Utility · last checked 2026-07-08
How We Review Brokers
The same checklist runs behind every review on this site: who actually holds your money, how the firm is regulated, what trading really costs, and how hard it is to get your money back out.
Where the score comes from
Every broker gets up to 100 points, weighted towards the things that hurt most when they go wrong. Regulation is worth up to 30 points, because an offshore letterbox entity and an FCA-supervised firm are not the same product even when the spreads look identical. Transparency of legal documents and pricing is worth 20. Platform access is worth 15, funding and withdrawal terms 10, and external signals such as regulator warnings or long-running complaint patterns another 10. On top of that sits a risk adjustment that can pull a score down sharply when we find something we would not accept with our own money.
What we actually check
We start with the boring part: the legal entity named in the client agreement, not the brand on the homepage. That name goes into the relevant regulator register, and we note the licence number, the permissions and any warnings.
Then we read the fee schedule and the terms that most people skip: inactivity fees, withdrawal processing times, swap policies, and what happens to your balance if the entity is offshore. Platform claims get verified against the broker's own pages, since MT4, MT5 and proprietary platforms are frequently available in some jurisdictions and not others.
What a review can never tell you
A review is a snapshot. Brokers change spreads, move clients between entities and rewrite bonus terms without telling us. That is why each page shows the date it was last checked, links to the primary sources, and keeps repeating the same advice: before you deposit, confirm the entity, the register entry and the withdrawal terms yourself. If a page on this site and a regulator register ever disagree, trust the register and tell us.
Common questions
Is this trading advice?
No. We publish broker research, comparisons and risk notes. What you do with your money is your decision, ideally made after your own checks.
Can broker information change?
Constantly. Regulation, availability, platforms, payment methods and fees change by legal entity and over time, which is why every page shows when it was last checked.
Are your scores safety ratings?
No. A score is a side-by-side comparison aid. A high score is not proof a broker is safe, and we'd rather you treat it that way.
Check the details yourself
These are the pages we relied on. Read them before you open an account or send money anywhere.