Regulators & Investor Protection

ASIC's consumer site with guides on investing, trading risks and a searchable list of companies you should not deal with. Australia's equivalent of Investor.gov.

UK regulator for financial firms including brokers, spread-betting and CFD providers, with consumer warnings and its ScamSmart campaign. Relevant to anyone using a UK-regulated broker or prop firm.

Official register of firms and individuals authorised by the FCA, plus the warning list of unauthorised firms and clones. Search a firm's name and reference number before dealing with anyone claiming UK regulation.

Australia's corporate and markets regulator, licensing brokers and CFD providers and publishing enforcement actions. Many forex and CFD brokers hold ASIC licences, so check the licence number here.

Free lookup of any US broker, brokerage firm or investment adviser: registration status, employment history, customer complaints and disciplinary events. Run it on any person or firm before sending money.

Federal regulator for US futures, options on futures, swaps and retail forex, and the agency behind the Commitments of Traders report. Its fraud advisories cover forex, precious metals and crypto scams.

The Registration Deficient list: foreign firms soliciting US customers for forex, binary options or crypto derivatives without the required CFTC registration. Check it before opening an account with an offshore broker.

Self-regulatory organisation for the US derivatives industry; futures brokers, CTAs and retail forex dealers must be members. Publishes rules, arbitration and investor information.

Background Affiliation Status Information Center: free lookup of any futures or forex firm or individual's NFA registration, disciplinary history and CFTC actions. The futures equivalent of BrokerCheck.

Securities Investor Protection Corporation: protects customers' securities and cash (up to $500,000) if a member US brokerage fails. Verify a broker's SIPC membership here; note it does not cover trading losses or futures.

The SEC's plain-English investor education site: fraud warnings, how to check a professional's background, calculators and alerts on current scams. Read the 'red flags' pages before paying anyone for trading help.

Self-regulatory organisation overseeing US broker-dealers, with rules (including the pattern day trader rule), disciplinary actions and investor education. If your broker is US-based, it answers to FINRA.

Federal regulator for US securities markets, brokers and public companies. Home of EDGAR filings, enforcement actions and investor alerts.