Beware! AU Venture 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.
AU Venture wants us to believe that it will be our trusted partner in the financial markets. But if you put your trust in this shady broker, you’ll end up getting scammed. AU Venture is not a licensed financial services provider and uses typical scam traps to prevent you from withdrawing your money. In this review, we’ll show you how to do a fact check to determine if a broker is legitimate or not.
AU Venture Regulation and safety of funds
Guaranteed Funds | Segregated Accounts | Negative balance protection | |
AU Venture | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
UK regulated brokers | £85 000 | Yes | Yes |
EU regulated brokers | €20 000 | Yes | Yes |
AU regulated brokers | No | Yes | Yes |
US regulted brokers | Yes | Yes | No |
AU Venture claims to be based in the UK, a leading financial centre where brokers must meet high regulatory standards.
But the website is full of clues that this is not true. First of all, AU Venture is anonymous – nowhere is a company name mentioned, not even in the text of the Terms and Conditions. Furthermore, AU Venture claims to offer services and trading parameters that are not permitted by financial regulators in this jurisdiction. A check of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority database shows that there is no licensed broker using AU Venture’s trading name and domain.
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.
Under no circumstances should you trust your money to such anonymous websites full of false and contradictory information. Instead, you can turn to one of the many companies that really work under the supervision of respected regulatory bodies like Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) or Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. As their customer you will enjoy a number of guarantees including negative balance protection and guarantee for your funds if the broker goes bankrupt, which goes up to EUR 20,000 in EU and 85,000 GBP in the UK.
AU Venture Trading software
Analytical tools | Auto trading | Custom indicators | Mobile apps | |
AU Venture platform | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
MT4 | 30+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
MT5 | 50+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
cTrader | 40+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
AU Venture offers a web-based trading platform. We’ve seen the exact same platform being used by multiple fake brokers we’ve encountered. Scammers are using rigged trading software to fool their victims into believing that their money is really being invested and even turning a profit.
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.
AU Venture Trading instruments
Currency | Stocks | Indices | Crypto | Commodities | |
AU Venture | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
XM | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
FP Markets | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Octa | x | x | x | x | x |
Included in AU Venture’s trading platform are currency pairs, indices, stocks, commodities and cryptocurrencies. The latter also shows that AU Venture is not what it portrays itself to be. UK financial regulations prohibit brokers from offering crypto derivatives trading.
AU Venture Spreads and cost of trading
AU Venture | XM | FP Markets | Octa | |
Spread EURUSD | 27 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
Spread GBPUSD | 27 | 1.3 | 1.5 | x |
Spread USDJPY | 27 | 1.3 | 1.5 | x |
AU Venture does not provide information on spreads and commissions. In the trading platform, we see spreads that are at least ten times higher than typical for the industry.
AU Venture Maximum leverage
Forex | Stocks | Crypto | Gold | Indices | |
AU Venture | 400:1 | 100:1 | 10:1 | 100:1 | 100:1 |
UK regulated brokers | 30:1 | 5:1 | ❌ | 10:1 | 10:1 |
EU regulated brokers | 30:1 | 5:1 | 2:1 | 10:1 | 10:1 |
AU regulated brokers | 30:1 | 5:1 | 2:1 | 10:1 | 10:1 |
US regulated brokers | 50:1 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Further proof that AU Venture is a scam and not a regulated broker is the leverage offered up to 1:400. 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. The FCA, like EU regulators, limits leverage to 1:30 for trading in major currency pairs and even lower levels for more volatile assets.
Another such piece of evidence is the claim that AU Venture offers bonuses. Regulated brokers are prohibited from offering bonuses and promotions. Scammers often use promises of supposedly generous bonuses to tie their potential victims to extortionate terms.
If you are nevertheless willing to take the risk of high-leverage trading and want to take advantage of bonuses, promotions and prize games, the best option is to use the services of offshore brokers operating under an established brand.
AU Venture Deposit and withdrawal methods
Deposit time | Withdrawal time | Price | |
Bank wire | 2-5 business days | 2-5 business days | $25+ |
Crypto | 24 hours | 24 hours | Fee depends on crypto |
At the time of writing this review AU Venture does not have a deposit menu, only a withdrawal menu. The options there are cryptocurrency and wire transfer.
Scammers prefer cryptocurrencies because these transactions are not subject to refunds. 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.
AU Venture Minimum deposit
AU Venture | XM | FP Markets | Octa | |
Minimum deposit | $10000 | $5 | $100 | $100 |
The account type descriptions specify a minimum deposit of 10,000 USD. This is a ridiculously high level, considering that some of the leading brands in the industry allow you to register a trading account with 100, 50 or even just 10 USD.
AU Venture Withdrawal requirements
Trading volume | Fee/Tax on withdrawal | Minimum withdrawal | |
AU Venture | Bonus x40 | Not specified | Not specified |
UK regulated brokers | No | No | No |
EU regulated brokers | No | No | No |
AU regulated brokers | No | No | No |
US regulated brokers | No | No | No |
If the account has used a bonus, it can withdraw funds after it has met the traded volume requirements. These requirements are vaguely worded and confusing – “the amount of the bonus multiplied by leverage. The bonus leverage is equal to 35, and for bonuses, the size of which is more than 50% of the total deposit of the Client, the leverage equals 40”.
Separately, there is a high monthly inactivity fee of 50 USD, which starts to be charged only after 30 days.