Let us get straight to the point. Never, ever trade with an unlicensed and unregulated broker. It will most definitely end in a disaster, and you will lose your money or worse. We’ve talked about it many times before and can’t emphasize the importance of FCA regulated brokers enough. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to find good regulated brokers these days.
Which are the best FCA regulated brokers?
Find the best trading platform. You capital is at risk when trading. Be careful.
Almost every country in the world has a regulatory body that overlooks different forms of trading within that country. For example, there is the Commodity and Futures Commission (CFTC) and the SEC in the United States, Finansinspektionen (FI) in Sweden, and Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) in France.
However, in Europe, there are two regulatory agencies that have a bigger influence than the rest. They are the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in Cyprus and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom.
Since this particular page is aimed at the UK market, we’ll be focusing on FCA regulated brokers.
What is the FCA and What Do They Do?
The Financial Conduct Authority is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but it’s not a part of the government. The FCA’s operations are funded by fees paid by members of the financial industry in the region such as FCA regulated brokers and banks, and not by government funding.
The FCA has many tasks but their main one is to overlook, control, and regulate the financial market. That means they regulate banks and brokers of all kinds, but also financial instruments which they can decide to ban entirely from any market.
Their job, when regulating brokers, is to make sure that the broker follows the FCA’s rules and regulations, that they offer a fair product, that they are safe, that they keep customers funds separated from company funds, etc. Their end goal is protecting the customer and not the broker. The work includes regular monitoring and audits of the brokers.
In order to get regulated by the FCA, a broker needs to apply for a trading license to offer forex trading, CFD trading, spread betting, or any other venture.
Getting approved for a license is not easy, and it requires the broker to live up to a wide range of very strict rules. However, when the broker finally is approved, they are considered safe and can start accepting customers from all over Europe.
It is worth mentioning that an FCA regulated broker can offer their services all over Europe since the FCA is considered one of the leading financial bodies in the industry.
Which are the FCA Regulated Brokers?
We only recommend regulated brokers on this site, and the majority of all the brokers we talk about are regulated by the FCA and CySEC at the same time. There are only a few exceptions that only have a license from CySEC.
Since these trading licenses are so hard to acquire, the FCA regulated brokers are considered the best in the world. In fact, if you’re looking for the Best Forex Broker UK or the Best Trading Platform, we suggest you check if they have an FCA license. If that’s the case, you can assume that they are one of the best brokers in the world.
Check Our Reviews of the Best FCA Regulated Brokers and Compare Them Below
Below is a list of the best FCA regulated brokers right now. These six brokers are the best of the best, but there are other really good brokers that are also regulated by the FCA that didn’t make it to this list. To read more about those brokers, we suggest you check out our list of CFD Brokers or Forex Brokers.
You can click the associated links below to read more about each FCA regulated broker in our comprehensive and unbiased reviews.
1. IG Markets
IG Markets is a forex, CFD, and spread betting broker that is a part of the massive IG Group financial firm. Naturally, IG Markets is regulated by the FCA and, in our opinion, it’s one of the best FCA regulated brokers in the industry.
Licenses: FCA, CySEC, CFTC (Nadex broker in the US)
Platform: The MetaTrader and their own software
Demo Account: Yes
Read our IG Markets Review
Find the best trading platform. You capital is at risk when trading. Be careful.
2. Plus500
Risk Warning: 82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Plus500 is an Israeli broker with a major office in England that has had an FCA license for many years. The company that owns the broker (Plus500 Ltd) is listed on the London Exchange, and this is by far one of the most reputable brokers on the UK Market.
Licenses: FCA, CySEC, and more
Platform: The Plus500 Platform
Demo Account: Yes
Read our Plus500 Review
Find the best trading platform. You capital is at risk when trading. Be careful.
3. ETX Capital
The only forex and CFD broker with more experience from the industry than IG Markets is ETX Capital. The financial company that operates ETX Capital has been active since the 1970s and offers an incredible trading experience. They are also listed on the LSE and are authorized by the FCA.
Licenses: FCA and FSA (Financial Service Authority UK)
Platform: The MetaTrader 4 and ETX TraderPro
Demo Account: Yes
Read our ETX Capital Review
Find the best trading platform. You capital is at risk when trading. Be careful.
4. CMC Markets
On this list, CMC Markets is the smallest broker in terms of active users, but that really doesn’t mean much. They are a great broker with a solid selection of assets, a good platform, and a license from the FCA. CMC Markets offers forex and CFD trading as well as spread betting.
Licenses: FCA
Platform: A state of the art platform designed in-house
Demo Account: Yes
Read our CMC Markets Review
Find the best trading platform. You capital is at risk when trading. Be careful.
5. Markets.com
This is a well-established and extremely popular CFD and forex broker with over 2,000 tradable assets and one of the best CFD platforms in the world. Markets.com’s main license is a CySEC trading license, but they have been approved and authorized by the FCA as well.
Licenses: CySEC and the FCA
Platform: The MetaTrader 5
Demo Account: Yes
Read our Markets.com Review
Find the best trading platform. You capital is at risk when trading. Be careful.
Other FCA Regulated Forex and CFD Brokers:
- FxPro – Read our FxPro Review
- LCG – Read our LCG Review
- FXCM – Read our FXCM Review
- FXTM – Read our FXTM Review
Final Words About FCA Regulated Brokers
As mentioned, there are more CySEC and FCA regulated brokers out there and we suggest you read our comprehensive broker lists and reviews to learn more about them. Lastly, please remember to never use an unregulated broker unless you’re looking to be scammed and ripped off.