Every broker on this site displays a regulator badge — ASIC, FCA, FSCA, FSA or FSC. Here's what those actually mean, how they differ from each other and from Canada's CIRO, and why the difference matters for your money.
The regulators you'll see on this site
- ASIC (Australia) — the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Requires segregated client funds and is generally regarded as a solid mid-to-upper tier regulator, though its retail leverage caps are stricter than the offshore entities most of our brokers actually onboard international clients under.
- FCA (United Kingdom) — widely considered one of the strongest retail regulators globally. FCA-authorised firms must segregate funds, and UK retail clients get access to the Financial Ombudsman and FSCS compensation (up to £85,000) if the firm fails. Axi and StarTrader both hold FCA licences.
- FSCA (South Africa) — a credible mid-tier regulator with real conduct requirements, commonly held alongside a stronger licence rather than as a broker's only authorisation.
- FSA (Seychelles) and FSC (Mauritius) — lighter-touch offshore regulators. They require company registration and some conduct standards, but oversight and enforcement are materially lighter than ASIC or the FCA. A broker holding only one of these (like Bullwaves) carries meaningfully more counterparty risk than one holding several licences across tiers.
What none of these offer: CIPF-equivalent protection
Canada's CIRO-regulated dealers participate in the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), which covers missing client property within prescribed limits if a member firm becomes insolvent. None of the international regulators above run an equivalent scheme for the entities our featured brokers operate under. Segregated funds reduce — but don't eliminate — the risk of loss if a broker fails; there is no government-backed compensation scheme standing behind the brokers we cover.
What none of them do
No regulator, anywhere, protects you from trading losses or vets your strategy. A regulated broker is a safer venue, not a safe outcome — and a well-regulated broker can still be the wrong broker for your strategy or risk tolerance.
Related broker reviews
Want to compare your options in more depth? Read our full VT Markets review (9.3/10) and StarTrader review (9.1/10), or see how they stack up head-to-head in our VT Markets vs StarTrader comparison.
The 30-second check
Before funding any broker, search its exact legal entity name — not just the brand name — on the relevant regulator's public register (the FCA register, ASIC Connect, or the FSCA, FSA Seychelles and FSC Mauritius registers). Confirm the licence is active and covers the entity you're actually signing up with, since large brokers often operate several entities under different licences with different protections. We do this for every broker we review, and we say so explicitly when we couldn't verify a licence at all — see our Kudotrade review for an example.