The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Australia’s corporate, markets and financial services regulator today released a warning regarding a cold-calling operation promoting FX and binary option products to investors worldwide. The operator has agreed to stop contacting Australian investors following ASIC concerns. Moreover, following LeapRate research we have learned the site has since been taken down.
FXTS Guru claimed on its website (www.fxts.guru) it makes up to 3,000 calls a day to investors across 40 countries, including Australia, promoting its products and then supplying investors’ contact details to its clients – various FX and binary option issuers.
ASIC raised concerns with FXTS Guru because FXTS Guru was and is not licensed to provide financial services in Australia. In addition, none of FXTS Guru’s listed clients were licensed to provide financial services in Australia.
ASIC Commissioner Cathie Armour
ASIC Commissioner Cathie Armour stated: “Investors need to be extremely wary of any unsolicited calls encouraging them to deal in financial products, especially products such as margin FX and binary options which are complex and risky.”
The outcome is part of ASIC’s ongoing work to cleanup the retail OTC/derivative space; efforts of which have been quite successful in reinforcing Australia’s place as a top-tier financial market regulatory regime.
Always do your own research on a company or individual before you deal with them. You should also seek independent professional or legal advice to ensure you fully understand the products and services being offered and the various risks associated with them.
Do you have information about possible misconduct occurring in an organisation or activity that ASIC regulates? Find out how to report misconduct.
For the official ASIC announcement, click here.