An independent verification body for trading firms.
Trading Integrity Bureau reviews how trading firms actually operate — against published standards, on the basis of primary evidence, and without influence from the firms under review.
Trading Integrity Bureau (TIB) is a private verification body operated by Stratinova LTD, a company registered in the Republic of Cyprus under number HE475207. TIB is not a regulator, not a ratings agency, and not a marketing intermediary. Its sole function is to assess the operational integrity of trading firms against the published TIB Integrity Standards and to maintain a public registry of firms whose operations have been independently reviewed.
Why TIB exists
Retail and professional participants engaging with trading firms — proprietary trading programmes, brokers, funds, and execution venues — have limited means to distinguish between firms whose stated policies reflect their operations and those whose stated policies do not. Regulation, where it applies, sets a legal floor but does not assess operational practice in granular detail. Marketing claims are abundant and largely self-certified.
TIB addresses this gap by publishing a single, versioned standard and applying it consistently to every firm under review. The standard is published in full. The review process is disclosed. The findings are recorded in a public registry. Where a firm's operations materially diverge from its stated policies, the divergence is documented and communicated to the firm before any public statement is made.
What verification is — and what it is not
A TIB verification is a structured, evidence-based review of operational practice against six pillars: governance, capital & safeguarding, order handling & execution, payout integrity, risk & compliance, and disclosure & conduct. Each pillar contains binding criteria. The full criteria set — thirty items — is published at integritybureau.org/standards.
A verification is not: a regulatory licence, an endorsement of investment performance, an insurance policy, a recommendation to any participant, or a guarantee of future conduct. Circumstances may change between reviews. Users of the public registry must satisfy themselves of current status prior to acting on any listing.
How independence is maintained
Verification fees are paid by the firm under review. This is the customary model for third-party assurance and introduces a structural conflict that must be actively managed. TIB manages it through the following controls, each of which is public:
- Separation of functions. The commercial team that negotiates engagement terms is organisationally separated from the reviewer team that issues determinations.
- Two-reviewer rule. No single individual may grant, deny, or revoke a verification. Dissent is recorded.
- Fixed standards. A firm cannot negotiate which criteria apply to it. Criteria are identical for every firm under the same engagement type and are only changed through a published, versioned update.
- Right of factual reply, not right of editorial control. A firm may correct factual errors before publication but cannot alter the determination.
- Revocation authority. Verification may be revoked at any time if evidence subsequently contradicts a material finding. Revocations are recorded and retained in the public registry.
- Appeal process. Firms may appeal an adverse determination on grounds of factual error or procedural failure. Appeals are adjudicated by reviewers who did not participate in the original determination.
The full governance structure, including appeal steps and the methodology changelog, is published on the Team & Governance page and in the Methodology.
Scope of firms
TIB engages with firms whose operations fall within the scope of the published standards. This includes proprietary trading programmes, brokers and dealers, systematic and discretionary funds, digital-asset exchanges and trading venues, custodians, and infrastructure providers serving the trading industry. TIB does not engage in investment advice, asset management, custody, or execution. TIB does not solicit or accept client funds.
Use of the verified mark
Firms that receive a Pass or Conditional determination may display the TIB verified mark in accordance with the Brand Usage guidelines issued to them. The mark is a limited, revocable licence. Each registry entry carries a canonical URL. Participants may verify any claim of TIB verification by checking the firm's current status on the public registry.
Reports of suspected misuse of the TIB name or mark should be directed to legal@integritybureau.org.
The six pillars of assessment
Every review evaluates the same six pillars. Each pillar contains binding criteria published in the TIB Integrity Standards.
Governance
Ownership disclosure, board composition, conflict-of-interest policy, decision-making records, control-function independence.
Capital & Safeguarding
Capital adequacy methodology, segregation of participant funds, custodian diligence, reconciliation, stress testing.
Order Handling & Execution
Execution policy, venue selection, slippage profile, stop-out handling, dealing-desk independence where applicable.
Payout Integrity
Payout policy, historical record, rejection grounds, dispute handling, claw-back conditions.
Risk & Compliance
Risk framework, monitoring, incident register, AML/KYC, sanctions screening, data protection.
Disclosure & Conduct
Marketing accuracy, terms consistency, complaint handling, fee transparency, change communication.