What To Do With Your Account After Your Broker Was Sold

Your account CAN live on, even if your broker won’t. However, if your broker sold out to another broker, there is probably nothing wrong or worth worrying about. I want to tell you something, however. And I don’t want you to be mad.

You probably should have switched your account BEFORE your account was sold off to another broker.

Brokers in FX are only sold for a few reasons. Here are the reasons, even though (or especially because) you did not ask for them:

1) Your broker had a lot of customers, but had a lot of regulatory problems. These problems could include illegal activity - but probably not. Brokers who are engaged in illegal activity get shut down and your account never gets sold. Or they go out of business and you (rarely) get some money back. Other regulatory problems include that your broker was singled out for attention by the NFA or the CTFC, and they did nothing wrong, they were just a target. The regulatory agencies seek after Regulation Regulation Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Read this Term like a predator seeks after children at the mall. Ok, that was a bit harsh. But seriously, sometimes brokers just want to drink the blood of the executives at your broker. That’s a perfectly natural inclination. For a vampire. Anyway.

2) Your broker found it difficult to do business in the United States and wanted to just focus on international business. See #1 above.

3) Your broker was successful at gaining customers but not so great at making money. Put another way, your broker was run by a bunch of people who loved to build fancy offices and hire an understudy for every executive (read: needless redundancy). Or maybe your broker just paid everyone too much money. Most businesses are poorly run - they spend more money than they bring in. This is one reason I love FXCM. Drew Niv is probably the best businessman I have ever met. He hires great people. He invests in technology. But he doesn’t waste money. And he’s ultra competitive. Just to be clear, I don’t have any business dealings right now with FXCM, but I do appreciate them. I like other brokers, too. But we can talk more about them later.

4) Brokers sometimes sell off your accounts because of other reasons, but I’m telling you - numbers 1-3 above are the only reasons I’ve ever known it to happen. And if it happens, your account has probably been sold to FXCM or Gain Capital. And that’s not such a bad thing. I say - if your account is sold, give the new folks a chance to keep your business. If your trades are executed at the price you like, and they still offer the software you love (or have grown to hate less over time), then stay put. And keep trading.

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