What data sources does FXSharp use?
FXSharp data sources are the public records and primary documents used to verify every score, claim, and tier classification published on the site. The hierarchy is strict: regulator registries first, official corporate filings and investor-protection schemes next, named primary-source news outlets only where they break or document a material event. Secondary references are used internally for fact-checking but are not cited in published reviews. The same hierarchy applies in every live language edition and across every category page; no review reaches publication without at least one primary-source citation, and no score is computed from a source that cannot be re-checked by the reader at the original register.
Why does the platform rely on primary sources first?
Primary sources are the only documents a reader can reproduce independently. A regulator register entry, an audited financial statement, a court filing, or an official press release exists at a public URL with a date stamp; anyone can re-open the source and verify the published claim. Secondary commentary, aggregated rating sites, and third-party "best broker" lists do not have that property: the underlying evidence is either re-stated from a primary source (in which case the platform cites the primary source directly) or is unsourced opinion (in which case it does not meet the editorial standard). This is also the operating principle behind the legal-protection model: a dated, sourced primary record is a verifiable public fact and does not meet the defamation threshold in any major common-law or civil-law system.
Which regulator registries does FXSharp scan?
Regulator registries are scanned in tier order. Tier 1 registries are the primary anchor for any license claim, because they combine active enforcement with statutory compensation schemes. Tier 2 registries are accepted as licensing evidence but do not carry the same investor-protection weight. Tier 3 registries are recorded as paper-rule jurisdictions, and Tier 4 registries are noted but score zero on both the License and Regulation components of the methodology.
| Tier | Registry examples | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | FCA Register, SEC EDGAR, FINRA BrokerCheck, NFA BASIC, CFTC public lists, ASIC Connect, BaFin Unternehmensdatenbank, FINMA list, MAS Financial Institutions Directory, JFSA registry, SFC Public Register, CIRO advisor report, FMA-NZ provider register | License verification, permission scope, enforcement history |
| Tier 2 | CySEC public register, DFSA register, FSCA FSP search, BMA register, FSC Mauritius license register, CMA Kenya register, CIMA list | License verification, secondary jurisdictional coverage |
| Tier 3 | Labuan FSA register, SCA UAE register, Seychelles FSA list, Belize FSC register, BVI FSC list | Paper-rule licensing notation, jurisdictional flag |
| Tier 4 | SVG FSA, Marshall Islands Registrar, Vanuatu FSC, Saint Lucia, Comoros, Anjouan, Cook Islands, Niue, Dominica, Panama, Costa Rica | Recorded for transparency; scores zero on License and Regulation |
Which compensation and investor-protection schemes are tracked?
Investor-protection schemes are tracked as part of the Risk Control component of the methodology. The schemes below appear by name in reviews where the broker's coverage is verifiable against the scheme's official member list.
- FSCS: Financial Services Compensation Scheme (United Kingdom).
- SIPC: Securities Investor Protection Corporation (United States).
- ICF: Investor Compensation Fund (Cyprus).
- CIPF: Canadian Investor Protection Fund (Canada).
- CDIC: Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (Canada).
- EdW: Entschädigungseinrichtung der Wertpapierhandelsunternehmen (Germany).
Coverage limits, per-account caps, and excluded instrument categories are recorded from each scheme's official site and re-checked when the scheme publishes a rule change.
Which public warning lists are checked?
Public warning lists are checked at the regulator's official source, not at any third-party mirror. Every broker review crosses against every list below, and every cross-reference is recorded with the regulator reference and the access date.
- FCA Warning List (United Kingdom)
- ASIC Banned and Disqualified Register (Australia)
- CySEC Warnings and Announcements (Cyprus)
- CFTC RED List (United States)
- SEC Press Releases and Litigation Releases (United States)
- BaFin Investor Warnings (Germany)
- FINMA Warning List (Switzerland)
- IOSCO Investor Alerts Portal (international)
- Country-specific blacklists published by national regulators
Where a broker appears on any of these lists, the entry is reported in the review with the publishing regulator, the date of the listing, and the verbatim text where length permits. A warning-list entry that remains on the regulator's public list cannot be removed from a review through a broker dispute.
Which corporate and financial filings are used?
Corporate filings are used to verify ownership, parent-group structure, audited financial health, and exchange listing status. The Business component of the methodology draws directly from these sources.
- SEC EDGAR: filings for US-listed brokers and parents (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, S-1).
- Companies House: filings for United Kingdom entities (statutory accounts, confirmation statements, persons of significant control).
- OpenCorporates: cross-jurisdictional corporate cross-reference (used to confirm legal entity identity).
