AvaTrade is a forex and CFD broker founded in 2006. Clients in the European Union deal with Ava Trade EU Ltd in Dublin, authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland, and international clients with Ava Trade Ltd in the British Virgin Islands. Group companies hold licences in Australia, South Africa, Japan and Abu Dhabi. AvaTrade’s websites refused our automated requests, so this assessment rests on its published legal documents and on regulator records.
Research-based assessment This profile has not completed TTI’s on-site verification and 30-day platform review. How TTI verification works
| Regulator | Licence | Legal entity | Register status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) | C53877 | Ava Trade EU Ltd | Authorised Checked 4 Oct 2026 | Register entry for Ava Trade EU Ltd (opens in a new tab) 1 |
| Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) | 406684 | Ava Capital Markets Australia Pty Ltd | Authorised Checked 4 Oct 2026 | Register entry for Ava Capital Markets Australia Pty Ltd (opens in a new tab) 3 |
| Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | 347/17 | D.T. Direct Investment Hub Ltd | Authorised Checked 4 Oct 2026 | Register entry for D.T. Direct Investment Hub Ltd (opens in a new tab) 20 |
Each licence was matched on the regulator’s own register on the date shown. Unverified claims are listed under Regulation and legal entities.
We verified AvaTrade’s Irish company on the Central Bank of Ireland’s register and its Australian company in ASIC’s data; the licences of its BVI, South African, Japanese and Abu Dhabi companies could not be checked. EU clients get segregated client money, negative balance protection, the Irish compensation scheme and the Irish ombudsman. The international terms used by the BVI company do not state that client money is segregated, give AvaTrade a lien over client funds and leave clients liable for deficits, and their only complaint escalation is to the regulator. Regulators in Ontario and Alberta settled with Ava Trade Ltd in 2019 and 2020 over unregistered CFD trading, Belgium’s FSMA settled with the EU company in 2017, Brazil’s CVM ordered Ava Trade Ltd to stop offering services in 2020, and AvaTrade is on alert lists in India and Malaysia. AvaTrade does not disclose its owners in the documents we read. Its websites refused our automated requests, so costs, risk warnings and marketing claims are not determined.
The Irish and Australian records show both companies as currently authorised, with no suspension.
The terms set out a complaints procedure with a complaints email address, progress updates at least every 20 business days and a target of 40 business days.
The Irish company’s 2024 disclosures name its board: Daire Ferguson, Emmanuel Kronitz, Austin Jennings, Damian Gallagher and Peter Blessing.
The terms are dated, and AvaTrade gives at least seven days’ notice of changes by email or on its website.
Reduced the enforcement dimension by 2.5 points (moderate severity, 6.4 years before the review, counted at a quarter of its weight).
Reduced the enforcement dimension by 2.5 points (moderate severity, 6.7 years before the review, counted at a quarter of its weight).
Reduced the enforcement dimension by 2.5 points (moderate severity, 7.2 years before the review, counted at a quarter of its weight).
Reduced the enforcement dimension by 2.5 points (moderate severity, 9.1 years before the review, counted at a quarter of its weight).
Reduced the enforcement dimension by 2 points (low severity, 0.9 years before the review).
Each dimension is scored from its criteria, then weighted. Dimensions without enough evidence are left out and the remaining weights are rescaled. Open a dimension to see every criterion, our rationale and the sources.
Whether the firm’s licences exist, are current and cover what it offers.
Client-facing entities appear on the regulator’s register 123
We matched Ava Trade EU Ltd on the Central Bank of Ireland’s register and Ava Capital Markets Australia in ASIC’s data. We could not check the licences of the BVI company that serves international clients, or of the South African, Japanese and Abu Dhabi companies.
Clients can tell which regulated entity serves them 267
Each set of terms names a contracting company, but the international terms call the BVI company both AvaTrade Limited and Ava Trade Ltd without a licence number, and the Australian terms open by naming the South African company, Ava Capital Markets Pty Ltd, as the contracting party.
Criteria and their weighting are explained in the methodology.
