About Soweto Follow

Who runs this desk

Soweto Follow is run by a small editorial desk that writes about gold (XAU/USD) trading for readers in South Africa. We are writers and researchers, not traders selling a system, and we do not present ourselves as anything more than that.

Everything published here is written in plain English for a South African reader: rand amounts where they help, local funding methods such as cards, bank transfers in ZAR and e-wallets, and the FSCA named as the regulator you will recognise. We do not name staff, because a name on a page is not evidence of anything.

What we are not

Soweto Follow is not a broker, not a bank and not a licensed financial adviser. We cannot open an account for you, hold your money, place a trade, or tell you what to buy or sell.

We also cannot help with an account problem, a withdrawal that is stuck, or a dispute with a broker you already use. Those matters belong with the broker and, where relevant, with the regulator named in your own account documents. We never claim to be licensed or regulated, because we are not.

How to Raise a Correction or Challenge a Claim

If you believe a figure or a statement on this site is wrong, the first step is to email the desk with the page address, the exact sentence and the source you are relying on. The team reviews every challenge against the original brief and the facts supplied for that article. If the challenge shows a number was stated without a source, or a fact was misapplied, the sentence is corrected or removed and the page is updated with a note that it has changed.

Challenges that point to a missing distinction are taken seriously even when no number is wrong. For example, if an article says leverage is available up to a certain cap without noting that the cap depends on client category and instrument, that is a fault the desk will fix. The correction is made in the text itself, not buried in a comment, so the next reader sees the accurate version. The desk does not require you to be a client or a partner to submit a challenge.

The desk aims to respond to substantive challenges within a reasonable period, though it does not promise a specific turnaround time. If a challenge cannot be resolved because the facts are genuinely variable, the article will be rewritten to say what the outcome depends on rather than leaving a misleading figure in place. Readers in South Africa who spot a problem with a rand amount, a regulator reference or a funding method description are encouraged to write in, because those details matter for local accuracy.

The Rule We Apply Before Any Number Goes Into Print

A number only appears on this site if it comes from a named, checkable source or from the facts supplied to the desk for that specific article. For gold, that means figures such as 1 standard lot = 100 oz, one pip = 0.01 and a reference price near 4275.0 are used only when they are part of the brief. Anything else, including spreads, commissions, swaps and minimum deposits, is described by what it consists of and what it depends on, never as a figure we were not given.

The editorial standard separates fixed facts from variable ones. Fixed facts, like the contract size or the pip value, can be stated directly because they do not change from broker to broker. Variable costs depend on the account entity, the platform, the instrument and the client category, so the desk explains those dependencies instead of quoting a single number. That is why you will see phrases like 'depends on the entity your account is opened with' rather than a specific spread.

Every number is checked against the source brief before publication, and any figure that cannot be traced back is removed. The desk also avoids words like 'competitive' or 'low' when describing costs, because those are judgements that need a benchmark we do not have. Instead, the article says what the cost is made of and what the reader should compare. This approach keeps the site accurate for South African readers who need to verify details with their own broker.

Where the Money Comes From and What It Does Not Buy

The site is funded through commercial partnerships with brokers and other financial service providers, and those partnerships pay for the writing, editing and hosting of the content. Funding does not buy a favourable mention, a specific ranking or a softened risk warning. The desk keeps editorial decisions separate from commercial agreements, and no partner sees an article before it is published or has the right to change a sentence after publication.

What funding does influence is the range of topics the desk can afford to cover in depth. A partnership may support a series of explainers on gold margin or platform features, but the content of those explainers is set by the editorial team using the facts available. The site does not publish paid reviews or sponsored articles that pretend to be independent analysis. If a page is commercially supported, that fact is disclosed clearly on the page itself.

What funding does not influence is the treatment of risk. Every gold article carries the same warning that trading on leverage can lead to losses that exceed deposits, and no partnership changes that framing. The desk also does not accept payment to remove a risk disclaimer or to present a cost as lower than the facts allow. Readers in South Africa can judge the site on the accuracy of its explanations, not on which broker appears in a sidebar.

