SmartHubFX Review – Is this Broker Safe?
Stop! It’s a Scam! Your money is not safe if you are trading with this unregulated, off-shore broker.
SmartHubFX - DO NOT TRADE WITH THIS PROVIDER
1.2/10
$100
Minimum Depositupdated 2020
SmartHubFX is a Forex brokerage that is based in Vanuatu that is authorized and regulated by the VFSC (Vanuatu Financial Services Commission). The online broker offers its clients the MetaTrader 5 platform to conduct trading.
82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money
Plus500 is a FTSE 250 listed brokerage providing online trading services in CFDs, across 2,000+ securities and multiple asset classes.
- Website URL: https://www.smarthubfx.com/
- Founded: 2017
- Regulations: Yes
- Languages: English
- Deposit Methods: N/A
- Free Demo Account: Yes
- of Assets: N/A
- Types of Assets: Forex pairs
Overview
SmartHubFX is a Forex brokerage that is based in Vanuatu that is authorized and regulated by the VFSC (Vanuatu Financial Services Commission). The online broker offers its clients the MetaTrader 5 platform to conduct trading.
Account Types and Trading Conditions
SmartHubFX offers only one type of trading account – the Standard account. The spread on this account is at 1.6 pips, but there is not information given with regard to the minimum required deposit or the leverage.
The spread on the most popular forex pair, the EUR/USD is at 0.8 pips, which is well below the industry standard. However, besides the spread, there is no clarity on the rest of the trading conditions with this broker.
SmartHubFX: Advantages
MT4 and MT5 Platforms Available for Trade
According to SmartHubFX’s website, their clients can use both the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and the MetaTrader 5 (MT5) trading platforms. These are two of the most popular trading interfaces in the industry today.
Both platforms have top of the line charting tools, an intuitive trading interface, and Expert Advisors (the automated trading bots offered by MetaTrader). Additionally, the MT5 platform allows trade in exchange-traded stocks.
However, when a thorough assessment of the site was conducted, it was revealed that only the MT5 platform was available on the SmartHubFX website. Added to that, this platform could not be tested for free, which means that trading conditions were still a grey area.
Regulated under the VFSC
SmartHubFX is owned and operated by SmartHubFX Limited, a company that is licensed to operate as a dealer in securities by the VFSC in Vanuatu. Considering the fact that there are a large number of online brokerages with absolutely no form of regulation, at least this broker has some form of oversight.
SmartHubFX: Disadvantages
Regulated under the VFSC
SmartHubFX is, at the end of the day, an offshore brokerage. It is located in Vanuatu, which is known to have very lax regulations. Thus, even if the company is regulated, it does not actually meet the much more stringent regulatory requirements of the European Union, the US, Canada or other major markets.
We know the regulations set by the VFSC are lax when we compare them to the more reputed regulators. For example, the VFSC requires a brokerage to have a minimum capital holding of just $2,000, while the FCA in the UK and the CySEC in Cyprus mandates that this sum should be not less than €730,000 at any given time.
Besides this, brokers regulated by bodies such as the FCA, the CFTC, etc., are require to arrange for compensation plans for the customers in case of broker insolvency. They also have to protect against negative balances and there is a cap on the amount of leverage that brokers are allowed to offer their customers.
Offshore brokers, on the other hand, have more or less complete freedom to do what they will, and the safety of traders’ funds are dependent on the personal integrity of the brokers.
82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money
Plus500 is a FTSE 250 listed brokerage providing online trading services in CFDs, across 2,000+ securities and multiple asset classes.
The company was created as a combined effort of financial professionals and experts in web-commerce with the goal of perfecting the online experience for retail traders.
Trading Conditions are Unclear
SmartHubFX does not provide many details about its trading conditions. The demo account displayed a decent platform with adequate charting as well as a fixed spread of 0.8 pips for the EUR/USD trading pair. The spread is favorable for traders; all pips below 1.5 are considered to be good for investors.
However, that is where the clarity ends. There is no information about what the minimum required deposit amount is (the industry average is $250), or even what leverage is offered to traders.
This raises a red flag about the broker’s legitimacy. Brokerages that are regulated are required to specify all trading conditions so that there is complete transparency and the trader knows exactly what he is going to face.
And since SmartHubFX does not have this kind of clarity, it leads us to believe that investors’ funds would be at risk with this brokerage.
Cannot Try the MT5 Platform for Free
While SmartHubFX does have a demo account, it does not allow its users to try the MT5 platform for free. This makes it even more difficult to assess trading conditions on the site.
Terms of User are Unfavorable for the Client
There is one particularly disturbing clause in the SmartHubFX terms and conditions. The clause states that the client authorizes the company to make deposits as well as withdrawals on his or her behalf.
Translated, this means that if you register with SmartHubFX, you are basically giving the broker the right to access you bank account. This is not something that fully regulated brokerages will do.
Payment Methods
The information with regard to payment methods is more or less absent on the SmartHubFX website. There are not even logos of the payment providers on the broker’s site.
As a norm, online brokers will clearly display – via the logos of the payment providers – what payment options they offer their customers. The most common options are Visa or MasterCard, e-wallets such as Skrill or Neteller, and bank wires.
However, on this brokerage’s website, there is absolutely no information given about payment options. Another red flag.
Conclusion
SmartHubFX may be a regulated online broker. However, offshore regulators are known for their rather lax laws. In fact, many brokers choose to be licensed in locations such as Vanuatu, as they need to meet fewer and much more relaxed regulatory requirements than, say, the US or the UK.
This lack of adequate regulation, the scarcity on information about its trading conditions, payment methods and some dodgy terms and conditions seem to point to some kind of investment scam on the part of this broker.
We would advise you to avoid investing your money with SmartHubFX at this time as there are too many red flags that indicate that your funds would not be safe with them.
SmartHubFX
Pros
- Minimum Deposit Requirements on Par with Industry Average
- Supports MT5
- Account can be opened in any one of 4 different currencies
- Wide Range of Trading Instruments
Cons
- Not registered, licensed or regulated despite operating in the EU
- Strange Withdrawal Conditions that are not fair to traders
- No Demo Account
- Skrill not available as a payment option
Do not trade with unregulated brokers that will steal your funds - try these regulated brokers:
The company was created as a combined effort of financial professionals and experts in web-commerce with the goal of perfecting the online experience for retail traders.
82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money
Plus500 is a FTSE 250 listed brokerage providing online trading services in CFDs, across 2,000+ securities and multiple asset classes.
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