Have you ever seen a forex broker show off the accolades like Best ECN Forex Broker, Most Transparent Forex Broker or Best Trade Execution？Many traders believe that these accolades mean that brokers provide high-quality trading services.。But in fact, forex broker awards do not always represent excellence。

Of these awards, some (a few) are indeed awarded by credible bodies。However, most awards are given by publications or organizations you didn't know about before。Many of them may not have been properly evaluated during the awarding process, and instead awards are given to those who are willing to spend a small amount of money to gain immediate respect.。

This article will introduce you to everything you know about Forex broker awards, including why there are so many such awards in the industry, the various types of popular awards and how to distinguish between real awards and dubious awards。

The Role of Awards in the Forex Industry

The best athletes should have won many awards。The more awards they receive, the higher and more popular their achievements will be.。

This mentality is common among us。It also applies to the entertainment industry, the education system and many other areas, including the foreign exchange industry。Unfortunately, the lack of uniform regulation in the global foreign exchange industry has led to an expansion in the number of awards and a reduction in the credibility of awards.。

On the one hand, awards are good for forex brokers。On the other hand, there are also people who are willing to offer awards to ineligible entities in exchange for cash。

For Forex brokers, awards can meet a variety of marketing needs:

◇ Win praise from the organizer's propaganda

Enrich your own advertising materials.

◇ Get high-quality feedback from news websites and other publications promoting the award

Gain a degree of credibility in the eyes of potential customers

In this case, everyone benefits except potential customers who are misled by seemingly prestigious awards announcements。This is why it is vital to double check and triple check the credibility of Forex broker awards。

How to distinguish between real and dubious awards

Despite the unfortunate circumstances, not all Forex broker awards are deceptive。Some organizers use the awards as their main source of income and have no criteria other than cash payments, but others perform appropriate standardized procedures before identifying winners。

An in-depth report in The Guardian (2011) delves into the murky world of financial awards。They focus on awards that are popular in the UK, but the results are actually quite representative of the global financial industry.。

The media found that the organizers of the awards had a wide variety of entry requirements and evaluation criteria。Some awards require participants to be nominated by an industry-wide vote.。There are also some awards that have established independent juries to evaluate participants.。

At the same time, the Guardian has also uncovered a number of questionable practices by certain award organisers, including:

There is no formal entry requirement or fair award.

◇ Organizers receive remuneration to ensure "guaranteed awards" and "no hassle of participating in awards."

◇ Organizers require high fees to participate in the awards.

◇ Hundreds of pounds must be spent on the invitation to receive the award at the award ceremony.

The Guardian notes the lack of regulation of financial industry awards in the UK's Advertising Act。Companies may falsely direct award organizers in favor of themselves and then refer to the awards in their ads regardless of their credibility.。

Based on this report, we can summarize a few key points that distinguish between true and false awards。They are:

Awards should be held by an authoritative organizer.。The Organiser itself shall have a good reputation in the industry before presenting the award to any entity。

◇ Award organizers should be able to publicly announce the entry requirements and evaluation criteria。Winners should be determined by a panel of experts, an experienced dealer survey or other fair and transparent means。

◇ The award must have a certain number of winners, they must go through all procedures, its credibility will not be questioned。

In addition, if representatives of government or market regulators participate in the awards, their credibility will be greatly improved.。

Various Forex Broker Awards

Are you confused？Don't worry.。We can divide them into several categories to make it easier for you to evaluate any Forex broker awards。

Earnforex Divide the current Forex Broker Awards into three categories:

The most advanced (trustworthy) awardOrganized by well-known and reputable publications such as FXStreet。They use transparent and reliable procedures。In addition, they present awards to a small number of winners in a limited category.。Although the number is small, but their honor is significant。

Intermediate (fairs and conferences),Examples include Finance Magnates Summits and iFX Expo。The organizer itself is in good standing and the qualification requirements are quite demanding for Forex brokers who want to participate.。Such awards should be treated with caution, though, as they tend to favor expo participants and have marketing as their primary purpose.。

