Legit or Forex Scam? (2023) (2024)

Real, Unbiased iMarketsLive Review from an Ex-Forex Trader
24 Comments

Table of Contents

1. It’s All About The Benjamins
2. iMarketsLive Company Overview
3. When Was iMarketsLive Founded?
4. What Are iMarketsLive Products?
5. iMarketsLive Membership Options
6. My Forex Trading Experience
7. Pros: Why Join iMarketsLive?
8. Cons: Is iMarketsLive a Scam?
9. Compensation Plan: How iMarketsLive Works
10. iMarketsLive: Quick Summary
11. Bottom Line: Is This Forex Stuff For Real?
12. Shameless Plug: Realistic Passive Income Without Forex or MLM?

It’s All About The Benjamins

So you wanna get rich from Forex trading, huh?

I know the feeling.

But you might wanna think twice about joining iMarketsLive.

Here’s why:

Like it or not, most MLMs like iMarketsLive are dressed up sales jobs.

Whether it’s selling “the dream” to your friends and family to convince ’em to sign up for your new Forex trading program…

Or just buying and selling currencies in the Forex market yourself.

Either way, you better enjoy hustlin’ and grindin’ if you’re gonna make it in this game.

Let me break it down for you:

iMarketsLive – short for International Markets Live – is a unique multi-level marketing company that’s all about Forex trading.

That’s short for foreign exchange trading, also known as currency trading.

It’s just like the stock market but instead of buying and selling shares of companies, you buy and sell currencies like the U.S. and Canadian dollar.

And unlike a regular 9-to-5 job, skilled currency traders can make (or lose) serious bank.

In fact, the Forex market is the largest financial market on the planet — doing 5 TRILLION (with a “t”) a day in trade volume.

That’s over 200 times larger than the New York Stock Exchange!

Now you can see why there’s an absolute sh*tload of Benjamins to be made in Forex.

And iMarketsLive is doing exactly that:

By 2017, they were pulling in over $6 million per month.

They’ve also experienced a tremendous amount of growth and momentum in 2018 and 2019.

But there’s a fair amount of controversy surrounding this network marketing phenom.

If you’ve noticed that too, you’re probably interested in a lil’ more info about ’em, right?

Well, good news:

You’ve come to the right place, brotato chip.

iMarketsLive Company Overview

First things first:

iMarketsLive is a Forex trading MLM that offers various trading educational products and services to a global audience.

They currently appear in over 120 countries and have training available in 8 major languages.

As you’d expect, their headquarters is located in the center of the financial universe:

New York City, New York.

They also have a staff of over 60 educators who have a single job: Teach peeps like you and me about the joys of Forex and cryptocurrency trading.

Oh, did I not mention they do cryptocurrency markets like Bitcoin as well?

Well, they do.

The company’s vision, according to their website, is to “Educate, Enrich, and Empower One Million Students.”

Admittedly, also according to their website:

Trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing financial security or life style.

To be fair, that could be said about any investment opportunity (e.g. financial services from Primerica, binary options, etc), but Forex trading is notoriously difficult — I know from personal experience.

Risks aside for now, let’s talk about how iMarketsLive came into being in the first place.

When Was iMarketsLive Founded?

What’s the real story behind iMarketsLive?

Well, for starters:

International Markets Live, Inc. was founded back in 2013 by CEO Christopher Terry.

But you know what’s weird?

iMarketsLive’s corporate website is surprisingly thin when it comes to offering information.

Most companies, even most MLM companies, have at least a little history of the company along with a small biography of the founder/CEO.

iMarketsLive.com has no such information on their site and seems to prefer to remain as mysterious as possible.

But I did manage to find this page, which appears to be an older bio of the company’s founder Chris Terry.

Here’s an excerpt:

Mr. Christopher Terry began this journey in construction, both as a worker and eventually as an owner, for nearly 12 years. In 1995, he discovered commodities trading and began to immerse himself in the markets.

In just 3 years, he was confident enough to walk away from his Construction Business, which had generated sales in excess of $40 million that same year, in order to become a full time trader.

Over the years he applied and effectively utilized this winning strategy of gaining the necessary learning and experience through the proper Mentors and then imitating the strategies of successful people.

While doing so he realized the same process of following success step by step, could bring average people everywhere to the same level of success that he himself had achieved.

Mr. Terry began to realize that at this point in his life it was his calling to help change people’s lives on a massive Global scale through a marriage of Network Marketing with Professional Trading.

This is why, in August 2012, Mr. Terry made the decision it was time to act on this Philosophy, and International Markets Live, Inc. was born.

One thing that’s missing from that bio of Chris Terry is his long history with MLMs and network marketing.

Terry came up in Amway, and although by his own admission he didn’t actually make any money, he said it gave him a “mindset of wealth”.