Whether you can find out who owns and runs the firm.
Ultimate ownership can be identified 59
The documents we read do not name AvaTrade’s owners, and we could not access its website. Press reports in June 2025 said the founders Emanuel Kronitz and Negev Nosatski each held 35% and that a controlling stake was to be sold; we found no official record of the outcome.
Group structure is explained 2
The international terms list the Ava Group companies, but not how they are owned or connected.
Directors or senior managers are identified 5
The Irish company’s 2024 disclosures name its board: Daire Ferguson, Emmanuel Kronitz, Austin Jennings, Damian Gallagher and Peter Blessing.
Financial statements are available 5
The Irish company publishes annual regulatory disclosures, most recently for 2024. We found no financial disclosures for the BVI company that serves international clients.
Criteria and their weighting are explained in the methodology.
What protects client money if something goes wrong.
Client money segregation is disclosed 2610
EU client money is held under the Central Bank’s client asset rules in separately designated client accounts. The international terms contain no segregation statement and let AvaTrade hold client funds under a general lien and pledge or lend client property held as margin.
Retail clients have negative balance protection 26
EU clients have negative balance protection for forex, CFDs and options. The international terms say AvaTrade will ‘nullify’ an account that falls below zero but also that the client remains liable for any deficit, so the protection is not clearly given.
Withdrawal terms are disclosed 6
The terms set out withdrawal conditions but not processing times or fees, and we could not access AvaTrade’s website to see whether it publishes them.
Criteria and their weighting are explained in the methodology.
Regulator warnings, enforcement actions and final legal findings on record.
Starts at 100 and loses points for each substantiated adverse finding by severity and age. Allegations, complaints and clone warnings never count. Total deducted: 15 points.
Warning lists and enforcement records have been searched 111213141516171819
We searched the Irish, Belgian, Cypriot, Ontario, Alberta and Brazilian records and the Indian and Malaysian alert lists, and ran web searches for actions by AvaTrade’s other regulators. The searches are cited with their dates.
Brazil’s CVM orders Ava Trade Ltd to stop offering brokerage services in Brazil 11
3 May 2020. Reduced the enforcement dimension by 2.5 points (moderate severity, 6.4 years before the review, counted at a quarter of its weight).
Ava Trade Ltd settles with Alberta’s securities regulator over unregistered CFD trading 13
20 Jan 2020. Reduced the enforcement dimension by 2.5 points (moderate severity, 6.7 years before the review, counted at a quarter of its weight).
Ava Trade Ltd settles with the Ontario Securities Commission over unregistered CFD trading 12
25 Jul 2019. Reduced the enforcement dimension by 2.5 points (moderate severity, 7.2 years before the review, counted at a quarter of its weight).
Belgium’s FSMA settles with Ava Trade EU over CFDs offered without a prospectus 14
23 Aug 2017. Reduced the enforcement dimension by 2.5 points (moderate severity, 9.1 years before the review, counted at a quarter of its weight).
Named on the Reserve Bank of India’s alert list of unauthorised forex platforms 16
19 Nov 2025. Reduced the enforcement dimension by 2 points (low severity, 0.9 years before the review).
Listed on Bank Negara Malaysia’s Financial Consumer Alert List 18
24 Jun 2024. Reduced the enforcement dimension by 2 points (low severity, 2.3 years before the review).
Listed on the Securities Commission Malaysia Investor Alert List 17
1 Jan 2021. Reduced the enforcement dimension by 1 points (low severity, 5.8 years before the review, counted at half weight).
Criteria and their weighting are explained in the methodology.
How the firm handles complaints, and what independent records show.
Independent complaint outcomes show no adverse pattern
We did not find published ombudsman decisions or outcome figures for AvaTrade.
Complaint data is disclosed
We could not access AvaTrade’s website to check whether it publishes complaint statistics, and did not check the Irish ombudsman’s provider data.
Criteria and their weighting are explained in the methodology.
Whether costs, execution and risks are disclosed before you sign up.
An order execution policy is published 6
The terms refer to an order execution policy and a conflicts of interest policy on the website, which we could not access.