Lowest (dubious award), including magazines and brokerage rating websites such as the World Journal of Finance, International Business Journal, Financial Derivatives Journal, etc.。Apart from the awards themselves, their reputations are usually the lowest。They didn't disclose their criteria, and the jury didn't know。You can usually get nominated and win by filling out a simple survey。In addition, the organizers may award hundreds of brokers each year.。

Looking back at the current industry, there are too many Forex Broker Awards in the third category。Most of them display their winning awards in the most prominent places on their respective home pages throughout the year, but in reality they do not have the same prestigious reputation to uphold them。

Famous awards and their winners

We have evaluated dozens of Forex Broker Awards based on criteria such as the background and reputation of the award organizers, award entry requirements, and judging / voting procedures。So here is our list of the most famous Forex broker awards:

FXStreet Best Award

● Sponsor：FXStreet

● 类型: Level 1

● Outstanding winners：Forex.com (2017)、FXTM (2016)、FXCM (2015)

● BackgroundFXStreet is a leading source of reliable news and real-time forex analysis。FXStreet Best Awards reward best analytics, educational content and contributors。Last time: 2018。

TradingView Broker Award

● Sponsor：TradingView

● 类型: Level 1

● Outstanding winnersPepperstone (2022 Broker of the Year), OANDA (2022 Most Popular Broker), FXCM (2022 Social Champion)

● BackgroundTradingView is an advanced charting and social trading platform。Each year, they reward brokers based on user feedback and comments, engagement, platform uptime, and more。Nonetheless, it is worth noting that participants in the TradingView Broker Awards are limited to brokers integrated with the platform.。

Forexbrokers.Com Awards of the Year

● Sponsor：Forexbrokers.com

● 类型: Level 1

● Outstanding winnersIC Markets (Algo Trading 2023, Metatrader 2023), IG Group (# 1 overall in 2023)

● BackgroundForexbrokers.com is a leading provider of broker reviews and comparisons。Provides ranking and full disclosure of research and testing methodologies。

Investopedia Award for Best Online Broker

● SponsorInvestment Encyclopedia

● 类型: Level 1

● Outstanding winnerseToro (Best Broker for Cryptocurrency Trading 2023), TD Ameritrade (Best Starter Broker 2023), Interactive Brokers (Best Broker for Advanced Traders 2023)

● BackgroundInvestopedia is arguably the world's most-cited financial information portal, dedicated to ethical journalism and adhering to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines.。They belong to the American publishing company Dotdash。However, participation in the Investopedia Best Online Broker Awards is limited to entities authorized in the United States.。

Huiheng Summit

● SponsorFinance Magnates (formerly Forex Magnates)

● 类型: Level 2

● Outstanding winnersIG Group (Best Multi-Asset 2022), eToro (Best Investment / Trading App 2021), FXCM (Best Retail Broker Execution 2013)

● BackgroundHundreds of exhibitors attend the Financial Giants Summit every year。Awards are given to leading industry players who excel in key areas through a transparent nomination and voting process from their industry peers。

FXEmpire Award

● SponsorFX Empire

● 类型: Level 2

● Outstanding winnersPlus500 (Top CFD Broker 2018), AvaTrade (Best Trading Experience 2018), FXCM (Best Customer Support 2018)。

● BackgroundFXEmpire is the world's leading financial news portal, founded in 2011.。First launched in 2014, the FXEmpire Awards identify winners through a public vote of thousands of participants from around the world.。Last time: 2018。

iFX Expo

● SponsoriFX Expo

● 类型: Level 2

● Outstanding winnersExness (Best Multi-Asset Broker - MEA 2023), Vantage (Most Transparent Broker - MEA 2023), Tickmill (Best Forex Spread 2023)

● BackgroundiFX Expo is the world's largest financial business-to-business expo。It is held annually in several cities around the world, including Limassol, Hong Kong, Dubai, etc., with hundreds of exhibitors at each location。The latest award is called UF Awards MEA 2023, presented by iFX EXPO Dubai。