Author: Eduardo Montero
When choosing an online broker, it is important to verify that they are licensed and have authority to supervise and authorize their activities. A broker who wants to legally offer their services must be under the control of the financial authority where it is located. Unregulated brokers could be fraudsters and can cause problems for traders.
After analysing many of the top online brokers, the following table shows what we believe to be the most reliable and regulated brokers for investing in stock market, forex, cryptocurrency, indices, and commodities .
| Broker | Key Features | Offer |
|---|---|---|
 Go to XTB | XTB is a broker that is regulated by the FCA (UK), the CNMV (Spain), and the FSC (Belize).Website: https://www.xtb.com/ Regulated by: FCA, CNMV, FSC Min Deposit: 0 € / $ Trading Platforms: WebTrader + iOS App + Android App Type of Execution: Market Maker / STP Available Instruments: Over 2100: Forex, indices, commodities, stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrencies. | Excellent customer support. |
 Go to Pepperstone | Pepperstone is an online broker regulated internationally through supervisors like the UK FCA, Australian ASIC, CySEC, BaFin, SCB, CMA and DFSA in Dubai.Website: https://pepperstone.com/ Regulated by: FCA, CySEC, ASIC, BaFin, DFSA, SCB, CMA Min Deposit: 200 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 + cTrader + Trading View Type of Execution: STP / NDD Available Instruments: More than 1200. Specialised in Forex, also offers CFDs on indices, stocks, commodities, cryptocurrencies, ETFs and currency indices. | Low spreads and ultra-fast execution. (*) Between 74-89 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. |
 Go to XM | XM Group offers their services under CySEC regulation in Europe, FSC in Belize, and ASIC in Australia.Website: https://www.xm.com/ Regulated by: CySEC, ASIC, FSC Min Deposit: 5 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 Type of Execution: Market Maker Available Instruments: More than 1000: Wide range of Forex currency pairs. Also commodities, precious metals, indices and stocks. | $30 no deposit bonus and deposit bonus up to $5,000. (*) Bonuses not available for clients of the XM Group's European regulated entity. Check conditions on the broker's website. |
 Go to Plus500 | Plus500 is regulated under the UK FCA, Cyprus CySEC and Australian ASIC. Also by FSCA in South Africa, DFSA in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and FSA in Seychelles.Website: https://www.plus500.com/ Regulated by: FCA, CySEC, ASIC, FSA, DFSA, FSCA Min Deposit: 100 € / $ Trading Platforms: WebTrader + iOS App + Android App Type of Execution: Market Maker Available Instruments: Over 2,000 CFDs: indices, currencies, commodities, cryptocurrencies, stocks, options and ETFs. | Free demo account with no time limit. (*) CFD Service. Your capital is at risk. |
 Go to eToro | eToro broker has been approved and regulated in the UK by the FCA, Cyprus CySEC, and Australia ASIC.Website: https://www.etoro.com/ Regulated by: FCA, CySEC, ASIC Min Deposit: 200 € / $ Trading Platforms: WebTrader + iOS App + Android App Type of Execution: Market Maker Available Instruments: Over 3500: Large number of stocks (over 3100) and cryptocurrencies (over 75). Also commodities, currencies, indices and ETFs. | World leader in social trading. (*) Warning: 78% of retail CFD accounts lose money. |
 Go to IC Markets | IC Markets, an online broker based in Australia, is regulated by ASIC, FSA in Seychelles and CySEC in Europe.Website: https://www.icmarkets.com/ Regulated by: CySEC, ASIC, FSA Min Deposit: 200 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 + cTrader Type of Execution: ECN Available Instruments: More than 2250: More than 60 Forex currency pairs. Also offers commodities, indices, stocks, bonds, cryptocurrencies and futures. | |
 Go to Axi | Axi is an online broker regulated by the UK FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), FSA, ASIC in Australia and DFSA in UAE.Website: https://www.axi.com/ Regulated by: FCA, ASIC, DFSA, FSA Min Deposit: 0 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 Type of Execution: STP / ECN Available Instruments: More than 130 instruments: Forex, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies. | |
 Go to FP Markets | FP Markets is a regulated broker by Australian ASIC in Australia and CySEC within the European Union.Website: https://www.fpmarkets.com/ Regulated by: CySEC, ASIC Min Deposit: 100 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 + IRESS Type of Execution: ECN Available Instruments: More than 10,000 tradable instruments: Forex, CFDs, indices, stocks, commodities, metals, cryptocurrencies and bonds. | |