Risk warnings are clear and current 6
The EU terms say the share of retail accounts that lose money is shown on the homepage, which we could not access.
Criteria and their weighting are explained in the methodology.
Whether public claims hold up and the firm communicates openly.
Marketing claims are accurate and attributable
We could not access AvaTrade’s marketing pages.
Criteria and their weighting are explained in the methodology.
What our visit confirmed in person: a real, staffed office of the assessed entity, not a ghost address.
We have not checked this firm’s office in person, so this dimension scores zero. We check offices through our on-site verification programme.
Real office at the stated address, not a ghost address
Office of the assessed entity
Staffed and operating
Criteria and their weighting are explained in the methodology.
What our on-site checks and 30-day platform testing found.
We have not completed an on-site assessment of this firm, so this dimension does not count and its weight is shared among the others.
Company identity
Regulatory claims
Office visit
Account opening
Platform usability
Costs and disclosures
Customer support
Deposits and withdrawals
Trading functions
Complaints process
Criteria and their weighting are explained in the methodology.
A brand can trade through several companies, each licensed in a different place with different protections. Check which entity your account would be with.
Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) · Reference C53877 1
MiFID investment firm: execution of orders and dealing on own account in derivatives, with foreign exchange services and research as ancillary services.
The register lists AVA Trade EU Limited, trading as AvaTrade, as an authorised MiFID investment firm. The services are taken from the company’s 2024 regulatory disclosures and Belgium’s register of passported firms.
British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (FSC)
Licensed financial services company (as stated by AvaTrade)
The international terms do not give a licence number. The BVI Financial Services Commission website refused our requests on 4 October 2026.
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) · Reference 406684 3
Listed as the holder of AFSL 406684 (ABN 72143340907), Sydney, from 9 November 2011.
Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)
Named by AvaTrade as a group company. The FSCA’s search did not load when we checked on 4 October 2026.
Financial Services Agency (JFSA)
Named by AvaTrade as a group company. We did not check the Japanese register.
Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Abu Dhabi Global Market (FSRA)
Named by AvaTrade as a group company. We could not search the ADGM register.
Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) · Reference 347/17 20
Reception and transmission of orders and investment advice in instruments 1 to 10; portfolio management in instruments 4 to 7, 9 and 10.
Licence granted 11 December 2017. Approved domains dtdirectinvestment.com and www.duplitrade.com.
Warnings, enforcement actions, legal findings, allegations and complaint records are labelled separately. What each label means.
The Reserve Bank of India’s Alert List, updated as on 19 November 2025, includes Ava Trade (www.avatrade.com) among entities that are neither authorised to deal in forex under the Foreign Exchange Management Act nor authorised to operate a forex trading platform in India. The list warns residents but does not allege fraud.
Bank Negara Malaysia added “AVATrade”, with the websites www.avatrade.com, www.avatrade.com.my and www.avapartner.com, to its Financial Consumer Alert List of unauthorised companies and websites on 24 June 2024.
The Securities Commission Malaysia’s Investor Alert List includes “Avatrade” (www.avatrade.com.my) for carrying on unlicensed capital market activities of dealing in securities and derivatives. The list records the entry under the year 2021 without a specific date; we use 1 January 2021. The entry was still on the list when we checked on 4 October 2026.
The CVM’s register of declaratory acts records Ato Declaratório 17.837 of 3 May 2020 against Ava Trade Ltd. Such acts order a firm without CVM authorisation to stop offering securities intermediation to residents of Brazil, under a daily fine for non-compliance.
On 20 January 2020 the Alberta Securities Commission announced a settlement in which Ava Trade Ltd admitted operating an unregistered online platform that let Alberta residents trade CFDs for three years. It paid CAD 30,000 and disgorged CAD 213,428, its net revenue on those trades less a 20% credit for exemplary cooperation.
On 25 July 2019 the OSC approved a settlement with Ava Trade Ltd over allegations that it traded CFDs with Ontario investors without registration and distributed them without a prospectus. Ava Trade agreed to pay an administrative penalty of CAD 550,000, to disgorge CAD 3.7 million and to pay CAD 25,000 towards the costs of the investigation.
