CIFMarkets Review: An FSP Number Where an ODP Licence Should Be

CIFMarkets is operated by Aclive Wealth Advisory (Pty) Ltd, South African registration 2022/427817/07, publishing FSCA FSP number 54857. An FSP licence does not permit issuing or writing CFDs as principal, which requires a separate OTC Derivative Provider authorisation, and CIFMarkets quotes none. Its own terms name the firm that does issue the contracts: Intrepot Investments Ltd, a Comoros company on a MISA licence at an address shared with seven other brokers we have reviewed. We score it 2.7 out of 10.

Quick facts

Why we rated it Scam

1. The licence covers advice, not the business being run

CIFMarkets is operated by Aclive Wealth Advisory (Pty) Ltd, South African company 2022/427817/07, at 1 Hood Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg, and publishes FSCA licence FSP 54857.

The FSCA is South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority and 54857 is a genuine FSP number issued under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act. What that licence authorises is advice and intermediary services relating to derivatives: marketing, sales, and putting clients in front of products.

It does not authorise a firm to issue, sell or make a market in CFDs as principal. That is a separate authorisation under the Financial Markets Act, as an OTC Derivative Provider, and South African compliance guidance states the position without ambiguity: a FAIS licence does not mean an FSP may issue or write CFDs as principal. Operating as an unauthorised ODP carries penalties of up to R15 million and imprisonment of up to ten years under the Financial Sector Regulation Act.

CIFMarkets offers CFDs. It quotes an FSP number and no ODP authorisation anywhere we could find. The entity name itself, “Wealth Advisory”, is consistent with an advisory licence rather than a dealing one. If the firm holds an ODP authorisation, publishing the number would resolve this in a line.

Source: cifmarkets.com corporate disclosure, checked 2 September 2026. Licensing position per South African FAIS and Financial Markets Act requirements for OTC derivative providers.

2. The terms name a different company as your counterparty

CIFMarkets publishes twelve legal documents dated February and July 2026. The terms and conditions, 78 pages long, define the product supplier as Intrepot Investments Ltd, a Comoros company with registration number HV00126489 on MISA licence BFX2025155, registered at Bonovo Road, Fomboni. That is the same address as NXG Markets and six other brokers in our database. The site footer says Aclive Wealth Advisory “is not the market maker, or product issuer” and never names who is, so the company whose FSCA number appears on every page is the introducer rather than the firm holding your position.

The same contract calls the supplier “Intrepot Ltd” in its introduction and “Intrepot Investments Ltd” in its definitions. intrepot.com is itself a live CFD brand, running the same page template and the same account tiers as CIFMarkets.

The contract specifications do publish margin per symbol, 3.33% retail and 0.50% professional on FX majors, with swap rates, lot sizes and trading hours. The deposit and withdrawal policy allows a fee of “3% plus 0.25 cents” per deposit at the company’s discretion, and warns that funds may take a further five to seven working days to reach a client. Spreads and commission are published nowhere.

3. A UK company and a Cyprus company, neither of them a licence

The site names two paying agents: Aclive Advisory (UK) Ltd, company 17048005, with a London address, and Aclive Advisory (CY) Ltd, HE494365, in Limassol, Cyprus.

Both are real registrations and neither is financial authorisation. A UK Companies House number is not FCA permission. A Cyprus HE number from the Registrar of Companies is not a CySEC licence, and does not bring the EU investor compensation fund, the 30:1 retail leverage cap or negative balance protection. Placing a London address and a Limassol address on a page beside a regulator’s name produces an impression of European standing that none of the three registrations supports.

The practical point is narrower and more useful: if your bank statement names a UK or Cyprus company while your account agreement names a South African one, record that before anything goes wrong.

4. There is no track record either way

CIFMarkets has no Trustpilot reviews at all, confirmed directly: the profile exists and has received none. We found no regulator warning naming it.

We score the complaints pillar neutrally as a result, and nothing in this review says CIFMarkets has refused anyone a withdrawal. An empty complaint record is not reassurance and it is not an accusation. It means there is no evidence, and the score rests on the licensing position: an FSP number that does not authorise the activity, and a Comoros counterparty disclosed only inside a 78-page PDF.

Who CIFMarkets will accept

It states it does not serve residents of the European Union, Canada, the United States, Russia, Belarus, Venezuela, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Cuba, North Korea, Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Myanmar, Suriname or Zimbabwe. Excluding the EU is the correct thing for a firm with no European authorisation to do, and we give credit for it in the transparency score.

Questions traders ask

Sources

• cifmarkets.com corporate disclosure: Aclive Wealth Advisory (Pty) Ltd, registration 2022/427817/07, FSCA FSP 54857, Rosebank address, paying agents Aclive Advisory (UK) Ltd 17048005 and Aclive Advisory (CY) Ltd HE494365, and excluded jurisdictions. Checked 2 September 2026.
• Trustpilot profile for cifmarkets.com: no reviews received. Checked 2 September 2026.
• South African licensing framework: FAIS Act FSP licences versus Financial Markets Act OTC Derivative Provider authorisation; Financial Sector Regulation Act penalties for unauthorised activity.

Answered in detail

Safer alternatives

Rated Trusted or Neutral against the same six pillars. These link to our own reviews, not to the brokers, and no broker can pay to appear here.

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