The Desk Behind Soweto Follow and How a Gold Call Gets Made

The desk behind Soweto Follow is a small editorial team that writes about gold (XAU/USD) for South African traders, and decisions are made by consensus rather than by a single voice. Every piece that touches a number or a risk warning is read by a second writer before it goes live. When we describe margin on a 0.10-lot position at 1:200, for example, that figure is checked against the arithmetic before publication, not carried over from memory. The team's job is to explain how instruments, costs and leverage work, not to recommend a direction on gold.

Every call on gold starts from the instrument's own mechanics and works outward. One standard lot is 100 oz, one pip is 0.01, and we anchor worked examples to a reference price near 4275.0 so a reader can follow the maths. From there we ask what a South African account holder actually faces: ZAR funding through local cards, bank transfers or e-wallets, and leverage that is capped at 1:200 for retail and up to 1:500 for eligible or professional clients depending on the instrument. The order of those questions is fixed, which keeps the writing consistent.

Decisions about what to publish are made against a simple test: can a reader act on this without being misled about risk? If a topic only works by implying that gold trading is a route to steady income, it does not go up. We treat leverage as a cap, not a target, and we say so wherever the subject arises. When a claim depends on the entity a reader's account sits with, we point to the FCA and CySEC licences and the FSCA licence held by an FxPro entity, and remind readers to check which entity their own account is opened with.

The Limits of What This Desk Can Tell You About Costs

The desk cannot tell you what a specific spread, commission or swap will be on your account because those costs depend on the broker entity, the platform, the instrument and the client category. What the desk can do is explain the components: a spread is the difference between the bid and the ask, a commission is a separate charge per lot on some account types, and a swap is a financing adjustment for positions held overnight. Each of those depends on conditions the desk does not set and cannot quote as a fixed number.

For gold specifically, the desk explains that one standard lot is 100 oz and one pip is 0.01, and that a reference price near 4275.0 is used only as an illustration. Margin requirements depend on the leverage cap that applies to the account, and the worked example given is that at up to 1:200 for retail, a 0.10-lot gold position needs about $85.50 margin. That figure is an illustration of the formula, not a promise of what your broker will require, because the entity and client category can change the outcome.

The desk also avoids ranking brokers by cost because it does not hold the data to do so fairly. Instead, readers are encouraged to compare the total cost of a trade on their own account statement, including the spread at the time they trade, any commission and any overnight financing. The site's role is to explain how those charges arise and what to check, not to declare one provider cheaper than another. That limit is stated openly so readers know what the desk can and cannot verify.

How This Site Is Funded and Where Funding Stops

Soweto Follow is funded through commercial arrangements with brokers, and that funding pays for the writing, checking and maintenance of the site. It does not buy a verdict on gold, a direction, or a favourable description of any cost. A broker partner has no sight of a piece before publication and no right to remove a risk warning. The clearest test of the arrangement is that our most cautious sentences, the ones about leverage and margin, are the ones least likely to please a partner, and they stay in.

The influence funding does have is on scope rather than substance: it decides which platforms and entities we can describe in detail. That is why we can name MT4, MT5, cTrader and FxPro Edge, and why we can set out the entity position for South African readers, including that FxPro is licensed by the FCA and CySEC and that an FxPro entity holds an FSCA licence in South Africa. What funding never does is turn an unknown cost into a flattering adjective, or turn a cap on leverage into a suggestion to use it.

Readers should treat the commercial relationship as a reason to check us rather than a reason to trust us. If a sentence reads as though it is selling an account rather than explaining one, that is a signal to look at the underlying facts yourself and, where relevant, at the entity your own account is opened with. We would rather a reader fund an account elsewhere on the strength of a clear understanding than open one here on the strength of a sentence we wrote. Funding keeps the desk running; it does not set the standard.

How This Desk Makes Its Calls on Gold Coverage

The desk is run by a small editorial team that writes and reviews every gold (XAU/USD) piece before it goes live. Decisions on what to cover and what to publish are made in weekly planning meetings where the team weighs reader questions, recent market events and whether a topic can be explained with the facts we actually hold. No single writer has the final say on a number-heavy article; at least one other person checks the logic and the sourcing before publication.

Every decision about a gold article starts with a simple test: can we answer the reader's likely question without inventing a figure? If the answer depends on a variable such as leverage, funding method or account entity, we say so and explain what it depends on rather than filling the gap with a made-up number. That rule shapes which topics we take on and which we leave alone until we have solid facts to work with.

