There are few genuinely strong regulators in the world; the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is one, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission is another, and most would agree that ASIC is also a member of this group. ASIC has already built a reputation for guaranteeing trader security and dealing harshly with bad brokers, but recent reports show that ASIC is planning an even stricter regulatory environment in the coming months. We will talk about what that environment might look like in more detail below, but first, let’s look at the current benefits of trading with an ASIC-regulated broker.
- Segregated Accounts: Like most good regulators, ASIC ensures that all brokers keep client funds segregated from broker operational funds and in Tier 1 Australian banks.
- No Leverage Limit: There are currently no limits on maximum leverage offered by brokers, though this is likely to change in the next year. While leverage limits can protect traders, especially beginners, it can make scalping strategies more difficult.
- Dispute Resolution and Customer Satisfaction: The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) handles all disputes between traders and brokers and are known for efficiency and fairness. Importantly, brokers are responsible for the cost of the resolution and not the trader – this provides an incentive for brokers to respond quickly and fairly to all customer complaints. Unsurprisingly, ASIC Forex brokers are consistently rated very highly for customer satisfaction.
- No Conflict of Interest: ASIC has banned all Forex brokers from being counterparty to their client’s trades, furthermore all brokers are required to offer a fast and efficient platform with no broker interference. It is perhaps as a result of these restrictions that Australia hosts many of the world’s best ECN brokers.
How To Choose an ASIC Regulated Broker?
All ASIC brokers are safe due to the strict regulatory environment in which they operate, and most of them are very strong all-round. But it is essential to look at the detail of each broker to find out what differentiates them from each other. When looking for an ASIC-regulated Forex broker, it is important to judge them on the following areas:
- Broker Type: Most brokers are either ECN/STP or Market Makers, but some can be a combination of both. You will find that many brokers will provide an ECN/STP service on their higher-deposit account types while acting as a Market Maker for their Cent and Standard accounts. Many of the best ASIC regulated brokers are ECN/STPs.
- Trading Conditions: This includes what kind of spreads are available, how much leverage is offered, and how many currency pairs are available. These factors will directly impact your profit or loss, so you don’t want any surprises.
- Trading Platform: MetaTrader 4 is still the industry standard, but many brokers offer MetaTrader 5 and/or their proprietary platforms. ECN/STP brokers will often support cTrader as it is built specifically for market execution and only allows for minimal broker interference.
- Minimum Deposit: This changes by account type for many brokers, with higher minimum deposits often linked to better trading conditions. We will always highlight the minimum deposit available regardless of the account type.
- Deposit and Withdrawal Methods: All brokers accept traditional payment types such as debit/credit cards and bank transfers, many accept online payments through Skrill and Neteller and some will also accept Bitcoin. Always check for deposit and withdrawal fees, a few brokers charge a percentage fee for some withdrawals methods, making large drawdowns very expensive.
Changes in ASIC Regulation
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released its annual report for the 2018/19 fiscal year on October 17th, 2019 against the backdrop of its highly critical review of the CFD sector in August.
The August review of the Australian OTC retail derivative market found a considerable increase in the number of traders since 2017 and an equally large increase in turnover at ASIC regulated brokers.
ASIC also published the data on complaints filed against CFD brokers over the same period, and the results were shocking.
From 2017-19 complaints received by ASIC had increased by 600%, a situation that ASIC has concluded is not sustainable in a sector where the majority of customers are known to lose money.
As a response to this damning set of data, and citing the 2018 tightening of regulation in Europe by ESMA, ASIC has laid out a new set of regulations for CFD brokers operating under its jurisdiction:
- A complete ban on binary options
- Varying leverage restrictions for all CFDs: 20:1 for forex and gold, 15:1 for stock indices, 10:1 for commodities (excluding gold), 2:1 for cryptocurrencies and 5:1 for equities and all other instruments.
- A forced stop-out at 50% of the total initial margin of all open trades
- Mandatory negative balance protection
- A complete ban on all bonus schemes, promotions and other incentives to traders.
- All brokers must place visible and honest risk warnings showing the percentage of traders who lose money on their platform
- All broker trading platforms must always display total position size and overnight funding costs related to open positions in real-time.
- ASIC also stated that they expect all brokers to publish their pricing methods
Though these restrictions have not yet been made into law, ASIC made it very clear that they expect the new set of rules to be on the books within the next few months – ASIC further reinforced this stance at the launch of the annual review, stating that:
“We continue to respond to a high incidence of misconduct in the retail OTC derivatives sector, involving large client losses.”
ASIC has also warned Australian brokers away from working with offshore investors illegally, especially as regulators in China, Japan and Europe and North America have placed restrictions or bans on CFDs for retail investors. ASIC has also started working more closely with CFD brokers to ensure compliance with foreign laws and is actively engaged with multiple international regulatory bodies in this matter.
Overall, we can expect significant changes in the Forex industry in Australia, and across the Asia-Pacific region, in the next few months. If you want to know more about how these changes might affect your trading, we recommend getting in touch with ASIC or your broker to discuss the options available to you.
Forex Risk Disclaimer
Trading Forex and CFDs is not suitable for all investors as it carries a high degree of risk to your capital: 75-90% of retail investors lose money trading these products.
Forex and CFD transactions involve high risk due to the following factors: Over-leveraging, unpredictable market volatility, slippage arising from a lack of liquidity, inadequate trading knowledge or experience, and a lack of regulatory protection for clients.
Traders should not deposit any money that is not disposable. Regardless of how much research you have done, or how confident you are in your trade, there is always a substantial risk of loss. (Learn more from the FCA or from ASIC)
Our Methodology
Our State of the Market Report and Broker Directory are the result of extensive research on over 180 Forex brokers. The explicit goal of these resources is to help traders find the best Forex brokers – and steer them away from the worst ones – with the benefit of accurate and up-to-date information.
With over 200 data points on each broker and over 3000 hours of research and review writing, we believe we have succeeded in our goal.
In a world where trading conditions and customer support can vary based on where you live, our broker reviews focus on the local trader and give you information about these brokers from your perspective.
All research has been conducted by our in-house team of researchers and writers, gathering information from various company representatives, websites and by sifting through the fine print. Learn more about how we rank brokers.
4.61
Accepts Tanzanian Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 0.60 pips with 0.0 USD commission round turn on the trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 400:1. Islamic account available. MT4, MT5 & cTrader platforms supported. Pepperstone Group is regulated by the FCA, ASIC, and the DFSA.
