Follow my trades

Mug2k,

In a previous post I pointed out that you may be committing a criminal offence. Taking part in a regulated investment activity whilst being unauthorised (by the FSA) is against the law.

You mentioned that you were going to contact the FSA yourself. What was the outcome?

P.S I also wanted to clear up the fact that I have never accused you or anybody of fraud, just breach of FSA trules. Do not take any of this as a personal insult. It is meant as advice to ensure that you don't get into troble.
 
I reported a website to the FSA a few months ago. It wasn't a website run by a member of TTW.

A few weeks later I received an email to say they were looking at it but I haven't received anything since. Are the FSA bothered about giving advice without their regulation? There seems to be a lot of people doing it.
 
I suspect they haven't the resources to police people operating though websites and who could be based anywhere and don't require a physical presence to run their operation
 
Bigbusiness

Mug2K is not giving any advice or charging for it at present.

He is posting his signals as issued by his system and this, IMO, would not constitute advice, as far as the FSA is concerned. When he starts charging that may constitute advice, which he will need to check out.

How is 'advice' quantified? If I decide to post my trades on this site, a few moments before I enter the trades, would I need to register with the FSA? Almost certainly not.
 
mos3329,

I didn't mention Mug2k. I wouldn't report a member of TTW without letting them know first.
 
mos3329,

It can be a grey area when it comes to defining "advice".

If you posted your trades on this website, it would not be in breach of the rules. You would not be inciting anyone to follow you, and you would not be expecting payment.

If mug2k wanted to sell his trading "system" to people, in return for a single 1 off payment, that would also be fine.

If however he was to charge ongoing fees for his services of providing buy and sell recommendations on an ongoing basis, whilst unregistered, then there may be a problem.

The FSA rules are there to protect the investor. If individuals were to act on Mug2k's recommendations and they lost plenty of money, they would have no protection. If Mug2k was FSA regulated, the investor might get some protection. If he was registered he would also need to ensure that this type of trading is suitable for the individual...Does the investor have sufficient capital?...Does the investor understand the risks involved?

I am not suggesting in any way that Mug2k will plan to charge for his services (although he has suggested it himself), but he should be wary.

Equally if anyone on T2W wants to follow somebody's trading recommendations, why not follow someone who is experienced / qualified and FSA registered. That way at least you may be afforded some protection.
 
Mug2K - hello and HNY - just a quick observation which u may find useful. First I am personally SFDR (FSA + Derivatives Rep), Series 7 and EUrex registered person myself, and even tho i am not a lawyer myself - I think I remember how it works. I do not think that u will run into any probs (al long as u r not charging) on explicitly advising ppl to "follow yr trades" with FSA or Euro stuff - BUT EVEN THO YR ADVICE IS FREE - u need to have Series 7 AT LEAST to advise American investors on the Dow (or any US Index). U may want to include a legal note on yr site that it is not aimed at US investors or something. Remember, for SEC your citizenship or geographical jurisdiction does not matter! :)
 
Hi everyone, ive found it difficult when to give updates as my trades and reversals are not so easy to follow unless you have he system yourself so ive changed my trades to suit End of day trading. Meaning i'll give updates/reversals soon after the actual market finishes.

My back-test will be updated today, obviously the gains have come down a little but this style of trading will make it simple for anyone to follow.

Blairlogie, your right in saying that if i charge for my trades as a service I will be breaking FSA rules (which i definately dont want to do) So i will continue to post trades and come March I will sell the system to a few interested buyers.

Mug2k
 
Blairlogie

I generally agree with what you say, but even if registered, sites often put a disclaimer to the effect that you should not take any info on their site as a recommendation to invest your money, and that you should not solely rely on their trades.

As the FSA doesn't seem to have any get up and go,(unlike the American SEC, whose website gives details of the many small cases they tackle), they would probably be of no help.

A court would probably (and rightly) decide that you were clearly warned and you made the choice to trade voluntarily.

That is why it is so important for members to see Mug2 demonstrate his trades live for a few months, in detail, before deciding to trading themselves.
 
I think the crunch would be this- IF you tried to persuade people to invest money based on your expertise, then you have a problem . If you charge someone for information, and it is down to them whether or not they make their own investment decisions based on that information, you may be ok..... If you suggest or infer that by using the information one can become rich, then again, you may be in trouble. I'm sure it's a fine line that defines whether or not you are giving financial advice.
 
