Just because a company or their traders are subject to regulatory control does not mean it's going to perform as expected or that the managers are completely honest. Regulatory bodies around the world are busy prosecuting regulated and licensed traders and companies who invest and manage money. Professional traders use OPM (other people's money) when they invest money - and have little or no liability for its loss through bad trades or incompetence. Regulatory control does not mean that you have recourse just because you lost your money or that you'll get it back even if fraudsters are prosecuted. It's not always easy to recognize the wolves which are why so many innocent lambs get fleeced. Let me tell you a true story.
An investor I know, let's him Harry, signed up with, let's call him 'Spud' a professional trader for a Forex trading company in a major Texas city. They had prime offices with panoramic views. Their trading floor was big enough to look impressive, they had dozens of computer screens, desks filled with files, manager booths, traders, and the works. Their charting software hummed away and an impressive overhead flashed currency spot prices. Harry envisioned profits and signed papers that allowed his personal expert trader responsibility to manage his account using LPOA (limited power of attorney). In Forex, Spud said, he had to act quickly and Harry might not be available to approve transactions. Harry knew a little about Forex trading, but not enough so what was the point of getting in the way of profit. Harry wanted to make money. Spud said he would and that he would try and call when possible on trades but that Harry would always receive email trade notices to track any Forex trades anyway. Harry's comfort level was high enough to excitedly invest the minimum $20,000 required to 'get in' with the experts. Spud was Harry's instructor at a Forex night class at community college.
Spud won the first two small trades. Harry felt good at winning a couple of hundred dollars. Early days, good things to come he thought. A day later Spud called one evening to say he had just missed an entry opportunity but he would keep an eye on a possible entry point. Next morning Harry saw a trade notice showing the whole nine yards of his account had been placed on one 'buy' trade at a peak high. Harry could see from the chart that it was madness, but Spud reassured him to the contrary. Price continued to move downwards. Account value fell. Spud explained how he would save the day as the price continued to move against the positions. He never did of course and the entire account was blown out on that one trade within a week.
Six months later the company was shut down. Turned out they never actually placed any trades at all. The trade notices they sent out were all made up, based on market numbers, but designed to simply prove a trading loss. They were pocketing the funds that they had showed lost in their trade notices. How they thought they could get away with total wipeouts and not have a regulator verify actual trades at some point was probably biggest incompetent fraud of the year. Forex is less regulated than other trading arenas so there is greater risk for incompetence, loss and fraud; and more opportunity for fleecing. That is changing now of course. But, once the money is gone there's generally no getting it back. The point to be learned is that the appearance of established professionalism does not guarantee honesty,integrity or performance. And there is little recourse for honest losses by bad trading. You have to prove fraud, false advertising or broken promises, etc and that's not easy.
What lessons could Harry have learned before investing money? First, learned that Forex is complex and you are betting that your broker can beat the professionals. Many cannot so get a track record. Second, he could have asked for personal references. Third, insisted that no trade be done without his approval. Fourth, learned about the Forex market and have his own trading software. Most important of all don't let the trader force an immediate answer to a suggested trade. They pressure you into an immediate decision when you don't have the first clue about the trade they describing. The broker will put you through to a recorded trade verifier. His purpose is to record that the trade was your idea and they are only following your instructions. Verifiers are of course necessary in doing any telephone transactions, but you have to understand the trade and should check it on your own charts until you find a broker you really trust. Finally, don't let greed exceed your need. Get out cut your losses when you have to. Spread your funds out between different investments or money making opportunities. See which ones work and which don't over a long time frame. Invest only risk capital and never ever borrow funds for speculative investments. Don't repeat the same mistakes.
Forex has been heavily promoted with numerous strategy and trading aids on line and on TV. Books are a great starting point. If you get involved with Forex you will inevitably blow out accounts before you start to learn. Use risk capital and be prepared for a strenuous learning curve and you might get lucky and be successful after a couple of years. If you don't have the time, risk capital, patience or learning skills then look elsewhere such as traditional and non-traditional vehicles. Finally decide what you really want and what risk and time you are prepared to invest.