Trading account | Min. deposit | Max. leverage | Spread |
Standard* | N/A | 1:100 | 0.1 pips (!?) |
* These are the trading conditions we saw on the broker's demo account.
Guardian Capital Asia (GCG Asia) presents itself as a leading provider of online foreign exchange (FX) trading, CFD trading, and related services. The broker claims that there are multiple account options, including PAMM, MAM, ECN and more, but its website does not feature an account types section, nor discloses any trading conditions. What is worse, GCG Asia does not hold a valid forex broker license, hence the low rating we gave it.
Trading on the MT4
This broker offers its clients access to the MetaTrader4 (MT4), the preferred trading terminal of over 80 percent of forex traders. One of the key benefits of trading with MT4 is the great charting environment. It is further reiterated by the plethora of custom technical indicators and automated trading bots available via the MQL marketplace – a broker independent online store where people can test, buy, sell or lease newly developed tools.
>> Check out the best MT4 brokers <<
Good variety of assets
There is a good selection of trading options at GCG Asia, which is also an advantage for traders. The broker’s product portfolio includes nearly 30 currency pairs, CFDs on precious metals, energies and several cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Dash, and Litecoin. Yet, if you are keen on trading Bitcoin and other digital assets, it is best to choose among reliable and licensed brokers.
>> Our recommended brokers offering Bitcoin trading <<
Not licensed, despite the claims
GCG Asia is allegedly owned and operated by Guardian Capital AG, a company based in Zurich, Switzerland. The broker claims to be regulated by the local financial markets and services regulator FINMA, however our check in the public register revealed that this is not true.
This is our main concern with this GCG Asia, as most unregulated brokers, especially those making false regulation claims, are usually engaged in some sort of fraudulent practices.
On its website GCG ASIA also claims to provide Negative balance protection, as well as client fund insurance of €2.5million, which is free to all clients. Considering that the broker is not licensed, we suspect that these are just more false claims.
Blacklisted by FINMA
We also found out that Switzerland’s financial markets and services regulator FINMA has blacklisted GCG Asia for conducting unauthorized activities in the country. FINMA keeps a close eye on the unregulated brokers and usually warns in a timely manner of those who make false claims of Swiss regulation or location
This is yet another red flag regarding this broker.
Does not disclose any trading conditions
Another clear-cut sign of trouble regarding GCG ASIA is the lack of any relevant information on trading conditions. Scammers would not share much essential information about their operation and trading conditions and the reasons for this are pretty obvious.
That is why we consider the lack of information on spreads, leverage provided, minimum investment requirement., as a great disadvantage on the part of GCG Asia.
Demo spreads too good to be true
When we tested the broker’s MT4 in demo mode, we found the benchmark EUR/USD spread floating around 0.1 pips, and no commission whatsoever applied.
Click to view full size.
Trading costs that low are just too good to be true. We suppose that the spreads on live accounts are higher, or commission applies. Yet another possible explanation is that this broker is simply a scam.
>> Compare the spreads of some top brokers in real time <<
Overall, the lack of regulation and the questionable trading conditions incline us to suspect that potential clients of Guardian Capital Asia (GCG Asia) may be exposed to substantial risk. Not only that the broker is not regulated, but it was blacklisted by the Swiss financial watchdog for illegally targeting local investors and wrongfully stating it is licensed.
As usual, we strongly advice traders to invest only with properly licensed brokers. One of the well-respected financial watchdogs that provides sufficient security on the forex and CFD market is the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
>> Check our list of FCA-regulated brokers <<
To sum things up, here are the advantages and drawbacks with regards to GCG Asia:
Pros | Cons |
Trading on the MT4 | Not licensed, despite the claims |
Good variety of assets | Blacklisted by FINMA |
Does not disclose any trading conditions | |
Demo spreads too good to be true |
Broker | Country | Regulation | Platform | Min Deposit | Review |
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Cyprus, UK, Mauritius | CySec, FCA, FSC | MT4, MT5, Web | $10 | Review Website |
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Cyprus, SVG | CySEC | MT5, Web, cTrader |
$100 | Review Website |
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Australia, Cyprus | ASIC, CySEC | MT4, MT5, Iress | $100 | Review Website |
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Cyprus, Australia | CySec, ASIC | MT4, MT5 | $5 | Review Website |
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UK, Australia, South Africa | FCA, ASIC, FSCA | MT4, Trading Station, NinjaTrader |
$50 | Review Website |
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UK, Cyprus, UAE, South Africa | FCA, CySEC, DFSA, FSB | MT4, MT5, FxPro Markets, cTrader |
$100 | Review Website |
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Cyprus | CySEC | MT4, MT5, Web | $1 | Review Website |
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Belize | IFSC | MT4, MT5 | $100 | Review Website |
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Cyprus, UK, South Africa, UAE | CySec, FCA, FSCA, DFSA | MT4, MT5, Web | $5 | Review Website |
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Cyprus, UK | CySEC, FCA | MT4, MT5 | $1 | Review Website |
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UK | FCA | MT5 | $5 | Review Website |
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UK | FCA | MT4, Web, MT4 for Mac |
$100 | Review Website |
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Australia, UK | ASIC, FCA | MT4, MT5, cTrader |
$200 | Review Website |
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Dear Sir
I am Member from Thailand
My WD already over 2 month, also my friends
In Thailand not much investor so that why, we don't have more power to puching our withdraw, and Our leader don't help and say anythings to us
Now, I have news from other investor that many platfrom already has scam
So I think this time it's better for GCG to come back to be The King of trading right now
Maybe you will get more customer from other platfrom if you can show them
So, pls help to see and ruching to pay for our WD
We will find new customer for you too
I am a new member with GCG asia . I have suspected there is a problem after couldn't get into the website any more . And now i just read the news, im very that i cant get back my money , please help me, i really need my money back .
Please help us how we can get our benefit directly without any intermediary, considering that we are live in IRAN and we don’t have any international bank!
GCG ASIA scammed, we lost so much money from VietNam, we can't withdraw our money from April 2019.