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Is Pocket Broker safe? Why we don’t recommend it ❌

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Franklin Silva
Co-Founder & Fintech Analyst
Fact checked by
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Pedro Braz
Co-Founder, Forbes 30 under 30
Fact checked by: Pedro BrazUpdated on Oct 30, 2024

You’ve probably seen a Pocket Broker advertising on Youtube or other social media and want to know if this is a safe platform, right?

Pocket Broker is a binary option broker owned by Pocket Option, a broker that we do not recommend.

Pocket Broker works in the same way as Pocket Option but with a different branding.

In this article, we’ll tell you what we think about Pocket Broker and Pocket Option – keep reading.

Is Pocket Broker safe?

We do not recommend Pocket Option, nor Pocket Broker.

You should not ignore several red flags we have detected during our due diligence.

Some warning signs:

  • Pocket Broker regulatory environment: Despite being owned and operated by FRONTIER MARKETS (PTY) LTD, an investment firm regulated in South Africa by the FSCA, it has no top-tier regulation like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA);
  • No investor protection: If Pocket Broker goes bankrupt or simply decides to close its business, you are not covered by any investor compensation scheme;
  • No personnel is known: Pocket Broker has no team, no LinkedIn, nothing. You do not know who is behind the platform.
  • They use aggressive sales tactics to make people want to register to their services. Pop-ups with information about how much money you can make, attractive women in landing pages, and other sales tactics. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Their target is mainly emerging market countries like Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, Brazil and India.

Video summary

Want to know what we think about Pocket Option? Check our in-depth Pocket Option review, or watch our video summary:

Regulated and supervised Online Brokers (our recommendations)

  1. Interactive Brokers: Best overall Online Broker
  2. eToro: Best for commission-free investing and social trading
  3. Webull: Best low-cost US Broker
  4. Public: Best US broker for fees transparency

Award Winner

Interactive Brokers logo
Best Overall Online Broker
Min. deposit of €/$0
Offers interest on uninvested cash balances
Excellent reputation (founded in 1978)
See broker summary
Visit BrokerRead review
Broker summary
Supported countriesWorldwide (exceptions apply)
Fractional sharesYes
RegulatorsFINRA, SIPC, SEC, CFTC, IIROC, FCA, CBI, AFSL, SFC, SEBI, MAS and MNB.
Interest on uninvested cashEUR: 2.645%; USD: 4.33%; GBP: 4.53% (as of October 2024)
RegulatorsFINRA, SIPC, SEC, CFTC, IIROC, FCA, CBI, AFSL, SFC, SEBI, MAS and MNB.
Products and MarketsStocks, ETFs, options, futures, Forex, commodities, bonds and funds.
Visit BrokerRead review

Award Winner

eToro logo
Best for commission-free investing and social trading
Min. deposit of $50 (varies between countries)
$0 for stocks and ETFs (other fees apply)
Demo account
See broker summary
Visit BrokerRead review
Broker summary
Supported countriesWorldwide (exceptions apply)
Fractional sharesYes
RegulatorsFCA, CySEC and ASIC.
Interest on uninvested cashUp to 5.3% in USD
RegulatorsFCA, CySEC and ASIC.
Products and MarketsStocks, ETFs, cryptos (only crypto CFDs in some countries) and CFDs on stocks, ETFs, commodities, Forex, indices.
Visit BrokerRead review

51% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Award Winner

Webull logo
Best low-cost US broker
Min. deposit of $0
$0 for stocks, ETFs and options
Demo account
See broker summary
Visit BrokerRead review
Broker summary
Supported countriesUS, HK, CA, SG, JP, the UK, AU, BR, SA, TH, ID, MY
Fractional sharesYes
RegulatorsSEC, FINRA, SFC
Interest on uninvested cashUSD: 4.25%
RegulatorsSEC, FINRA, SFC
Products and MarketsStocks, ETFs, Options
Visit BrokerRead review

Award Winner

Is Pocket Broker safe? Why we don’t recommend it ❌ 1
Best US broker for fees transparency
Min. deposit of $0
$0 for US stocks
Valuable education resources
See broker summary
Visit Broker
Broker summary
Supported countriesUS, UK, Germany, and Spain
Fractional sharesYes
RegulatorsSEC and FINRA (+ FCA as an appointed representative)
Interest on uninvested cashUSD: 5.10%
RegulatorsSEC and FINRA (+ FCA as an appointed representative)
Products and MarketsStocks, Bonds, ETFs, Options, Crypto, Fine art, collectibles and Treasuries
Visit Broker

Bottom line

There is some information you should verify before considering opening an account with any broker:

  • Always double-check if the platform is regulated in major developed countries (US, UK, and EU);
  • Search on reputable regulators’ websites (FCA, SEC,…) to check if the platform is registered or, on the other hand, is on a warning list;
  • If you feel a “salesy” approach, dig deeper;
  • Do not trust all reviews you read online (check several sources), particularly if no negative points are mentioned.

If you want to know more about Pocket Broker, check our Pocket Option review (the company is the same), where we go more in detail on the company.

We hope you found this article useful!

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About the author
Author Avatar
Franklin Silva
Co-Founder & Fintech Analyst

Franklin has three years of experience in Wealth Management as a Fund Research Analyst, has passed the CFA level II, and is the host of the "Edge Over Hedge" YouTube channel.

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