German,
I like your idea, but think the number of brokers that could have been approved and later collapsed might cause issues. If you don't mind me taking your thread off topic, there's an alternative I've been toying with that I call Company Pledges.
The pledges would vary from category to category, since some things are specific to brokers and others are specific to other products and services. The idea is that a company that makes a pledge gets an acknowledgement on their review page and an icon they can show on their website. This increases the company's credibility. To reduce the chances that a company won't break the pledges, any proven violation would result in an immediate FPA Scam Finding.
For example, for brokers, the first pledge would be to never use the MT Virtual Dealer Plugin or any other means to manipulate slippage in the broker's favor.
If this sounds interesting, let me know and I'll start a thread somewhere else on the topic.
Your suggestion is good Pharaoh on the theory part but it will find much difficulty when you reach to the practical part.
Who will discover if the broker is using "MT Virtual Dealer Plugin" or other manipulation programs?!
Brokers can find non end disclaimer excuses!!
My suggestion that was and keeping on suggesting FPA is simply give a list of Regulated Brokers that have no FPA Scam Finding, organizing it all from Top to Bottom according to Clients reviews and its regulatory bodies importance.
Like Brokers that are regulated in Bafin, NFA, FSA, CFTC are listed at Top, difference in ranking between those will be FPA members reviews or let it be a voting competition ruled by FPA for a month.
I bet FPA will find that much much more Members will participate in it than the few ones(sadly) voting for Guilty or Non Guilty Traders Court Open Cases.
Only members(not new ones) vote in this competition(to diminish possibility of brokers sending its people!!) choosing the Top Brokers which FPA included in the competition list.
FPA Highers can arrange the competition ranking rules as they have 50% of points to give for brokers according to regulation and reputability(FPA Historical searching..etc) like brokers registered at 3 Top Regulatory Bodies can get better points than others registered in one of those Top Regulatory or in some low profile regulatory.
The other 50% of points can be given to brokers from FPA Members Voting, also those votes can be divided into categories like best overall broker, best low spread broker, best execution broker, best low slippage broker, best less scam broker
(just joking).
I doubt my suggestion could work here in FPA because that will be giving brokers a free advertising which FPA already has a place for(payable), not to hide behind our fingers, everything has a cost at end, and business or kind of it must keep running even with some concessions
from time to time that will not affect the main noble goal & mission.
However, in my opinion, running a wide competition like what I suggested above will not really directly advertise brokers but might affect some as revealing New Scams and when some 50 brokers are competing that will keep actual advertising far away & at end of competition after results are announced, FPA will find many brokers wanting to advertise on its site as a kind of gratefulness for results which is actually not like that but a normal process of what FPA Members and FPA Competition Committee combined had chosen.
This will at first increase and improve a lot FPA help for traders worldwide by telling them where to search first when choosing a broker and each according to preferences where the competition categories will play a role too.
Hopefully, my suggestion find the path of hearing at least for once, just this time and I'll never suggest anything else