In other words, he probably realized the folks who made the most money in an MLM were the ones at the top and who recruited the largest downlines.

This also might explain why Chris Terry was reportedly a big promoter of Zeek Rewards*, which got busted by the SEC in 2012 for being a ponzi scheme.

(*In this interview with Denise Martino, Terry refers to Denise as his “downline member” and she clearly appears to be in Zeek at the time.)

Despite these failed business attempts, Chris Terry persisted and while the idea of iMarketsLive was spawned in 2012, it officially launched in 2013.

The new Forex trading MLM grew quickly and by 2016, iMarketsLive reached 55,000 members.

Unfortunately, that same year brokers began locking the accounts of many iMarketsLive customers for using an unregulated “expert advisor”.

Here’s what happened:

iMarketsLive had a special little automated trading program called “FX Signals Live”.

The program automatically mirrored the trades of Chris Terry himself, so members could essentially play the Forex market without actually understanding it.

However, one of the main reasons there are regulations in the investment world is to prevent exactly that.

And when legitimate brokers like FXCM decided they wouldn’t allow it anymore, FX Signals Live was discontinued in 2016.

As a replacement, iMarketsLive released their new online “Harmonic Scanner” designed to help follow market trends.

It’s a little technical but here’s a basic video that explains what it does:

It’s basically an online tool that scans the market in real-time and gives you alerts for different price patterns and trading opportunities.

But now you actually have to know what’s going on and make the trades yourself.

What Are iMarketsLive Products?

The scoop:

iMarketsLive sells you on the ability to become a successful currency trader.

Sure, you could try to learn it all by yourself.

After all, how hard could it be to click a few buttons and place a few trades?

Buy low, sell high.

Easy peasy, right?

Well, despite what you may have heard, day trading is MUCH harder than it sounds.

That’s why iMarketsLive offers a full suite of support and trading education.

In fact:

Over 100 training videos and modules offer basic and advanced strategies on both Forex trading and cryptocurrency investing.

You can also access live trading rooms and watch experienced staff members place trades and talk about the secrets of their success (in 8 different languages).

Here’s a good overview video that explains the iMarketsLive opportunity:

Obviously that’s a company sponsored video, so take it with a grain of salt (don’t drink the Kool-Aid).

But I will say that iMarketsLive seems to provide a ton of help for their members, which is always a big plus.

Even CEO Chris Terry himself gets in on the action, holding Sunday night webinar presentations that you can sit in on.

Additionally, iMarketsLive gives you access to their proprietary financial trading software.

As mentioned earlier, their Harmonic Scanner searches the market for harmonic patterns to exploit and profit from.

Their Web Analyzer does the same with cryptocurrency, for an additional fee.

And even though their trade-mirroring service is gone, iMarketsLive still provides other ways for you to copy what their experts are doing.

Swipe Trades will alert you to “Forex trade ideas” including risk management and expert guidance for an extra $17 per month.

Swipe Coin does the same but for Crypto trade ideas and info, for an extra $100 per month fee.

While that may seem pricey, keep in mind that it allows you to get solid trade ideas sent right to your phone without having to do any of the legwork.

Because let’s be honest: If you knew what you were doing when it comes to trading, you wouldn’t be paying this company $165 a month or more for the privilege.

Long story short: The more you pay iMarketsLive, the more training and tools you get.

Speaking of which, here are your membership options if you wanna join:

Hey, nobody said day trading was cheap.

To be fair, iMarketsLive does offer a 7 day, 100% money back guarantee to all of its subscribers.

If you’re dissatisfied with their service in any way, you can get a full refund of your membership fee within a week of signing up.

iMarketsLive gives their Customers a “2 & FREE” option as well — if you personally refer 2 people into buying a monthly membership, your membership is free.

So: If you can convince a couple people that Forex trading is awesome…

You don’t have to pay anything to get the iMarketsLive training and support.

Sounds good, but here’s something you should know from a guy who’s been in the trenches:

My Forex Trading Experience

Story time!

First off:

The risk factor in Forex trading is something we shouldn’t just gloss over.

As mentioned in iMarketsLive’s disclaimer, you can easily lose all your invested money in addition to the monthly fees.

I should know — years ago, I was heavily into Forex trading and learned everything I could about it.

Technical analysis, risk management, chart indicators — you name it, I tried it.

And that’s not all:

I kept daily trading journals, learned how to read candlesticks, recognize trends, and was a particular fan of using 2ATR for a trailing stop loss.

Along the way, I traded almost every currency pair, chart timeframe, and read every trading strategy book I could find.

(Here’s my personal favorite, along with this one originally published in 1930.)

I should also mention that I paid a small fortune for different trading systems, tools, and “secret” strategies from so-called experts.

Now listen:

I’m FAR from the smartest guy in the room — but I’m not a complete Muppet either.