So what your saying is that if someone is FSA approved and they lose you money, you can go to the FSA and claim it all back. Sounds great but in reality you pay your money and take your choice. Investing is about risk and YOU choose to take that risk FSA or not.
Perhaps I can go to my isa fund manager and demand a refund of the money I lost over the last few years. Investing without the risk !! Long live the FSA !!! (Duh)
Get real fellas no one knows for sure what the markets will do FSA or not. All i see is the same posters who are jealous of a good business idea. Be honest, you don't really care if a stranger loses money or not on the markets. You just hate someone with a good idea, that you hadn't thought of.

Jane
 
I believe that there is a very simple way around this whole "Being registered with the FSA" requirement debate and it is as follows:

When you get a signal all you need to do is advise your clients to place a "Spreadbet" rather than advise them to place a "Trade"

You will then be classed as a tipster in the same way as in Horseracing. There is no requirement for any of the totally useless tipsters to be registered, (or even have any experience in the field they advise on), and so you will be home and dry with regard to any liability whatsoever.

The key here is that you are offering betting advice and not trading advice and if your clients choose to place a trade well that is their decision because all you said was they should bet on etc...




Paul
 
jslee,

Actually, I do care if someone, particularly a newbie, loses money on the back of following advice from someone who is unqualified.

If, on the other hand an experienced individual loses his own money based upon his own (not others) decisions, then you're right...I couldn't care less.

As for being jealous, you couldn't be further from the truth. I don't think that selling a trading programme will reap you anything like the rewards than simply trading your own account.

Mug2k has already explained that he can't do this at this time because he lacks funds. Fair enough. This is his way of trying to make those funds so that he can trade his own account later. Best of luck to him.

Once he has the funds, he will realise that he will be more profitable trading rather than selling a programme (if his programme continues to give him good returns). Admittedly, as a business proposition trading is more risky than selling a programme...but with no or little risk you get no or little reward.

As for the FSA issue...If you were advised by an FSA authorised entity to invest in futures and it turned out that they did not carry out the appropriate checks to ensure that this was a suitable investment instrument suited to your circumstances, you could be compensated for having been mis-sold a product.

If a non-FSA registered entity held money on your behalf and they went bust, you wouldn't get any of your money back. If they were FSA registered, your funds would be segregated and protected, even if the company went bust.
 
Trader 333

Unfortunately spreadbetting is also covered by the FSA...the only way around it is not charge for your advice. end of story.

Why do you think IG Index, City Index etc are all FSA registered?
 
Hi everyone, ive decided to change my whole system around all the data is different now as ive changed the settings to produce trades at EOD prices, so reversals etc.. will be so much easier to follow and my prices will be in-line with the spreadbet prices.

Im posting up everything within an hour or so! Sorry for the chopping and changing but now its all sorted. Everthing should be plain and simple from now on.

Mug2k

Sorry for any inconvienience i may have caused
 
FSA requirements

Blairlogie said:
Trader 333

Unfortunately spreadbetting is also covered by the FSA...the only way around it is not charge for your advice. end of story.

Why do you think IG Index, City Index etc are all FSA registered?
Click to expand...

I rang the FSA (a very simple thing to do). A decent chap asked me why I was ringng and where I got the query from etc. He then informed me that :

(a) ANY form of advice counts as far as the FSA is concerned - you can't even say on this board "I would sell xxx at yyyy "

(b) NOTHING is exempt (inc. spread betting)

(c) "ignorance is no defense". Meaning apparently if they prosecute you for giving advice without being regulated its no good saying "oh I didn't know"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Follow me and the DAX
4 5 6
Replies
104
Views
18K
china white
C
spanish89
Spanish89's Daily Trading Journal...!! :cheesy::cheesy::cheesy:
2 3
Replies
46
Views
9K
toxictrading
T
M
My methodology please read I am looking for feedback
Replies
2
Views
2K
myownceo727
M
3
Who Is The Best Fx Trader?
Replies
14
Views
2K
300
3
X
my account(pic) ! what do you suggest ??
Replies
10
Views
3K
XxRamboPLxX
X
Top