The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the main regulatory agency of brokers that are based in the UK.
Based on our research and tests we prepared the guide below where we compare the best FCA-regulated brokers in the UK.
5 Best FCA Regulated Forex Brokers
- Pepperstone.com
- Skilling
- XTB
- eToro
- HFM Markets
Compare FCA regulated brokers
| Broker's Name | More information | Quality Score | FCA reference nbr. | Minimum deposit | Trading Platforms | Our Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pepperstone |  78,8% of CFD retail investor accounts lose money. | 99% | 684312 | 1 GBP | cTrader, MT4. MT5 Metatrader TradingView | Review |
SKILLING |  75% of CFD retail investor accounts lose money. | 98% | 810951 | 100 GBP | TradingView, Metatrader 4, cTrader | Review |
XTB |  82% of CFD retail investor accounts lose money. | 98% | 522157 | 0 GBP | xStation | Review |
eToro |  77% of CFD retail investor accounts lose money. | 97% | 583263 | 50 GBP | CopyTrader™ | Review of eToro |
AvaTrade |  71% of CFD retail accounts lose. | 96% | 504072 | 100 GBP | MT4, AvaOptions, AvaGO | Review of AvaTrade |
HYCM |  72% of CFD retail accounts lose. | 85% | 186171 | 200 GBP | MT4, MT5, Webtrader | |
IG |  76% of CFD retail accounts lose. | 70% | 195355 | 100 GBP | MT4, Webtrader | |
CMC MARKETS |  73% of CFD retail accounts lose. | 70% | 173730 | 1000 GBP | MT4,Webtrader | |
SAXO Bank |  71% of CFD retail accounts lose. | 70% | 551422 | 10000 GBP | SaxoTrader GO, SaxoTrader PRO | |
ActivTrades |  76% of CFD retail accounts lose. | 70% | 434413 | 500 GBP | MT4, MT5, Webtrader | |
Plus500 |  77% of CFD retail investor accounts lose. | 46% | 509909 | 100 GBP | Webtrader | - |
Forex.com |  73% of CFD retail accounts lose. | 20% | 190864 | 100 GBP | MT4, MT5, Webtrader |
Pepperstone – Best Overall FCA Regulated Broker 2023
Pepperstone has been awarded as the best FCA-regulated broker.
Pepperstone broker is considered safe. This fx broker is regulated by several Tier 1 financial regulators. Company is headquartered in Melbourne Australia with offices in London. Pepperstone offers an access to a vast amount of financial instruments including 70+ Currency pairs, 100’s of CFDs on Shares, Spread betting for UK/Ireland clients, Commodities, Indices and Cryptocurrencies. It is an excellent choice for both beginners and advanced traders.
Pros
- Ultra Tight Forex Spreads
- Top platforms on the market: MetaTrader MT4, MT5, cTrader, WebTrader
- Broker regulated by FCA UK, ASIC Australia, BaFin Germany etc
- Offices in London UK
- GBP British Pound is account currency
- Minimum deposit £0 for UK traders
- 60+ currency pairs to choose from
Cons
- US clients are not accepted
78,8% 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.
XTB – Best CFD Platform & Online Education
XTB broker is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority
XTB is a public company, their shares are listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange. Based on the countless user reviews this fca broker is very client oriented and therefore popular among the sophisticated traders and investors.
Pros
- xStation trading platform is very user friendly
- Strong focus on high quality education for clients
- Awarded as the Best CFD Trading platform of 2018 / 2019 / 2020
- Fast trade execution
- Buy/Sell Real Stocks With ZERO Commission
- Forex trading, CFD Cryptocurrencies, Real Stocks
- Minimum deposit 1 GBP
- 46 currency pairs available
- Competitive fees starting from 0,5 Pips
Cons
- Higher fees for stock CFDs
81% of CFD retail investor accounts lose money.
eToro – Top Rated Broker for Social Copy Trading
eToro is a social trading broker regulated by FCA. eToro has been in the business since 2008 and they claim to have over a million traders. eToro broker is considered very safe. It is regulated by Tier 1 regulators in the UK and Australia and several Tier 2 regulators. You can try free demo account with $10,000 virtual money. In the recent years eToro has introduced stocks trading with zero commision.
Most clients choose eToro for their unique social copy trading platform that allows them to automatically copy all trades of successful investors of their choice. Broker provides an access to over 2000 financial markets and instruments including foreign currency pairs, shares, cryptocurrencies, indices, commodities and ETF Exchange Traded Funds.
eToro clients can access eToro’s safe crypto wallet,
Pros
- CopyTrader feature that allows you to automatically copy successful traders
- Minimum deposit £50
- Buy/Sell Real Stocks With ZERO Commission
- Proprietary crypto wallet
- 46 currency pairs, 60+ Cryptocurrencies, 1600 Shares
- Competitive spreads starting from 1 Pips
Cons
- Only USD Dollar as a base account currency
77% 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.
