eToro Warned by the Philippine Securities Regulator

Recently, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission's Enforcement and Investor Protection Department issued an announcement highlighting that eToro is not authorized to sell or provide securities services to the public in the Philippines.

eToro is a well-known brokerage firm in the financial services industry, offering financial services and products to retail investors in several regions around the world. While eToro is authorized to provide financial services in several jurisdictions around the world, that doesn't appear to be the case in the Southeast Asian country.

According to the Commission, eToro conducted promotional campaigns on social media and applications to attract trading activity from customers in target markets, including Filipino customers. eToro allowed Filipino clients to open accounts for investing and trading in "unregistered investment products."

The Commission emphasized that while the investment platform was a registered broker in various jurisdictions, it was not in the Philippines. According to local regulations, securities products offered to Filipino consumers, both the securities themselves and the brokers offering them, must be registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission. However, according to the records of the Philippine SEC, it appears that eToro is not authorized to do so. As such, the regulator cautions the public to exercise caution in choosing services offered by this "unregistered online investment platforms and their representatives."

In addition, individuals and entities that help eToro in selling or persuading people to invest on this platform in the Philippines could face fines of up to five million pesos or up to 21 years in prison.