I wasn’t just gambling (only risked 2-3% max per trade) and I gave Forex trading everything I had for almost 3 years straight while I was still driving truck.

And even though I had periods of profitability, in the end I always lost money.

Not to mention I also got sick of the highs and lows of trading — feeling like a God one week, damn near suicidal the next.

Out of desperation, I finally resorted to following a mirror-trading service which ultimately blew up and reduced my trading account to almost nothing.

It was my own dumbass fault, but that’s when I decided to hang up my Forex trading gloves and look for something else.

Also contributing to that decision was realizing that after being on countless online trading forums — I wasn’t alone in my frustration and misery.

The only ones who seemed to be making any consistent money in Forex (besides the banks and hedge funds), were the guys selling me the tools and systems.

Go figure.

Just like during the gold rush back in the 1800’s, the real money wasn’t in digging for gold — it was selling the pickaxes and shovels to the desperate and hopeful.

Now obviously, there ARE successful Forex traders out there.

So just because this ex-truck driver with a GED couldn’t do it, doesn’t mean that you can’t make it work.

Like any other form of retail trading, some folks make money and some folks lose money.

(Hint: Most lose.)

All I’m saying is that Forex trading is hard as hell.

As a general rule, if you enter a gambling game against a lotta peeps who are more experienced and skilled than you are…

It’s a safe bet that the odds aren’t in your favor.

Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.

Pros: Why Join iMarketsLive?

✓ Potential for serious income without recruitment.

Almost every MLM in existence requires you to recruit and grow a huge downline if you wanna make the big money.

The reason is simple:

Your time is limited and there’s only so many hours in a week that you can use to sell products to people you know.

Forex trading is different in the sense that you could gain (or lose) a lot of money all by yourself, without ever having to recruit anyone.

✓ No pants required.

While most MLMs involve you dragging around a box of products to various houses, iMarketsLive is something you do from your desk or smartphone.

This is a very modern MLM and the entire thing (training + products + support) is all available online.

Never having to leave your house to run your business is a definite advantage.

For example, go try selling Amway products with no pants — I’m guessing it wouldn’t turn out so well.

✓ Plenty of training materials.

Between all the videos, online training software, tutorials, and live help sessions, iMarketsLive probably offers more actual product support than most other MLMs.

If you’re willing to invest in your education and want a crash course in Forex trading, there’s a vast bucket of knowledge here waiting for you.

Cons: Is iMarketsLive a Scam?

✗ First off: Solid trading advice don’t come cheap.

Around $200 up front plus $170 a month is what it’s gonna cost you for the most basic level of membership.

That’s over $2000 per year.

But if that trading advice makes you ten times that, it might be worth it.

Then again..

✗ You could lose a lot more than your monthly fees.

Yes, plenty of people lose money in MLMs (most do).

But they generally lose money from not being able to recoup their minimum purchase requirements and monthly fees.

With iMarketsLive, in addition to your membership fees, you’ll also have to risk your own trading capital to play the currency markets.

And you might lose all of that money too.

In fact, thanks to the way that leveraged trades work, you can actually lose even MORE than the full amount of your Forex trading account.

Good luck.

✗ A strong fishy odor.

Can you trust iMarketsLive?

Well, sometimes the best way to predict the future is to look at the past (or just Google the present):

• iMarketsLive CEO Chris Terry has a previous connection with Zeek Rewards which the SEC had to shut down for fraud in 2012.

• The VP Alex Morton has a long history with MLM companies like Vemma Nutrition that had to settle for hundreds of millions of dollars with the FTC for being a pyramid scheme. You should check out this revealing article on Morton that shows the reality of being a professional MLMer when he was with his last company.

• The Commodity Futures Trading Commission fined iMarketsLive for operating illegally.

• iMarketsLive is banned as unauthorized in Belgium, and also received warnings from other countries like France.

• When I first published this article, iMarketsLive had an F rating (very bad) from the Better Business Bureau due to having so many complaints.

Then all of sudden they had an BBB rating of “A”, mostly thanks to a bunch of positive reviews that showed up around the same time (many on the same day).

Coincidence? Yeah, right.

As another reviewer pointed out, prob’ly because IML asked their members to spam their BBB page with positive reviews to drown out the negative ones.

Nice try fellas. Not shady at all.

✗ Also can’t forget that iMarketsLive is an MLM which means recruiting other members is highly encouraged.

Here’s one of IML’s top earners explaining in detail how it’s done:

Ask yourself: If it was just about forex trading, why teach people how to recruit at all? Why not just trade forex and make a ton of money?

I dunno… maybe cuz:

Most retail traders lose money in the long run, so the real money is made by getting other people to join.

Is it really, though?

According to the official iMarketsLive Income Disclosure Statement:

• 87% of all IBOs make an average of $4.30 per month (you read that right, less than $5/mo).
• 98% of all IBOs make less than $115 per month.
• Only 0.3% of all IBOs earn more than $30k per year.

