Trust & Safety
Trust & Safety is a core part of the review because it addresses the protections and institutional credibility behind a broker. The score considers the primary regulatory framework, additional licenses, operating history, and most importantly the legal entity responsible for the client relationship.
| Assessment Factor | Overall Weight |
|---|---|
| Main regulatory protection | 70% |
| Additional licenses | 15% |
| Market Presence & Operating History | 15% |
Primary Regulatory Protection
| Regulatory Profile | Points |
|---|---|
| Tier-1 regulation | 5 |
| Tier-2 regulation | 4 |
| Tier-3 regulation | 3 |
| Offshore regulation | 2 |
| Unregulated | 1 |
Additional Licenses
| Additional Regulatory Coverage | Points |
|---|---|
| No additional licenses | 0 |
| One additional Tier-3 license | 1 |
| One additional Tier-2 license | 2 |
| One additional Tier-1 license | 3 |
| At least two additional strong licenses | 4 |
| Multiple Tier-1 licenses across major jurisdictions | 5 |
Operating History & Market Presence
| Operating History | Points |
|---|---|
| 20+ years | 5 |
| 10–19 years | 4 |
| 5–9 years | 3 |
| 2–4 years | 2 |
| Less than 2 years | 1 |
Red Flags & Rating Adjustments
Where material concerns fall outside the standard score tables, we may apply a downward adjustment to Trust & Safety, the overall rating, or the final verdict.
- Regulatory warnings, fines, suspensions, license restrictions, or enforcement actions
- Unclear or insufficiently documented legal entity, ownership structure, or client-onboarding entity
- Unresolved withdrawal complaints or repeated payment issues
- Misleading claims about regulation, fees, execution, bonuses, or trading conditions
- Opaque company information or limited disclosure of key legal documents
- Major inconsistencies between published terms and customer support responses
- Highly restrictive bonus terms that may prevent realistic withdrawals
- Serious platform stability, execution, or order-handling concerns
Red-flag adjustments are evidence-led and consider severity, recency, frequency, and source reliability. A sufficiently serious concern can cap the final rating even when the broker scores well elsewhere.