Why Trade with an FCA Regulated Forex Broker ?
First and foremost FCA is one of the strongest financial regulators in the world with a long-standing reputation for guaranteeing trader security. FCA’s role is to maintain a safety financial environment and punish harsh brokers.
Besides the FCA there are only few other Tier 1 financial regulators such as ASIC and Cysec.
FCA oversees all British financial firms such as ECN Brokers in the UK, MT4 Brokers UK and thus provides safety for all british traders.
The benefits of trading with FCA regulated trading brokers:
- Financial Service Compensation Scheme (FSCS) – a guarantee to be compensated up to 50,000 GBP in case something goes wrong with the broker
- Operating Capital must be at least 1 million GBP
- Segregated Bank Accounts – broker must keep his operational funds segregated from client’s money
- Instant Withdrawal Processing – broker must ensure to process all withdrawals almost instaneously
FSCS Financial Services Compensation Scheme
In case any FCA licensed broker goes bancrupt, retail traders shouldn’t worry about their invested money since there is a compensation scheme in place called FSCS Financial Services Compensation Scheme that protects retail clients up to £50,000. Basically it covers 100% up to £30,000 and 90% for the next £20,000.
You can file a claim to FSCS and in case your request is successful you will be compensated up to the limit that applies.
Many regulated brokers have been fined by the FCA for fraudulent activities. Watchdog is very strict, sometimes even more strict than other forex regulatory agencies around the globe and brokers know it!
What is Financial Conduct Authority
The FCA (former FSA) stands for the “Financial Conduct Authority“, representing an important independent financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom. It is an official financial markets regulatory agency in the UK. It is based in London, UK and its main responsibility is to regulate and examine the operation of financial institutions incl. brokerages.
With that in mind, the main aim is to ensure that the code of conduct is fair and that all the firms in the UK operate accordingly. It is considered to be one of the most serious regulators not only in Europe but also in the World.
The easy way how to check FCA regulation
Are you in doubt if your forex broker is on the list of FCA regulated brokers ?
- First of all, head to their website: https://register.fca.org.uk/
- Type your brokerage name into “SEARCH by company, person product” field
- In case you cannot find anything, check broker’s website as many of them have a business name that is different to their name on the website.
- Didn’t find anything ? You might have been scammed. Just contact the FCA (see below details)
- Also beware of the “clone companies” that are a big problem nowadays and clear sign of a forex scam. In fact they piggyback on other successful brands and mimick them. They seem to be FCA forex brokers but in fact they are not. In fact they piggyback on other successful brands and mimick them.
How to contact regulator
Do you want to file a complaint or are you being scammed? You can contact the FCA by calling them from Monday until Friday 8AM to 6PM via 0800 111 6768 (freephone) or 0300 500 8082 from the UK, or +44 207 066 1000 from abroad.
Understanding how the FCA (former FSA) operates
It’s critical to note that the FCA is entitled to revoke licenses if the situation asks for it, as well as oversee the materials created for marketing and promotional purposes, to ensure their legitimacy. In addition to that, the FCA is involved in auditing company financials. This is essential in order to establish the reliability index of each company. This way, consumers can be confident that they get a decent deal whenever they collaborate with financial companies.
So, when it comes to the financial providers that work under the FCA, the obvious conclusion is that these firms are legitimate, and they address the needs of the client, not the other way around.
With that in mind, you might wonder whether the same high standards apply in the regulation of financial markets. Yes, according to the law, all the trading forex brokerages that function in the UK must get a license from the FCA.
Aside from this, the FCA must provide them a regulation. This is primarily why one might think that the FCA regulated forex brokers are reliable. The code of conduct entails a wide range of specifications the brokers must abide by. The code of conduct is the result of the prescription by the Financial Services Act of 2012.
When the situation asks of it, the FCA will resort to these laws, in order to protect the rights of the consumer.
Does the FCA Work for the Benefit of the Traders?
The FCA actually oversees the way in which best spread betting brokers in UK and best cfd brokers UK work with their clients. Hence, it could be said that the FCA actually works in the benefit of the consumer, focusing on promoting healthy competition in the marketplace.
Nevertheless, considering that the FCA is actually a regulatory body, this means it doesn’t facilitate help or mediation services when it comes to issues between the brokerages that are FCA regulated and their customers.
In spite of this, it is highly advisable to check whether a broker is regulated by the FCA, specifically if you want to assess the authenticity or reliability of a regulation. Another idea would be checking with the FCA warning list.
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