggling just to meet the current $5 million net capital requirement with Advanced Markets a scant $17,000 above the current law. That kind of capitalization does not inspire much confidence and traders really need to beware doing business with them.
The following firms have net capital below $20 million
GFS Forex $10,829,000
Alpari $11, 668,000
ODL $15,182,000
I Trade FX $15,828,000
FX Solutions $18,088,000
CMS Forex $19,306,000
The following firms have net capital above $20 million
PFG $20,275,000
Interbank FX $22,980,000 Gain Capital $44,293,000
GFT Forex $58,304,000
FXCM $70,794,000 Oanda $164,256,000
As always conduct your due diligence and make sure the firm you are trading with will be able to comply with the new law.
Hi Forexsaviour,
How is FXDD progressing with their application, still pending, any idea what their capital will be once approved
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Its a good question. Website shows still pending. I can't imagine FXDD will be approved unless they can meet the new cap requirements. So they'll need $20 million to say the least.
Its a good question. Website shows still pending. I can't imagine FXDD will be approved unless they can meet the new cap requirements. So they'll need $20 million to say the least.
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It definitely is a good question. If they were to be approved today they would only have to have 5M in net cap and as the net cap rises they will have to eventually have 20M.
The are two very interesting issues besides the net cap in my opinion; as I dont see why they would be getting registered if they thought they couldn't meet the eventual 20M net cap number.
The first issue is how the NFA will look at their business practices before they got registered. They have always allowed non registered US IB's and CTA's. The issue with this is how were they compensating those IB's, what did they allow their IB's to say to clients; were statements made to clients fair and balanced. The issue with unregistered CTA's (money managers) is how did they monitor those CTA's? Did they allow money managers to take profits based on a true high water mark? Did they protect clients from money managers that were churning accounts? And so on... If they decide that FXDD did not protect their clients, it is possible that the NFA will not approve them. More likely they might set up some guidlines that FXDD specifically must follow in order to get registered.
The other part to this is that FXDD to my knowledge uses Metaquotes' backend for reporting, which the NFA has said to be insufficient. I dont know of any other FCM's that use MT4's backend for reporting purposes. However, I could be wrong as I have not researched every US FCM offering MT4.
It definitely is a good question. If they were to be approved today they would only have to have 5M in net cap and as the net cap rises they will have to eventually have 20M.
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As far as I know the Early Warning will be 30M ( Net Cap +50%). Is that right?
Trader42, my comment was directed to FXsav but in any case, when I spoke to fxdd, they were very clear on it and upfront. They are a good company. PM and I will give you exactly who to speak to for NFA related questions. Cheers!
Trader42, my comment was directed to FXsav but in any case, when I spoke to fxdd, they were very clear on it and upfront. They are a good company. PM and I will give you exactly who to speak to for NFA related questions. Cheers!
FXT
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My apologies, I thought you were directing that post to me. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that they will not be registered by the end of this year.
The CFTC has released its latest Adjusted Net Capital report. With less than three months to go before the NFA raises capital requirements to $10 million the Capital issue is once again front and center in retail forex. How does you firm stack up? http://www.cftc.gov/marketreports/financialdataforfcms/index.htm
The following firms have net capital below $10 million
No change in capital for Advanced Markets, Bacera and Money Garden who are still way below the upcoming cap increase. Also, for the first time ACM is reporting net capital and their first number out of the box isn’t that great. One suspects they had no idea cap requirements were going up and it could very well be they have completely mistimed their entry into the U.S. market. ACM appears to have brought a knife to a gun fight… Typical of a Swiss firm isn’t it?
The following firms have net capital below $20 million
GFS Forex $10,909,000 MB Trading $11,165,000 IFX $13,010,000
ODL $13,053,000
Alpari $13,084,000
I Trade FX $16,097,000
FX Solutions $17,974,000
CMS Forex $17,931,000
PFG $19,862,000
The following firms have net capital above $20 million
Interbank FX $30,364,000 Gain Capital $61,918,000
GFT Forex $67,298,000
FXCM $70,792,000 Oanda $165,526,000
As always conduct your due diligence and make sure the firm you are trading with will be able to comply with the new law going into effect in less than three months.
The CFTC has released its latest Adjusted Net Capital report. With less than three months to go before the NFA raises capital requirements to $10 million the Capital issue is once again front and center in retail forex. How does you firm stack up? http://www.cftc.gov/marketreports/financialdataforfcms/index.htm
The following firms have net capital below $10 million
No change in capital for Advanced Markets, Bacera and Money Garden who are still way below the upcoming cap increase. Also, for the first time ACM is reporting net capital and their first number out of the box isn’t that great. One suspects they had no idea cap requirements were going up and it could very well be they have completely mistimed their entry into the U.S. market. ACM appears to have brought a knife to a gun fight… Typical of a Swiss firm isn’t it?
The following firms have net capital below $20 million
GFS Forex $10,909,000 MB Trading $11,165,000 IFX $13,010,000 ODL $13,053,000 Alpari $13,084,000 I Trade FX $16,097,000 FX Solutions $17,974,000 CMS Forex $17,931,000 PFG $19,862,000
The following firms have net capital above $20 million
Interbank FX $30,364,000 Gain Capital $61,918,000 GFT Forex $67,298,000 FXCM $70,792,000 Oanda $165,526,000
As always conduct your due diligence and make sure the firm you are trading with will be able to comply with the new law going into effect in less than three months.
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I dont see why you waste your time bringing it up before it even happens. What kind of retarded company would put all its money on the side if it doesnt have to? If it was me, I wouldnt put the money in the bank to show off in a CFTC report. I would invest it to improve my trading platform, provide better customer service to my clients, and offer promotions to those who trade with me. So dont think like a stooge, think like a business man!!!
I dont see why you waste your time bringing it up before it even happens. What kind of retarded company would put all its money on the side if it doesnt have to? If it was me, I wouldnt put the money in the bank to show off in a CFTC report. I would invest it to improve my trading platform, provide better customer service to my clients, and offer promotions to those who trade with me. So dont think like a stooge, think like a business man!!!
With the Dark Knight breaking box office records around the world it looks like the CFTC is trying to cash in on the caped crusader’s popularity. In a recent press release announcing the formation of a “forex fraud” taskforce the CFTC stated, “This announcement sends a clear signal that the CFTC is on the beat, and that our continued and increased cooperation with law enforcement authorities will help put these forex dealers where they belong – in jail.”
Ya I know many of you are chuckling to yourselves, in classic Joker style, “ha, ha, ha, and I thought my jokes were bad.” Forex fraud has been rampant the last couple years and like the hapless gang at the Gotham police department the regulators can never seem to get the bad guys who remain safely tucked away like “Lau” from the Dark Knight hiding out in his Hong Kong skyscraper. Only in the retail forex world the villains sip margaritas on the Turks and Caicos Islands or are busy forging $35 million ABN-Amro bonds in Switzerland.
But maybe there is finally hope here in Gotham. Perhaps the Dark Regulator can save us from the scammers and con-men who are a blight on our wonderful forex world. Let’s hope the CFTC’s new task force scheme works out and that they are able to drive these agents of chaos in the retail forex market out of business once and for all. But then again the Jokers of the retail forex world have never been intimidated by schemes have they?
Joker: Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it! You know, I just, do things. The mob has plans, the cops have plans, Gordon's got plans. You know, they're schemers. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I'm not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how, pathetic, their attempts to control things really are.
So to the folks at CFTC, please, make sure this latest scheme doesn’t draw the kind of ridicule the Joker loves to heap on law enforcement…
Proposed NFA Capital Requirement