FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned that Australia financial regulator ASIC has approved a new AFS license for Retail FX and CFDs broker Moneta Markets.

We expect the company to make a formal announcement shortly.

The license, issued on August 3, was made to a new company named Moneta Pty Ltd. It is somewhat significant (beyond what it means for Moneta itself, of course) in that ASIC has been very stingy regarding new AFS licenses for Retail FX and CFD brokers in recent years, following the collapse of a number of brokers in Australia, such as USGFX.

Moneta Markets was originally spun off of Australia based online broker VantageFX (since rebranded as Vantage) in 2020, as was also exclusively reported at the time here at FNG. Moneta operated as an offshore brand of Vantage, domiciled in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Since then Moneta has received a Financial Service Provider (FSP) license in South Africa, and signed an agreement with Australia AFS licensed white label firm AGC Capital Securities Pty Ltd, to operate as a corporate authorised representative of AGC.

Moneta’s management is headed by CEO David Bily, formerly the longtime Chief Marketing Officer at Vantage, who led the spin-off from Vantage and then later left Vantage to focus full-time on Moneta Markets. The company has been primarily targeting clients in South East Asia and Africa to date, but that may change with its new ASIC license.