 Go to RoboForex | RoboForex is an online broker that is regulated by the FSC of Belize.Website: https://roboforex.com/ Regulated by: FSC Min Deposit: 100 € / $ Trading Platforms: WebTrader + MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 + cTrader + iOS App + Android App Type of Execution: STP / ECN Available Instruments: Over 12,000: Forex, stock indices, ETFs, commodities, cryptocurrencies and stocks (over 8400 in R Stocks Trader account). | First and subsequent deposit bonus up to $50,000. (*) Bonus not available for European clients. Check conditions on the broker's website. |
 Go to Exness | Supervisors around the world regulate Exness broke such as the FCA and CySEC, FSCA and FSC, FSCA, FSC, CBCS or SDL.Website: https://www.exness.com/ Regulated by: FCA, CySEC, FSC, FSCA, FSCA, FSC, SDL, CBCS Min Deposit: 0 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 Type of Execution: Market Maker / ECN Available Instruments: Over 250 instruments including more than 100 Forex pairs, commodities, energies, stocks, indices and cryptocurrencies. | |
 Go to FBS | FBS is a broker that is regulated by supervisors like the FSC of Belize and Cyprus CySEC.Website: https://www.fbs.com/ Regulated by: CySEC, FSC Min Deposit: 1 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 + iOS App + Android App Type of Execution: STP / ECN Available Instruments: Over 180 assets: Forex currencies, cryptocurrencies, precious metals, energies and equities. | $140 no deposit bonus (to trade for 40 days) and 100% deposit bonus doubling your deposit. (*) Bonuses are not available for European clients. See conditions on the FBS broker's website. |
 Go to AvaTrade | AvaTrade is regulated internationally by the Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC, FSCA, BVI and FSA.Website: https://www.avatrade.com Regulated by: Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC, BVI, FSA, FSCA Min Deposit: 0 € / $ Trading Platforms: WebTrader + MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 + iOS App + Android App Type of Execution: Market Maker Available Instruments: More than 200. Major, minor and exotic Forex pairs, cryptocurrencies and CFDs on indices, commodities and stocks. | |
 Go to OANDA | OANDA has been approved and regulated by international supervisors like the FCA, NFA, ASIC, BVI FSC, IIROC and MFSA.Website: https://www.oanda.com/ Regulated by: FCA, ASIC, NFA, BVI FSC, MFSA, IIROC Min Deposit: 0 € / $ Trading Platforms: MetaTrader 4 + MetaTrader 5 Type of Execution: Market Maker Available Instruments: More than 120: Forex, indices, metals, stocks, commodities and cryptocurrencies. | Deposit bonus up to $5,000. (*) Bonus not available for European customers. See terms and conditions on the Oanda website. |
Financial legislation is applied to CFD brokers, Forex brokers,… who are regulated and their activities are monitored by regulatory bodies. These bodies are responsible for protecting investors and ensuring transparency, non-deceptive marketing and proper marketing of the services brokers offer their clients. Based on financial regulations in their country, certain regulatory bodies also require that investors’ capital be completely separate from broker’s bank accounts. This is to prevent the broker being affected by the company’s financial situation and being taken by creditors in the event of bankruptcy.
The regulator is also the body that a trader can complain about any malpractice by his online broker. These institutions can sanction financial intermediaries. They are often public authorities whose task it is to enforce financial legislation.
There are many regulatory bodies around the globe and every broker could be regulated by multiple of them depending on where it is located as well as the countries in which they operate. These are the main regulatory bodies:
- The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), United Kingdom, is one of the most stringent in the financial world.
- The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, CySEC in Cyprus. Many brokers are registered here thanks to the favorable tax policy and EU membership.
- The National Futures Association (NFA), in the United States.
- The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is located in Australia.
Among other…
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Author: Eduardo Montero
Welcome to Mundo-Forex.com: I'm Eduardo Montero, I work professionally in IT. I started trading in the financial markets (mainly Forex) more than 10 years ago. I'm the author of the articles on this website and of many others published on other websites specialised in stock market investment and finance in general. Learn more about me here: About the author.