Since this seems to be a hot topic right now, I would like to put in my 2 cents worth.
My opinion is that the NFA is actually trying to regulate the forex industry brokers (bucket shops) and help keep them from screwing the small traders.
I know that is not the most popular belief here right now, but please read on and allow me to explain why I think this is the case.
Face the facts people, we are small fish in a huge ocean of sharks here. We are the food that the big traders eat, and the source of ALL the profits for these scummy bucket shops. Yes, they do provide us the "opportunity" to trade in the forex market. And yes, without them we would not be able to have the chance to make money with our tiny little accounts. So you could say they provide us with a valuable "service." But at what price? A loan shark will provide you with the funds you need and call it a loan. Get it?
I have been around since before this forum was created, and all I have heard is how corrupt, cheating, lying, and unreliable most retail brokers are. Most people moan and groan about how the industry needs regulation to protect us from their unscrupulous tactics of helping us lose our money. And I agree 100% with that.
But common sense would tell you that brokers of any type are simply businesses that are set up to take advantage of an opportunity. The opportunity for them is that there are thousands (if not millions) of inexperienced, get-rich-quick minded, eager wanna-be traders out there who can easily be parted with their money. So, without any industry regulation they can make false claims, create trade entry platforms that appeal to the unsophisticated beginners, manipulate data feeds, and manufacture and promote bogus "hedging" schemes that take advantage of the unwary newbie.
The real business opportunity in forex has always been in starting your own business as a forex "broker." Virtually anyone with some rudimentry programming skills and a relatively small investment can start up. In the perfect environment too. No regulation. No penalties for breaking laws because there really are no laws. No restrictions on what kind of false claims or hyped-up marketing ploys can be used. And best of all, lots of suckers out there who are more than happy to throw away a few hundred bucks on the chance to "make it big" in the "3 trillion $ per day" forex market.
In case you forgot for a second, they are NOT here to help us. They are here to help themselves -- to a very tasty piece of a very lucrative pie.
Face the facts people. Most (if not all) retail market makers are simply in the business of fleecing the public out of as much money as they can as fast as they can. Nothing else. We have to deal with them as a necessary evil of this money making opportunity called forex. But don't ever think for one minute that they EVER have your best interest in mind.
So my point is, no matter how inefficient, plodding, and unfair the regulatory agencies are, without some kind of control it will continue to be a free for all for the bucketshops to continue to have a license to steal from us as it has been until now.
Don't get me wrong. I believe in freedom. I believe everyone should have the right to make money without government interference in our lives. But without regulation in this industry the broker's greed will know no bounds.
So what are we to do? I suppose we could just believe that they will begin to do the right thing if we as individuals "move our funds offshore" and that will show them. Yeh, right. You gave up believing in the tooth fairy and the easter bunny at some point didn't you, remember? They know there is a steady line of fresh cattle being lead to the slaughter every day by the false claims and they expect them to always be one time players anyway.
Actually this reminds me of what a futures broker told me one time back in the early 80's when I started trading in the grain markets. He said "As a commodity broker, I'm mainly here just to hold the customer's hand until they lose all their money, which they almost always do."
In forex, the SOB's don't hold your hand, or even kiss you before they screw you.
Friends, I'm sad to see it, but I think that the time is at hand where the government has decided to clamp down on all this feeding frenzy. And yes, we are all going to suffer for it as anyone who is honest always will. But without regulation, laws, and penalties for violating those laws there will never be a limit to the greed of the bucketshops and this "industry" in general.
The time has truly come to clean up this scummy mess and make it possible for people like us to make honest profits without worry of brokers screwing us to the max along the way. We also owe it to the next group of newbies to be the leaders who have paved the way to make it safer and fairer for them to take advantage of this incredible opportunity.
Thank you for taking the time to read this,
PistolDave
