FKD review – 5 things you should know about fkdfxhk.com

Beware! FKD is an offshore broker! Your investment may be at risk.

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Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Open trading accounts with at least two brokers.

FDK represents itself as a regulated forex broker operating in some of the leading global markets. But even a cursory inspection of this cheap-looking website provides plenty of clues that the truth is different. FKD is nothing more than yet another online scam trying to con inexperienced people out of their money.

FKD Regulation and safety of funds

When you visit the website of a legitimate broker you can expect to find clear and detailed information about the company that owns and operates it, where it is based and what regulatory regimes it is subject to. Licensed financial services providers are also required to provide a comprehensive set of legal documentation.

We do not find the Terms and Conditions, Customer Agreement or other legal documentation on the FDK website.

In the footer of the website the company FKD Finance Limited is named, but in the registration data of the software used by FKD the company FKD Limited is listed as the owner. But we found no evidence that such legal entities exist at all.

FKD claims to be licensed by the Financial Services Authority of the United Kingdom.

But the UK financial regulator is actually called the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). No authorised broker with that name and using that domain can be found on that regulator’s register.

The website is available in both English and Chinese and is aimed primarily at Chinese speakers. FDK provides a contact address in Hong Kong rather than the UK. But a check of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) database shows FDK is not licensed to operate in that jurisdiction either.

Before investing your money in financial instruments, it is imperative to make sure you do so through a licensed intermediary and not one of the many scammers lurking online.

If you want to trade on financial markets without being scammed, you can turn to some of the legitimate brokers that actually operate from established financial hubs like the UK. These brokers have to meet stringent requirements for financial stability and transparency of operations imposed by the FCA.

They must provide clients with negative balance protection and to participate in a guarantee fund that covers up to GBP 85,000 of a client’s investment should the broker go into insolvency. These brokers are also required to keep their clients’ money segregated from their own operating funds in separate bank accounts.

FKD Trading software

For all its dubiousness, FDK has real trading software – the industry-standard MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform.

But having a real trading platform does not guarantee that trading is not fictitious. Fake brokers use rigged trading software to trick their victims into believing that their money is really being invested in financial instruments.

There are more than enough licensed brokers offering clients the MT4 experience and/or the newer version of the software MT5. These platforms have established themselves as industry standard because they offer a wide range of features, including a variety of options for customization, multiple account usage, designing and implementing custom scripts for automated trading and backtesting trade strategies.

FKD Trading instruments

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, etc.

No such detailed information, including a list of tradable instruments, can be found on the FDK website. In the trading platform we see only a limited number of major currency pairs.

FKD Spreads and cost of trading

The website promises a spread of 2-3 pips, which is actually a very high and unprofitable level for the investor. In the trading platform the spread is even higher.

FKD Maximum leverage

A maximum leverage of 1:100 is mentioned on the FDK website. This may also serve as evidence that FDK is not a UK-based broker.

The FCA, like EU regulators, limits leverage to 1:30 for trading in major currency pairs and even lower levels for more volatile assets.

High leverage creates the opportunity for more significant profit, but correspondingly increases the risk of sudden and excessive losses. All leading regulators therefore restrict leverage for retail traders.

Higher levels of leverage are only offered to professional clients who trade entirely at their own risk.

If you don’t qualify as a professional trader but are willing to take the risk of high-leverage trading, the most viable option is to use the services of an offshore affiliate of an established brand.

FKD Deposit and withdrawal methods

At the time of writing this review, the FKD deposit menu was not functional, therefore we were unable to ascertain what payment methods were available.

The website claims that deposits and withdrawals can be made through China and Hong Kong-based payment processors such as UnionPay and PerfectMoney.

Legitimate brokers typically offer clients a wide choice of transparent payment methods, including bank transfer, credit/debit cards and established e-wallets such as PayPal, Skrill, and Neteller.

There is no information on transaction fees, which is also a red flag that we are dealing with fraud.

FKD Minimum deposit

It is not clear what minimum deposit the FDK requires. Established brands in the industry offer beginner investors Micro Accounts with a nominal minimum deposit.

FKD Withdrawal requirements

The lack of a publicly available Terms and Conditions or Client Agreement means that scammers may have set many traps such as hidden fees and impossible-to-meet  withdrawal terms.