Not exactly what I’d call a high-probability trade.

But if that doesn’t make you puke in your mouth a lil’, this industry might be for you.

If, however, you’re looking for a more legit and reputable business model… my two cents?

Look elsewhere.

Compensation Plan: How iMarketsLive Works

Here’s the deal:

Everyone starts out as a Customer in iMarketsLive by first signing up for a monthly membership package.

Then if you personally refer 2 people into buying a membership, your membership fee is waived (called the “2 & FREE” deal).

But you can also sign up to become an Independent Business Owner (IBO) with the company for around $17/mo.

This allows you to share the iMarketsLive platform with people you know and get paid commissions if they decide to sign up.

However, since iMarketsLive can’t be bothered to put any detailed information about their company history or CEO on their website, their compensation plan is likewise nowhere to be found.

But after doing some digging, I eventually found it here.

If you don’t wanna read all 9 pages, here’s a 9-minute video that explains the iMarketsLive comp plan:

TL;DW (too long; didn’t watch)?

Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll need to do to qualify for each rank:

• Group Volume is the total volume of monthly membership fees your downline must have.
• Number of Subscribers is the minimum amount of people you have to sign up below you.
• Weekly Pay is how much you can earn at that rank on a weekly basis.
• Monthly Pay is how much you can earn at that rank on a monthly basis.

So for example, to reach Platinum 150 level, you’ll need to sign up three other people who are paying an iMarketsLive membership fee.

Group Volume (GV) is calculated from back when the membership price was only $145 a month instead of $165+.

So for Platinum 150, you need a GV of 435 because 3 recruits x $145 = 435.

Platinum 600 requires you to have 12 people in your downline and a GV of 1,740, since 12 x $145 = 1,740.

If you’re bored or feel like going into a coma, there are other compensation plan rules and bonuses that you can look up here.

Simply put: The more recruits you and your downline sign up, the higher your rank will climb and more residual income you’ll get paid every month.

Each rank is named for how much money it pays you per month.

For example, if you can reach Platinum 600 level, you’ll earn $600 per month. Platinum 5000 = $5k/mo.

Same goes for the higher ranks e.g. Chairman 25 = $25k/mo. Chairman 100 = $100k/mo. And so on.

Admittedly, it’s not very likely that you’ll be able to pull in those monthly numbers.

But there are a few folks banking some ridiculous amounts of passive income in this company.

iMarketsLive: Quick Summary

Bottom Line: Is This Forex Stuff For Real?

Well, just like any business opportunity whether it’s MLM, Forex, or affiliate marketing…

It depends.

And if you’re looking to make money online with iMarketsLive, you really have to evaluate both sides of the equation:

Trading currencies and recruiting subscribers.

First, let’s talk about the trading:

Like it or not, Forex trading is like any form of retail trading in the sense that it’s extremely high risk and has a disgustingly low success rate.

For many people (like yours truly), it can also start to feel like gambling after a while.

Feeling unstoppable when you’re on a winning streak, and the self-loathing that accompanies losing your hard-earned cash on a stupid trade.

(Warning: The podcast host below spits explicit and offensive language…)

LOL. In case you couldn’t tell, trading can be a lil’ hard on the ol’ blood pressure.

That said, there are definitely skilled traders who make BIG money in the Forex market.

So the question you have to honestly ask yourself is:

“Do I have the discipline, patience, and other traits required to be a professional Forex trader?”

If so, you just might be able to beat the odds and consistently profit.

But paying iMarketsLive a monthly fee to use an app and get the occasional buying tip doesn’t make you an expert.

Add to this the various legal troubles this company has been in, brokers freezing accounts of their members — and I’d say it’s a long shot at best.

Then again, if making money in the foreign exchange market was easy, everyone would do it.

Don’t forget we haven’t even talked about the recruitment aspect, yet.

But I’m gonna say something that I very rarely say about MLMs:

You could actually make some real money doing this.

Maybe not the hypey BS you see on social media.

However:

Since there’s no real “product” to sell, you simply qualify by having 3 recruits who pay monthly membership fees.

Note that’s not NEW recruits, that’s just active recruits paying their $165+ per month.

And if you can convince a ton of peeps to do the same, you can start to make a LOT of cheese.

Pretty sweet.

Unfortunately, there’s one big downside:

Most people lose money as retail traders so they’re probably not gonna stick around for very long.

So you better be ready to constantly bring in newbies unless you wanna lose your monthly cash flow.

Personally, I wouldn’t like my income to depend on something as fragile and risky as my neighbor’s trading abilities.

I prefer an income stream that’s a little more resilient.

But if you still wanna dip your toe in the Forex or cryptocurrency market, best of luck.

Shameless Plug: Realistic Passive Income Without Forex or MLM?

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Don’t believe me?

Don’t blame you.

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