Hi, I tried creating a new individual account with Amp Futures but they have declined my application for no reason. I provided all the documents they asked and even offered to provide bank account statements and credit scores to prove creditworthiness if that was the issue. The worst part is they will not even give me a reason to allow me to rectify the situation. All they say is that 'it was a business decision and no further information can be given' which makes no sense to me whatsoever. Has anyone had such an experience with Amp before and if yes, how did you'll resolve it?
Either you're from a blacklisted country, suitability (experience) or you've got prior litigation... those, or they didn't like your handle. =)
I'm a Canadian resident but a citizen of another country. But I don't understand why my citizenship should be taken into consideration for approving an application because technically, I could have just provided a Canadian ID and they wouldn't even know about my citizenship.
Anti-money laundering laws and policies have a big impact on the way these firms do business. And of course they'e not going to be very forthcoming about how they make their decisions on AML - that would help money launderers adapt their approaches. I don't say you were likely to be engaged in money laundering but the firm possibly find a difficulty in proving it. AML would be my guess.
Never tried to open a futures account as a Canadian myself, but have seen threads discussing how certain brokerages allow certain provinces. For some reason futures regulations are provincial so some might accept Ontario, some accept Ontario, Nova Scotia. Think BC and Alberta are pretty much screwed anywhere besides IB Canada since they have shop setup here. Another topic that pops up is if you go with a U.S firm as a Canadian, your funds don’t have any protection on the U.S side or Canadian side. That topic pops up a lot. Not sure about the details, just do some research first.
This is probably it but AMP customer service has always been very generous in keeping me in the loop on what is going on. I'd suggest you reach out to them here, or attempt to get in contact on their AMP Global line to get some more information. They have no legal requirement to tell you why you were rejected but if you're nice to them I'm sure they'd gladly tell you. FWIW brokerage account funds aren't protected in the FDIC sense. The SIPC protects brokerage funds from funny business - and I'd be very surprised if funds weren't protected by those laws even if you're Canadian. Even then, the SIPC doesn't protect from losses incurred during funny business, nor losses incurred during the attempts to acquire your account from the broken down brokerage. If you have a link to show this I'd be interested in reading it because it's frankly hard to believe they'd revoke your SIPC protection since it's quite literally insurance.
FDIC, SIPC Neither are applicable to FUTURES accounts held in the USA, regardless of country of origin for the account. There is no such or similar protection/insurance in the US for futures. Segregation of funds is all there is. Not to be confused with "universal" accounts such as Interactive Brokers-USA, that offer multiple investment vehicles/categories including money sweeps. Even there, open futures positions have no such protection beyond segregation of funds.