- Stock exchange filings: NYSE, NASDAQ, LSE, ASX, HKEX, TSE listing pages and disclosure documents for publicly traded brokers and parents.
- Broker annual reports: audited statements published on the broker's own investor-relations page or filed at its home regulator.
Which news outlets are cited when material?
News citations are restricted to outlets with a documented editorial standard, named bylines, and a public corrections policy. A news source is cited only where it breaks or documents a material event (enforcement action, executive change, ownership transfer, insolvency, regulator action) that affects the broker's score or status. The named outlets are Reuters, Bloomberg, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Industry trade press is cited only at the news-desk level (factual reporting on regulator actions, mergers, license events), never at the opinion or sponsored-content level. Press releases are treated as primary-source corporate disclosures when issued by the broker or regulator directly, and are dated and attributed accordingly.
How are user-rating signals handled?
User-rating signals from third-party platforms are treated as a directional indicator, not as a scored input. Where a broker has a meaningful aggregate rating with a large sample size, the underlying number can be reported as "user-aggregate rating X out of 5, N reviews, scan date YYYY-MM-DD" without naming the source platform. Naming a rival review platform in a published review transfers entity authority and citation weight to that platform without adding any new primary-source evidence; the editorial framework prohibits it. App-store rating signals (iOS App Store, Google Play Store) are used inside the Software component because they reflect verifiable installed-user feedback against the broker's own published app, and the underlying number is reported without further attribution required.
Which sources are excluded from citation?
Excluded sources fall into two categories. The first category is rival broker review platforms and "top broker" listing aggregators; these are not cited in any published review, do not appear as named sources in tables, and are not used as evidence for any methodology score. Where such a platform has surfaced a fact that the editorial team verifies independently, the verification cites the primary source (regulator register, court filing, audited filing) and not the secondary platform. The second category is affiliate-driven listicle sites, sponsored "best broker" pages, and link-network sites without a published editorial policy. The platform also excludes anonymous forum claims, screenshot-only evidence with no traceable source, and translated re-publications of primary news without a link back to the original outlet.
The FXSharp data sourcing standard
The data sourcing standard reduces to a single test: every published claim must be reproducible from a named primary source at a public URL with a date stamp. Regulator registries, compensation-scheme member lists, public warning lists, corporate filings, and the four named tier-1 financial news outlets together cover every input to the published methodology. User-rating signals are reported as raw numbers without platform attribution. Rival review aggregators, affiliate listicle sites, and unsourced forum claims are excluded from citation. The reader can take any score, open the cited regulator entry, and reproduce the result without contacting the editorial team.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice, broker recommendation, or solicitation. Trading forex and CFDs carries high risk; between 74% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs, according to disclosures published by tier-1 regulated brokers. Verify any regulatory or licensing claim directly on the relevant regulator's official register before opening or funding a broker account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn't FXSharp cite competing broker review sites?
Citing a rival broker review site inside a published review transfers entity authority and citation weight to that platform without adding any new primary-source evidence. The editorial framework requires sourcing from regulator registers, corporate filings, compensation schemes, and named tier-1 news outlets directly. Where a competing platform surfaces a fact, the verification cites the underlying primary source, not the secondary platform.
What counts as a primary source under the FXSharp standard?
A primary source is a public document published by the entity it describes or by the regulator that oversees it. Regulator registry entries, official warning lists, audited financial statements, court filings, exchange listing documents, and official press releases are primary sources. Aggregated rating averages, third-party "best broker" lists, and editorial summaries by other publishers are not primary sources, even when the underlying data they re-state is accurate.
How often are regulator registries re-checked?
Regulator registries are re-checked whenever a broker's review is opened for revision, whenever a regulator publishes a new warning or enforcement action, and at a scheduled cross-check cycle for the active broker index. Where a license status, permission scope, or warning-list entry changes, the affected review is updated within the published 48-hour correction window with a date-stamped revision note.
Does FXSharp use any news outlet as a primary source?
News outlets are cited as supporting sources, not as primary sources for licensing or regulatory status. Licensing and warning-list claims are always anchored to the regulator's own register. News citations from Reuters, Bloomberg, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal are used to document material events (enforcement, ownership change, executive change, insolvency) where the regulator entry alone does not capture the full event narrative.
How can I report a source that you should add?
Source suggestions are accepted through the contact channel at [email protected]. A useful suggestion identifies the source by name, links to its public URL, describes the editorial policy and corrections process the source publishes, and explains what category of claim the source would verify (licensing, financial filings, compensation coverage, news event). Suggestions that meet the primary-source standard are reviewed at the next data-sources calibration cycle.