British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC), one of Canada’s thirteen provincial financial regulators, has added binary options broker BigOption to its Investor Caution List.
BigOption, which claims to be based in London and operates under the website of www.bigoption.com, offers binary options trading services on a variety of assets including social and mobile trading.
Not Regulated
The BCSC became aware that a British Columbia (BC) resident was solicited by a representative of BigOption, and was able to open a trading account with the broker. The regulator flagged BigOption as it is not registered to trade in, or advise on, securities or Exchange contracts in BC.
Many warnings issued by the BCSC involve unauthorised soliciting or contact with retail investors in Canada by unlicensed brokers, with BigOption joining the likes of others, including Ava Trade which was also recently added to its list for advertising to BC residents without authorisation.
Second Warning
This is not the first time that BigOption has found itself under the spotlight. The broker also received a similar warning from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) in June this year for not being registered in Ontario.
As is the case with all brokers included on the BCSC’s warning list who are not registered to trade in and advise on securities or exchange contracts in BC, trading with this broker may pose a risk to investors. The BCSC has therefore urged the public to use caution when dealing with this company.