On 23 August 2017 the FSMA published a settlement in which AVA TRADE EU Ltd paid EUR 175,000 because, according to the FSMA, it offered CFDs in Belgium without the required prospectus and without submitting its advertising for approval. It agreed to let all Belgian clients close their accounts at no cost with their balance refunded and stopped offering the products to Belgian consumers.
In a settlement with effect from 4 March 2014 the Central Bank of Ireland reprimanded Ava Capital Markets Limited, now Ava Trade EU Ltd, and fined it EUR 165,000 for failing to report, or reporting incorrectly, 523,389 transactions between February 2010 and December 2011, and for weaknesses in its reporting procedures and in its oversight of an outsourced reporting system. The firm had identified the failures and rectified them. The action is more than ten years old and no longer affects the score.
Firms can respond to their profile and to any finding. No response has been published for AvaTrade. How firms can respond.
| Review date | Result | Methodology | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Oct 2026 | Trust score 74 out of 100 Sound | 1.2 | Current |
No corrections have been made to this profile.
Lists AVA Trade EU Limited, trading as AvaTrade, reference C53877, as an investment firm authorised under Regulation 8(3) of the European Union (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 2017.
Customer agreement with AvaTrade Limited, which says Ava Trade Ltd is licensed and regulated by the BVI Financial Services Commission and lists the Ava Group companies (Ava Trade Ltd, AVA Trade EU Limited, Ava Capital Markets Australia Pty Ltd, Ava Trade Japan K.K, Ava Capital Markets Pty Ltd, Ava Trade Middle East Limited and Ava Ireland Limited). All clients are treated as retail clients. The terms give no licence number, registered address or company number. They do not say client money is segregated; client funds are held as security under a general lien, and AvaTrade may pledge or lend client property held as margin. Details of the banks holding client money are given on request. If an account falls below zero AvaTrade ‘shall nullify the account’, but the client remains liable for any deficit. Complaints go to complaints@avatrade.com, with updates at least every 20 business days and a target of 40 business days, then to the BVI Financial Services Commission. Positions are closed when equity falls below 50% of required margin. Changes take effect at least seven days after notice by email or on the website.
Lists AFSL 406684 held by Ava Capital Markets Australia Pty Ltd (ABN 72143340907), Sydney, from 9 November 2011.
Lists the Irish firm as providing investment services in Belgium under the freedom to provide services since 17 July 2009 (execution of orders, dealing on own account, foreign exchange services and investment research). Its name was AVA Capital Markets Limited from 18 August 2009 to 15 September 2014 and AVA Trade EU from 16 September 2014. Its address changed to Dockline, Mayor Street Lower, on 9 July 2026.
Says Ava Trade EU Ltd was incorporated in Ireland on 16 July 2008 (number 460012) and holds Central Bank of Ireland licence C53877 for execution of orders and dealing on own account in derivatives. Names the board at 31 December 2024: executive directors Daire Ferguson and Emmanuel Kronitz, and non-executive directors Austin Jennings, Damian Gallagher and Peter Blessing. Treats D.T. Direct Investment Hub Ltd as a group company. It does not name the shareholders.
Customer agreement with Ava Trade EU Limited, registered office Dockline, Mayor Street, Dublin 1, telephone +353 1 513 7861. Client funds are held under the Central Bank’s Client Asset Requirements in client accounts with appointed credit institutions, designated separately from the firm’s own money. AvaTrade is a member of the Irish Investor Compensation Scheme. Negative balance protection applies to forex, CFDs and options. Unresolved complaints can go to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman. Positions are closed when equity falls below 50% of required margin on AvaTrader and MetaTrader. Inactivity fees of 50 in the account currency apply after three months without use, plus an annual administration fee after 12 months; spreads and other charges are in the Trading Conditions and Charges on the website. AvaTrade gives at least seven days’ notice of changes by email or on its website. The percentage of retail accounts that lose money is said to be on the homepage.
