Beware! RSI Global is an offshore broker! Your investment may be at risk.
RECOMMENDED FOREX BROKERS
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Open trading accounts with at least two brokers.
RSI Global is a dubious forex and CFD broker that is not subject to serious regulatory scrutiny and does not provide clear information about the terms of its services. In this review, we’ll explore why RSI Global is not the best choice for an investment intermediary and what the possible alternatives are.
RSI GLOBAL REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
The most important information about a financial services provider is its regulatory status. Licensed brokers provide detailed information about which company runs them, where it is based, which jurisdictions it is authorised in and which regulatory bodies oversee its activities.
According to the homepage of the website and the text of the Terms and Conditions, the company behind RSI Global is RSI Global Investiciono drustvo AD Podgorica, which is based in Montenegro.
Montenegro is not known as a jurisdiction with a solid financial sector and regulation. For all intents and purposes, a broker based there is offshore and not allowed to offer its services in regulated jurisdictions.
If you have decided to invest in financial instruments, and especially if you are a novice trader, you should use the services of a licensed broker based in a jurisdiction with strong regulations.
Depending on your location, it is advisable to choose a company that is regulated by an institution such as Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in theUS, Australian Securities and Exchanges Commission (ASIC), UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or some EU regulator like Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
Clients of these brokers receive protections such as negative balance protection and segregation of the client’s funds from the broker’s funds. In the EU and the UK, brokers must also participate in guarantee schemes that cover a certain amount of the trader’s investment if the broker becomes insolvent.
These guarantees amount to up to 20 000 EUR in the EU and 85 000 GBP in the UK. However, the likelihood of such a bankruptcy is low because regulators also have significant net capital requirements that companies must maintain – EUR 730 000 in UK and Cyprus, AUD 1000 000 in Australia and at least 20 million USD in the United States.
RSI GLOBAL TRADING SOFTWARE
RSI Global claims to offer the industry-standard trading platform MetaTrader 5 (MT5). But the installation file, which can be downloaded from the website, is not configured for a specific broker. It is a generic demo version, which can be downloaded directly from the software developer MetaQuotes.
While registration of a RSI Global account is possible, at the time of writing this review logging in was not possible. RSI Global did not send a confirmation email and did not provide credentials for logging into its own trading server. Therefore, we were unable to confirm whether RSI Global had functioning trading software.
It is advisable to contact one of the many licensed and established brokers that offer MT5 or the still very popular MT4. These platforms have established themselves as leaders because they offer a wide range of features, including a wide variety of options for customization, multiple account usage, designing and implementing custom scripts for automated trading and backtesting trade strategies.
RSI GLOBAL TRADING CONDITIONS
RSI Global claims to offer trading in currencies, CFDs and commodities. But no descriptions of the trading conditions can be found on the website. The only specific information is a table of commissions for trading CFDs.
When you visit the website of a legitimate broker you will find proposals for different types of trading accounts suitable for investors with different preferences, as well as detailed descriptions of trading parameters – minimum deposit, order execution method, tradable financial instruments, leverage, spread, swap, commissions.
The leading brands in the industry usually offer starter accounts with a very low initial deposit, which are suitable for beginner investors.
RSI Global also claims to offer managed accounts. This service requires the payment of several types of fees.
Given the lack of a licence from a respected financial regulator, the lack of trading software, and the lack of clear information on trading parameters, we are not confident that RSI Global offers real trading.
RSI GLOBAL DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES
According to the available information, RSI Global allows deposits and withdrawals only through bank transfers. There is no information on transaction fees on the website.
You should be aware that, unlike credit and debit card transactions, bank transfers do not allow refunds or chargebacks.
Legitimate brokers typically offer clients a wide choice of transparent payment methods, including credit/debit cards and established e-wallets such as PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Sofort and GiroPay.
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORKS
The online space is full of ads promising easy money. They sound too good to be true, because they are not – they are outright scams. Many of these fraudsters pose as brokers and take advantage of the general public’s ignorance of the capital markets.
If you give your contact details to one of the flashy sites promising to make you rich, you will be contacted by experienced scammers who will start convincing you to “invest” in their scheme. Initially they will ask for a small amount, say USD 250 or USD 500. If you agree, they will begin to persuade you to give them larger sums.
However, your money will never be truly invested in the market, and you will not be able to receive either the supposed profits or the money from your deposit. Your attempts to withdraw your money will be blocked by deliberately confusing clauses in the terms and conditions. Some of the most commonly used traps are extremely high minimum trading volume requirements or withdrawal fees equal to 10%, 20% or more of your funds.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED
It is very important not to rush into trusting people on the internet who offer to magically refund your money for a fee. These are also scammers, and they may even be the same ones who scammed you in the first place.
If you have made the transfers using credit or debit card, you can claim a chargeback. Visa and MasterCard allow this to be done within 540 days. However, such a request may not be approved if you have given the fraudsters documents such as a copy of an ID and proof of address. This will allow them to claim that the transaction is legitimate and approved by both parties. Wire and cryptocurrency transfers unfortunately are not refundable.
