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

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NetProfit presents itself as a regulated and award winning forex and CFD broker. But this website is actually a good reminder that you should always do careful fact checking before you put your money on the line. NetProfit is not actually what it claims to be, but yet another online scam. Let’s take a detailed look at the evidence for this and discuss the better alternatives for investing in the financial markets.

NetProfit Regulation and safety of funds

Guaranteed FundsSegregated AccountsNegative balance protection
NetProfit
UK regulated brokers£85 000YesYes
EU regulated brokers€20 000YesYes
AU regulated brokersNoYesYes
US regulted brokersYesYesNo

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.  The availability of such information does not guarantee that it is not false or misleading

NetProfit  claims that a company called Net Profit (UK) Limited, which is based in the UK and licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority, is behind this website.

But this company cannot be found in the financial regulator’s register.

There is a UK company with that name on the general register of companies, but it is in the accounting business and we have no evidence that it is linked to the NetProfit  website.

The website is also available in German, which has attracted the attention of the German financial regulator BaFin. The institution has issued a warning to investors that NetProfit  is not authorised.

If you intend to invest in financial instruments, you should beware of the many fake brokers lurking online. Always check carefully whether the broker you choose really has the necessary licences. There are numerous benefits to working with a company that is truly authorised and supervised by a regulatory institution such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in US or Australian Securities and Exchanges Commission (ASIC). 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.

NetProfit Trading software

Analytical toolsAuto tradingCustom indicatorsMobile apps
NetProfit platform
MT430+ indicatorsAndroid and iOS
MT550+ indicatorsAndroid and iOS
cTrader40+ indicatorsAndroid and iOS

NetProfit uses a fairly basic web trading platform. Here is how it looks like:

It should be noted that the presence of some kind of trading software is no guarantee that this is a genuine broker. Financial scammers often use rigged trading platforms to fool their victims that their money is actually being invested. However, this trading is entirely fictitious and the money goes directly into the scammers’ pockets.

If you use the services of a licensed broker, you will get the opportunity to use established software with advanced features and versions for all types of devices and operating systems. The most widely used trading platforms in the industry are MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (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.

NetProfit Trading instruments

CurrencyStocksIndicesCryptoCommodities
NetProfit
XMYesYesYesYesYes
FBSYesYesYesYesYes
FXTMYesYesYesYesYes

NetProfit promises trading in a huge variety of financial instruments. But as stated, we have no reason to believe that the trading offered by this website is real and not fictitious.

NetProfit Spreads and cost of trading

NetProfitXMFBSFXTM
Spread EURUSD31.711.1
Spread GBPUSD31.31.21.4
Spread USDJPY31.31.21.4

In the trading platform we see a spread of 3 pips. This level is twice as high as usual for the industry and is very disadvantageous for the trader. In addition to this, the trading account descriptions list high commissions and fees. Real brokers only charge a spread, or a flat commission for lot traded combined with a raw spread.

NetProfit Maximum leverage

ForexStocksCryptoGoldIndices
NetProfit 100:1100:110:1100:1100:1
UK regulated brokers30:15:110:110:1
EU regulated brokers30:15:12:110:110:1
AU regulated brokers30:15:12:110:110:1
US regulated brokers50:1

NetProfit offers a leverage of up to 1:100, which would not be possible if this was indeed a UK licensed forex 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.

Regulated brokers offer higher leverage only to professional clients who must meet very high standards for capital and experience and forgo the guarantees enjoyed by retail traders.

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.

NetProfit Deposit and withdrawal methods

On the homepage of the website we see the logos of many popular payment methods, but at the time of writing this review, the deposit menu of NetProfit  was not functional.

Experience has shown that fake brokers routinely advertise conventional payment methods, but actually steer their potential victims towards cryptocurrency transactions. This not only guarantees them anonymity, but also deprives the defrauded of the option to request a refund or chargeback.

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 or Neteller.

NetProfit Minimum deposit

NetProfitXMFBSFXTM
Minimum deposit$250$5$10$5

NetProfit specifies a minimum deposit of 250 USD, which is the industry standard. But this means that for the same amount you could open a trading account with an established and duly licensed forex broker. Some of the leading brands in the industry offer Micro and Cent accounts with a very low entry threshold that are suitable for novice investors.

NetProfit Withdrawal requirements

Trading volumeFee/Tax on withdrawalMinimum withdrawal
NetProfit Not specifiedNot specifiedNot specified
UK regulated brokersNoNoNo
EU regulated brokersNoNoNo
AU regulated brokersNoNoNo
US regulated brokersNoNoNo

NetProfit does not specify special conditions for withdrawal. But these types of scams always surprise you with hidden fees and other tricks that prevent you from withdrawing your money back.

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