O.C.M. Online Capital Markets Pty Ltd (OCM) an Australian financial services licensee which provides an online margin foreign exchange trading platform and products we learned just now has paid $30,600 in penalties after ASIC issued three infringement notices for false or misleading online advertising. Each infringement notice imposed a penalty of $10,200.
The advertisements and e-mails promoted OCM’s margin forex trading offering. XForex is the brand name of OCM, which you can view here.
OCM made a number of claims in its advertisements and emails about the advantages of using its financial service including “$2533 in Just 7 Days!” and “Learn how you can increase your monthly income”.
ASIC believed that the advertisements and emails were misleading because:
- They gave the impression that OCM’s service could be relied upon to provide substantial profits quickly and to consistently increase one’s monthly income;
- They did not adequately convey that trading in margin foreign exchange derivatives and contracts for difference is high risk, provides volatile returns and does not guarantee consistent profits; and;
- While they referred to risks and contained disclaimers, these messages were in fine print and were ineffective to correct the dominant message created by the headline claims.
ASIC Commissioner Greg Tanzer said ”Margin foreign exchange and derivative trading is high risk and gives volatile returns. Consumers should not be misled by false claims about the level or consistency of returns achievable from such trading.’
To view the release from ASIC, click here.