/ Forex broker regulators: Your safety is in their hands

When we talk about regulating brokers, we mean whether they are registered and regulated properly by a major financial regulatory body either in their own country or in the country where they have a client base. Typically, these bodies, especially in the US and Europe, have strict requirements for a financial services company, be it a bank or, in this case, a Forex broker.

For example, in the US, brokers must have a certain level of liquidity to cover operations, meaning they must pay and continue to operate under all circumstances. This is not to say that an unregulated broker is necessarily synonymous with fraud and that you will lose your money, but the reality is that by opening an account and investing with an unregulated company, you risk losing your hard earned money.

On the other hand, if you open an account with a regulated broker, there is a guarantee that we are putting our money and trust in a company that meets at least certain standards. Moreover, in case of problems, we can file a complaint in case of a dispute with the broker. But in the case of an unregulated broker operating thousands of kilometers away from the country where we live, it is impossible to solve this kind of problem; we can only rely on the goodwill (if any) of the broker.

Here is a list of the main financial regulators in the US and Europe that oversee Forex brokers:

UK

The FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) is the most important financial regulator in England. It operates independently of the UK government and is fully funded by the companies it regulates. It is a transparent body that provides businesses and consumers with full information about its policies, objectives, rules and so on. The FCA has wide powers in England to introduce regulations, as well as inspection and enforcement powers to achieve its objectives. Today, London is one of the largest and most diverse financial markets in the world and among its responsibilities, the FCA is responsible for preventing any criminal activities related to the market such as money laundering, fraud, abuse or unfair trading practices.

The FCA regulates:

• Admirals;
• IG;
• ActivTrades;
• Darwinex.

Germany

BaFIN (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) is Germany's financial regulator. It is an independent federal institution headquartered in Bonn and Frankfurt and is operated by the German Federal Ministry of Finance. BaFIN currently supervises about 2,700 banks, 800 financial institutions and more than 700 companies providing related services such as insurance. BaFIN was founded on May 1, 2002 with the main objective of creating an integrated financial regulator covering all financial markets in Germany. Here are the brokers regulated by BaFIN: IG, Pepperstone.

Spain

The CNMV (Comité Nacional de la Mercado de Moneta) is the financial regulator responsible for supervising Spain's financial markets and all their participants. It currently operates within a regulatory framework adapted to the rules dictated by the European Union. The CNVM's main task is to monitor the transparency of the Spanish financial markets to ensure the protection of investors and avoid any type of criminal or unfair trading practices. The CNVM's actions are aimed at any organization providing financial services in this country.

Australia

ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) is the body responsible for supervising financial services companies in Australia to ensure that they operate fairly and transparently. To do this, ASIC is responsible for issuing the licenses required to operate so that only companies that comply with strict regulations can offer any type of financial services in the country. ASIC is an independent government body established and administered under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act (ASIC Act), with broad powers to maintain, facilitate and improve Australia's financial system.

Cyprus

After discussing financial regulators in the US, Germany, Australia, Spain and the UK, we turn to Cyprus as many brokers have set up their headquarters in this small country, not least because of the tax advantages that have led many companies to set up business here. Cyprus is currently considered a low-tax haven. The financial regulator is CySEC.

CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) is the commission that is responsible for regulating the financial markets in Cyprus and, according to its rules and objectives, is responsible for ensuring that all organizations under its control comply with the financial regulations of the European Union and Cyprus. CySEC is the public authority that supervises the activities of companies established in Cyprus in the financial markets. Among its functions, CySEC is responsible for issuing licenses to investment companies and conducting inspections of financial services organizations such as brokers.

Canada

IIROC (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada) is a Canadian self-regulatory organization whose function is to regulate and supervise any company located in Canada whose activities and services are related to investment and financial markets. In essence, IIROC fulfills its regulatory responsibilities by establishing and enforcing rules relating to the competitive and financial conduct of such companies and their registered employees. In doing so, IIROC seeks to ensure integrity and compliance with laws and good market practice by Canadian companies involved in capital markets trading.