Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

The Financial Conduct Authority is the UK's primary financial regulator, overseeing forex and CFD brokers operating in or targeting the UK market. FCA-regulated brokers must segregate client funds, hold minimum capital reserves, provide negative balance protection, and follow ESMA-aligned leverage caps for retail clients (typically up to 30:1 on major pairs). The FCA is widely regarded as one of the stricter tier-1 regulators, and its public register lets anyone verify a firm's license status directly rather than trusting claims made on a broker's own website.