International Capital Markets (IC Markets) vs. ICM Capital (ICM.com)
If you have been researching which cTrader broker to get started with, or have been comparing what’s out there on offer, you may have come across two brokers with very similar names. There is one broker, whose legal entity name is International Capital Markets Pty Ltd, and operates using the shortened brand name IC Markets (icmarkets.com). On the other hand, there is a broker called ICM Capital Limited and operates using the brand ICM (icm.com). As you can see, ICM and IC Markets sound very similar, but they do not look similar. Because of this, you may have wondered, why are they so similar? Is one company impersonating another? Is this a scam?
Don’t forget, you can find a comprehensive list of cTrader Brokers Here.
Are These Companies Legit?
Yes. Both ICM Capital and IC Markets are legitimate, regulated forex brokers. They both offer the cTrader platform to their clients as well as other platforms like MetaTrader 4. Both brokers are in fact listed on Spotware’s website as featured cTrader brokers. This confirms that those two companies are officially clients of Spotware.
Both brokers have been operating for almost a decade. And, both brokers are regulated by some of the most prestigious regulators in the world. IC Markets is regulated by ASIC in Australia and has been since the 2nd of July 2009, which is just over 10 years. ICM Capital has been regulated by the FCA in the UK since the 27th of October 2010.
ICM Capital Scam and Clone Firms
Cloning is something that unfortunately happens a lot to forex brokers. The idea is to copy the name, license, branding and website of an existing, reputable and regulated broker to trick traders into thinking the clone is the real broker. This is done to trick existing clients or new clients into opening accounts and depositing money with the clone and steal their money. ICM Capital has been cloned by scammers in the past. A recent example that targeting ICM Capital was the website icmcapitaluk.com, an older example is investcapitalmarkets.com. Both websites are set up to trick genuine clients into depositing with the scam.
The FCA (Financial Conduct Authority in the UK) is very good at identifying and disclosing cloned firms. The regulator regularly updates their websites and publishes announcements on possible clones.
Comments are closed.