Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.
The Israeli arm of EU forex brokerage Colmex is in the process of acquiring another local peer, Protrade Solutions LTD, finance news provider Finance Magnates reported on Monday. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed by May 2017.
This is the Colmex’ third acquisition in Israel. In 2016, the broker also acquired Smart Capital and Trade Capital Markets. It seems that Colmex is headed towards becoming the largest Israeli forex broker and the first one to get listed.
“The composition of shareholders shows that the company will explore in a most profound manner the possibility to become the first public listed online trading company in Israel,” the media cited an unnamed source within Colmex.
Protrade is itself in the process of acquiring an Israeli license. In fact, it is the only broker to await a Trading Arena (forex) license in the country. The Israeli Securities Authority (ISA) has granted a total of six such licenses (to Colmex, FXCM, Plus500, Atrade (a brand of AvaTrade), Real Forex and First Index) and has rejected another 21. No other entities have applied for authorization.
The regulation of forex brokers in Israel is relatively new. Meanwhile, trading in binary option instruments in the country is banned. However, Israel-based brokers can still target foreign investors outside the country. The country is also a hub for binary options call centers. Recently, the ISA announced it was drafting a legislation that would expand its authority and enable it to shut down entities that solicit customers abroad, as currently its authority is limited to the country’s borders. A possible ban of marketing outside of the country would mean the end of Israel-based call centers.
Colmex Israel offers leveraged trading in forex and contracts for difference (CFDs) via the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform. It is part of Cyprus-regulated Colmex Pro.