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2024Advisory-Against-eTORO

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Jobel Racines
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24 views3 pages

2024Advisory-Against-eTORO

Uploaded by

Jobel Racines
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ENFORCEMENT AND INVESTOR PROTECTION DEPARTMENT

SEC ADVISORY AGAINST ETORO

This is to inform the public that the online investment trading platform E T O R O is
NOT AUTHORIZED TO SELL or OFFER SECURITIES to the public in the Philippines.

Based on information gathered, ETORO describes itself as an investing and trading platform
which aims to make trading accessible to anyone, anywhere and reduce the dependency on
traditional financial institutions.

ETORO offers a crypto exchange that supports trading in 30+ cryptocurrencies and an
exchange for trading commodities, currencies, indices, as well as an online brokerage platform with
a limited selection of stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
ETORO launched promotional campaigns on various social media websites and applications to
entice its target market, including Filipinos, to engage in trading activities using its platform. Its platform
may be accessed through its main website www.etoro.com which also provides subdomains that cater
to different countries which investors could choose to invest in as well as through its mobile
applications.

ETORO’s operations allow Filipinos to create user accounts on their platform for the purpose of
investing and trading unregistered investment products.

While it appears that the operator of the platform is a registered broker/dealer in different
jurisdictions, in the Philippines, before securities and investment products can be sold or offered to the
public, the Securities Regulation Code requires:

1. That the securities being offered are registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). This involves filing an application for registration and providing detailed
information about the securities, including the issuance price, the use of the proceeds, and
the nature of the securities;
2. That the securities must be issued by a corporation or a licensed dealer, both of which should
be registered in the Philippines; and
3. That the issuer possesses a secondary license to sell or offer securities to the public.
Based on the Commission’s database, the operator of the platform ETORO is NOT REGISTERED
as a corporation in the Philippines and OPERATES WITHOUT THE NECESSARY LICENSE AND/OR
AUTHORITY to sell or offer any form of securities as defined under Section 3.1 of the Securities
Regulation Code (SRC), to engage in the business of buying or selling securities or as a broker or dealer
as provided under Section 28 of the SRC, or to create or operate an exchange for the buying and selling
of securities as provided under Section 32 of the SRC.

In view thereof, the public is hereby advised to exercise caution before investing in these kinds
of unregistered online investment platforms and their representatives. In dealing with these
unregistered platforms, the Commission reiterates its Advisory entitled: “Advisory against Dealing
with Non-Registered Foreign Entities, Organizations, and Corporations.”

In addition, those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents, representatives, promoters,
recruiters, influencers, endorsers, and enablers of the ETORO platform in selling or convincing people
to invest in this platform within the Philippines even through online means may be held criminally liable
under Section 28 of the SRC and be penalized with a maximum fine of Five Million Pesos (P
5,000,000.00) or imprisonment of Twenty One (21) years or both pursuant to Section 73 of the SRC
(SEC vs. Oudine Santos G.R. No. 195542, 19 March 2014).

For the guidance of the public.

Makati City, 14 MARCH 2024.

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