Quantitative Governance & Audit Protocol
6-Dimension Institutional Compliance & Execution Rating Methodology
How AlphaPulse Finance evaluates licensing standing, statutory investor protection, trading infrastructure, and enforcement risk across global financial jurisdictions.
Coverage: Institutions licensed in the United States and Canada
- Evaluated institutions
- 207
- Tracked licences
- 499
- Supervisory bodies
- 36
- Rating scale
- 0.0 – 10.0
1. Quantitative Scoring Dimensions & Mathematical Weights
Composite Score = 0.35·R + 0.25·P + 0.15·E + 0.15·I + 0.10·L (bounded to [0.0, 10.0] after red-flag caps)
| Dimension | Weight | Primary Audit Signals | Hard Cap / Penalty Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| R · Regulatory Tier & Prudential Standing | 35% | Active full authorisation under Tier-1/Tier-2 prudential supervisors; legal entity exact match | Capped at ≤ 3.5/10 if operating solely via unverified offshore IBC or AML-only registration |
| P · Client Asset Segregation & Redress | 25% | Statutory compensation membership (FSCS, SIPC, ICF, CIPF), CASS/segregated trust rules, negative balance protection | Zero credit when retail clients are onboarded to an offshore subsidiary lacking statutory redress |
| E · Execution & Software Infrastructure | 15% | Verified main-label vs white-label terminal topology (MT4/MT5/cTrader/proprietary), developer certificate match | Deduction for unverified APK sideloads or corroborated slippage-manipulation dockets |
| I · Enforcement & Clone Integrity | 15% | Absence of FCA/ASIC/SEC enforcement notices, clone-firm alerts, or scope-exceeded warnings | Immediate ≤ 1.5/10 critical alert cap on confirmed clone impersonation or active regulator warning |
| L · Corporate Longevity & Disclosure | 10% | Continuous operating history, audited financial filings, verifiable contracting address & fee schedule | Score dampening for newly incorporated shell entities (< 24 months) without onshore parent backing |
2. Global Supervisory Tier Classification & Investor Protection Caps
Not all licences provide equal protection. We classify authorities by net-capital rules, audit frequency, and statutory insolvency coverage.
| Tier Classification | Representative Authorities | Statutory Investor Compensation | Retail Protection Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier-1 · Primary Onshore | UK FCA, US SEC / FINRA / CFTC / NFA, Australia ASIC, Singapore MAS, Switzerland FINMA, Hong Kong SFC, Germany BaFin, Japan JFSA | UK FSCS (up to £85,000); US SIPC (up to $500,000); Swiss esisuisse (CHF 100,000); HK ICC (HK$500,000) | Strict daily client-money reconciliation, high minimum regulatory capital, mandatory dispute ombudsman |
| Tier-2 · Established Regional | Cyprus CySEC (EU MiFID II), UAE DFSA / ADGM / VARA, Canada CIRO, New Zealand FMA, South Africa FSCA | Cyprus ICF (up to €20,000); Canada CIPF (up to CAD $1,000,000) | Cross-border passporting or local conduct supervision, leverage caps, segregated client accounts |
| Tier-3 / Offshore Regime | Seychelles FSA, Mauritius FSC, Vanuatu VFSC, Bahamas SCB, BVI FSC, Labuan FSA, Belize FSC | Generally $0 statutory insolvency compensation | Lighter capital thresholds, high retail leverage permitted, limited cross-border dispute enforcement |
| Registration-Only / Non-Prudential | US FinCEN MSB, Canada FINTRAC MSB, St. Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG FSA IBC) | $0 investor protection | AML/currency-transfer filing or corporate registry only — does NOT authorise retail forex or derivatives brokerage |
3. Primary Register Verification Protocol & Machine-Readable Oracle Access
Multi-entity brokerage groups frequently advertise a prestigious Tier-1 licence in marketing headers while routing international clients to an unregulated offshore subsidiary in the account agreement. Before depositing funds, verify that the exact Contracting Legal Entity and Approved Website Domain match the primary supervisory register.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the 6-Dimension Compliance & Execution Score calculated?
Each evaluated institution receives a composite score from 0.0 to 10.0 derived from weighted regulatory tier standing (35%), client money segregation and statutory compensation coverage (25%), execution terminal infrastructure (15%), enforcement and clone-integrity audit history (15%), and corporate longevity and disclosure transparency (10%).
Does a money-services registration (such as FinCEN MSB or FINTRAC) count as a Tier-1 brokerage licence?
No. Anti-money-laundering (AML) registrations such as US FinCEN MSB or Canadian FINTRAC MSB supervise currency transmission and AML reporting only; they do not confer prudential capital supervision, retail margin leverage approval, or statutory investor compensation such as SIPC or FSCS.
Can an institution pay to improve its rating or remove a regulator warning?
No. Ratings and warning classifications are strictly rule-driven against published supervisory registers and enforcement dockets. Commercial sponsorship cannot alter a score, suppress an official clone-firm notice, or override an unauthorised status.
How can AI agents and compliance teams verify licences programmatically?
All public verification checks are exposed via deterministic JSON endpoints (/api/v1/verify/license and /api/v1/verify/domain), an OpenAPI 3.1 specification (/.well-known/openapi.json), and a stateless Model Context Protocol server (/api/mcp).