The team does not publish trading signals or price predictions. Coverage focuses on how gold contracts work, how costs and margin are structured, and how South African traders can check the details that apply to their own account. When a topic falls outside that scope, the desk says so plainly instead of stretching the facts to fit a headline. This keeps every article tied to what can be verified rather than what sounds useful.

How the desk is paid

Affiliate links are the only revenue this desk has. If you open an account with a broker through a link on this site, the broker may pay us a referral fee, and that is the whole of our income.

Payment never buys a rating and never hides a weakness. A broker that pays us earns no better a verdict than one that does not, and any weakness we find is written down whether or not it costs us a fee. If that ever changes, it will be stated on the page itself.

Why Gold Coverage Is Written for South African Readers First

Gold coverage on this site is written with South African readers in mind because the practical details of trading XAU/USD differ by jurisdiction. Rand amounts, local card and bank transfer funding in ZAR, and the FSCA as the familiar regulator are treated as the default context rather than an afterthought. When an article mentions leverage or margin, it uses the South African cap of up to 1:200 for retail and up to 1:500 for eligible or professional clients depending on the instrument, and it explains that this is a cap rather than a target.

The desk also flags the entity question because it affects what a South African trader can expect. FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC, and an FxPro entity holds an FSCA licence in South Africa, but the specific entity that serves South Africa is FxPro Markets Direct Costa Rica Latam SRL. Readers are told to check which entity their own account is opened with, because the applicable terms and protections can differ. That caveat appears where it is relevant, not as a repeated slogan.

Local funding methods are described only in the terms the desk can verify: local cards and bank transfers in ZAR, and e-wallets. The site does not name other methods or quote deposit minimums because those details depend on the broker and the account. Instead, articles explain what a trader should confirm before funding an account, such as the currency conversion applied and the entity receiving the payment. This keeps the guidance useful without inventing specifics that may not apply.

How to Challenge a Claim Published on This Page

To challenge something published here, quote the sentence and say what you think is wrong with it, and the desk will re-examine the underlying facts rather than defend the wording. The most useful challenges point to a specific claim: a margin figure, a leverage cap, an instrument detail, or a description of what a cost depends on. You do not need an account with any broker to raise one, and you do not need to be polite about the substance, only specific about the sentence. Vague objections are hard to act on; a quoted line is easy to check.

Challenges that concern a number get priority, because a wrong number does the most damage in a market where margin and leverage decide whether a position survives. If a reader shows that a worked example does not follow from the stated inputs, the example is corrected or removed, and the correction is made in the text rather than buried in a footnote. Where the original claim depended on which entity holds an account, the revised text will say so plainly, including the FCA, CySEC and FSCA position and the reminder to check your own entity.

A challenge about tone or emphasis is also worth sending, and it is treated as a signal that a paragraph may be doing too much work. If a sentence implies a guarantee, a steady return, or an easy route into gold, that is a fault even when every number in it is correct, and it will be rewritten. The desk would rather publish a plainer sentence late than a persuasive one early. Send the quote, the reason and, if you have it, the source you are working from, and the response will address the point directly.

What Has to Be True Before a Number Appears on This Site

A number only appears on Soweto Follow if we were given it as a fact, or if it is arithmetic a reader can reproduce from facts we were given. The reference price near 4275.0, the 100 oz contract size, the 0.01 pip value, the 1:200 and 1:500 leverage caps and the roughly $85.50 margin on a 0.10-lot position all pass that test because each one can be traced to a stated input. Anything that cannot be traced is described in terms of what it depends on instead of being given a figure.

Where a cost is concerned, the standard is stricter still. We do not publish a spread, commission, swap or minimum deposit as a number, and we do not attach words like competitive or low to a cost we have no figure for. Instead we explain what the cost consists of and what it depends on: the instrument, the account type, the entity holding the account, and market conditions at the moment of execution. That approach leaves a reader with a framework for checking their own statement rather than a promise we cannot stand behind.

Every figure is written so it stands alone and survives being read out of context. That is why we keep the instrument code, currency codes and formulas in Latin characters and repeat the unit each time, so 0.01 is never mistaken for a percentage or a rand amount. When a number is a cap, we say it is a cap. When it is an illustration, we say it is an illustration. If a reader cannot see where a number came from, the fault is ours and the fix is to rewrite the sentence, not to soften it.