OctoTrade review – 5 things you should know about octotrade.ca

Beware! OctoTrade 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.

At first glance, OctoTrade’s website might convince you that it is indeed a regulated investment intermediary. But a closer inspection reveals that we are dealing with yet another scam. In this review, we’ll show you why it’s in your best interest to stay away from OctoTrade and point you towards more trustworthy forex brokers.

OctoTrade Regulation and safety of funds

If a financial services provider is legitimate, you will find on its website clear and detailed information about the company that owns and operates it, where it is based, and what licences it has. Genuine brokers also provide access to a comprehensive set of legal documentation. The availability of such information does not guarantee that it is not false or misleading. But the absence of these elements is very indicative that in all likelihood you are dealing with scammers.

According to the information available on the website, behind this broker is a company by the name of Octo Finance Inc Ltd, which is licensed by Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada.

But the institutions that licence and regulate brokers in this jurisdiction are the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). OctoTrade  is not among the authorised brokers.

In fact, financial authorities in the Canadian province of Quebec have issued warnings to investors that OctoTrade is not a legitimate broker.

OctoTrade does not provide access to a Client Agreement, Terms and Conditions or other required documentation. It should also be noted that after registering and logging into an account, we are forwarded to a completely different domain, pt.aidealingroom.co.uk.

If you have decided to invest in financial instruments you have a choice of much more trustworthy options.

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 the US, 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.

OctoTrade Trading software

After signing up for an account, we get access to a very basic trading platform, lacking some of the basic functionality one would expect from trading software.

But even if OctoTrade had a more convincing platform, that would not make this website credible. Fake brokers use rigged trading software to mislead their victims that their money is really being invested. But this trade is entirely sham.

Legitimate brokers offer clients a wide selection of trading software, including desktop, mobile apps and web-based platforms. The most widely used 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.

OctoTrade Trading instruments

OctoTrade does not provide clear information on the parameters of the trade it claims to offer. Genuine forex brokers provide detailed information about the trading conditions. Legitimate companies also offer different account types to suit clients with different experience, capital and investment intentions.

OctoTrade Spreads and cost of trading

OctoTrade  promises very competitive spreads of less than 0.5 pips, but in the trading software we see just the opposite – a spread of 3 pips, which is double the industry average.

OctoTrade Maximum leverage

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.

OctoTrade Deposit and withdrawal methods

OctoTrade claims to allow deposit of funds via credit/debit chits, cryptocurrencies and wire transfer. But at the time of writing this review, the deposit menu was not active, so we were unable to confirm what payment methods were available.

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 established e-wallets such as PayPal, Skrill or Neteller.

OctoTrade Minimum deposit

The leading brands in the industry offer beginner traders starter accounts with a very low minimum deposit. You have no good reason to take chances with shady brokers like OctoTrade.

OctoTrade 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.