Opens as a contract with Ava Capital Markets Pty Ltd, the name of the South African group company, but states that Ava Capital Markets Australia Pty Ltd is licensed by ASIC under licence 406684.
Active record for AVA Trade EU Limited, Irish company number 460012, at Dockline, Mayor Street Lower, IFSC, Dublin. Previous legal name: AVA Capital Markets Limited.
Reports that founders Emanuel Kronitz and Negev Nosatski each owned 35% of AvaTrade and chief executive Shuki Abramovich 5%, and that AvaTrade had asked Israel’s securities authority to approve the sale of a controlling 50% stake to a group led by Zvika Barinboim. We found no confirmation that the sale completed.
Product documents for CFDs, spread bets and options. They say retail client money is segregated under the Client Asset Regulations, that the Investor Compensation Scheme covers eligible claimants up to the first EUR 20,000 of loss, and they describe spread and overnight costs, with rates on the website. The forex example uses margin of one thirtieth of the notional value.
The CVM’s official list of declaratory acts ordering unauthorised firms to stop offering securities intermediation in Brazil. It records Ato Declaratório 17.837 of 3 May 2020, published in the official gazette on 6 May 2020, against AVA TRADE LTD. The linked copy of the act no longer loads.
The OSC approved settlement agreements with Ava Trade Ltd, based in the British Virgin Islands, over allegations of unregistered trading of CFDs and distributing them to Ontario investors without a prospectus. Ava Trade agreed to pay an administrative penalty of CAD 550,000, to disgorge CAD 3.7 million and to pay CAD 25,000 in costs.
The Alberta Securities Commission’s release says it concluded a settlement agreement with Ava Trade Ltd, which admitted operating an unregistered online platform that let Alberta residents trade CFDs over three years. Ava Trade paid CAD 30,000 plus disgorgement of CAD 213,428, its net revenue on those trades less 20% credit for exemplary cooperation.
Published 23 August 2017. AVA TRADE EU Ltd paid EUR 175,000 and was named because, according to the FSMA, it offered CFDs in Belgium without the required prospectus and without submitting its advertising for approval. It agreed to offer all Belgian clients the chance to close their accounts at no cost with their balance refunded, and stopped offering the products to Belgian consumers.
Settlement with effect from 4 March 2014. The Central Bank reprimanded the firm and fined it EUR 165,000 because between February 2010 and December 2011 it failed to report, or reported incorrectly, 523,389 transactions, lacked adequate reporting procedures and controls, and did not manage the outsourcing of its reporting system with due care. The failures were found and rectified by the firm.
Lists entities not authorised to deal in forex or operate forex trading platforms in India. Entry 3 is Ava Trade, https://www.avatrade.com.
Includes an entry dated 2021 for “Avatrade” (www.avatrade.com.my) for carrying on unlicensed capital market activities of dealing in securities and derivatives. Other entries using the Ava name are look-alike schemes and are not treated as findings about AvaTrade.
Lists companies and websites that are not authorised or approved under the laws Bank Negara Malaysia administers. Includes “AVATrade”, with the websites www.avapartner.com, www.avatrade.com.my and www.avatrade.com, added on 24 June 2024.
On 4 October 2026 we checked the Central Bank of Ireland’s settlement notices, the FSMA’s register and sanctions, CySEC’s 1,173 board decisions, the CVM’s declaratory acts, the Reserve Bank of India’s alert list and the Securities Commission Malaysia and Bank Negara Malaysia lists, and ran web searches for actions by ASIC, the FSCA, Japanese, Abu Dhabi, BVI, Canadian and Israeli regulators. The findings are listed on this profile. Reports of a Saskatchewan temporary cease trade order in 2018, an older Brazilian order against Ava Financial Ltd and fines in Israel could not be confirmed from the regulators’ own records.
Lists licence 347/17 granted on 11 December 2017, company number 354263, address in Mesa Geitonia, Limassol, and approved domains dtdirectinvestment.com and www.duplitrade.com.
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