Trust & Safety

Trust & Safety is one of the most important parts of our broker review process. This category evaluates how safe and reliable a broker appears to be based on its regulatory status, additional licenses, operating history, and the legal entity used to serve clients.

Sub-Factor	Weight
Main regulatory protection	70%
Additional licenses	15%
Market Presence & Operating History	15%

Trust & Safety Score = Main Regulation Score × 70% + Additional Licenses Score × 15% + Market Presence & Operating History Score × 15%

Main Regulatory Protection

Regulatory Status	Score
Tier-1 regulation	5
Tier-2 regulation	4
Tier-3 regulation	3
Offshore regulation	2
Unregulated	1

Additional Licenses

Additional Licenses Held	Score
No additional licenses	0
One additional Tier-3 license	1
One additional Tier-2 license	2
One additional Tier-1 license	3
Two or more additional strong licenses	4
Multiple Tier-1 licenses across major jurisdictions	5

Market Presence & Operating History

Years in Operation	Score
20+ years	5
10–19 years	4
5–9 years	3
2–4 years	2
Less than 2 years	1

Trust & Safety Score Caps

Score caps are used to prevent brokers with weak or unclear regulation from receiving a high Trust & Safety score based only on age or secondary features.

Broker Status	Maximum Trust & Safety Score
Unregulated	1.5
Offshore-only	2.5
Tier-3 only	3.5
Tier-2 only	4.3
Tier-1 regulated	5.0

Red Flags and Score Adjustments

We may reduce a broker’s Trust & Safety score, overall score, or final verdict if we identify material concerns that are not fully captured by the standard scoring tables.

Regulatory warnings, fines, suspensions, license restrictions, or enforcement actions
Unclear legal entity, ownership structure, or client onboarding entity
Unresolved withdrawal complaints or repeated payment issues
Misleading claims about regulation, fees, execution, bonuses, or trading conditions
Opaque company information or limited disclosure of key legal documents
Major inconsistencies between published terms and customer support responses
Highly restrictive bonus terms that may prevent realistic withdrawals
Serious platform stability, execution, or order-handling concerns

Red flag adjustments are applied carefully and may vary depending on the severity, recency, frequency, and reliability of the information available. A serious red flag may limit the broker’s final score even if the broker performs well in other categories.