ASIC Regulated Brokers
ASIC is a regulator for forex brokers located in Australia. Brokers licensed and recognized as Financial Service Providers (FSPs) in Australia must be registered with ASIC and comply with the Corporate Plan of 2018-2022. Just like forex regulators in general, ASIC's basic task is to oversee forex brokers carry out their company's activities fairly and pay attention to the safety of client funds.
The establishment of ASIC departs from the 2015 SNB incident which shook the futures trading industry. This incident caused the bankruptcy of 2 brokers and caused hundreds of brokers big losses. The surviving Australian brokers are proven to have better risk management. From these problems, emerged an idea to revise the broker's regulatory mechanism in handling market challenges. Since then, ASIC has become one of the most competent broker regulation standards worldwide.
Therefore, ASIC has quite strict requirements, including:
- Risk limitation
- Bonus Prohibition
- Consumer Enlightenment.
The risk management protocol at ASIC regulated brokers includes a minimum operational fund of 1 Million USD, a segregated account at a tier 1 bank, and has a physical office that can be visited in Australia. Bonuses are also not allowed because these promotions are often misused to attract new clients without a clear TnC. ASIC also provides an online portal titled MONEYSMART, so prospective traders can first understand the ins and outs of trading. This is an anticipation that the public understands the risks of forex trading and is not trapped in a scam.
Here is a list of ASIC regulated brokers:
| Broker | Max Leverage | Min Deposit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axi Australia 2007
| 1:500 | $1 | Review |
| Interactive Brokers Australia 1977
| 1:100 | $10000 | Review |
| FP Markets Australia 2005
| 1:500 | $100 | Review |
| Vantage Australia 2006
| 1:500 | $200 | Review |
| Pepperstone Australia 2010
| 1:30 | $200 | Review |
| easyMarkets Australia 2001
| 1:400 | $25 | Review |
| IC Markets Australia 2007
| 1:500 | $200 | Review |
| Admirals Argentina 2001
| 1:500 | $100 | Review |
| AvaTrade Australia 2006
| 1:400 | $100 | Review |
| GOMarkets Australia 2008
| 1:500 | $200 | Review |
| ThinkMarkets Australia 2010
| 1:500 | $1 | Review |
| Plus500 Australia 2008
| 1:300 | $100 | Review |
| TMGM Australia 2013
| 1:500 | $100 | Review |
| eToro China 2007
| 1:400 | $200 | Review |
| Saxo Bank China 1992
| 1:200 | $2000 | Review |
| Blueberry Markets Australia 2016
| 1:500 | $100 | Review |
| FXOpen Australia 2003
| 1:500 | $1 | Review |
| OANDA British Virgin Islands 1996
| 1:20 | $1 | Review |
| IronFX Australia 2010
| 1:30 | $100 | Review |
| XM Australia 2009
| 1:888 | $5 | Review |
| FXCM Australia 1999
| 1:400 | $1 | Review |
| FBS China 2009
| 1:3000 | $1 | Review |
| GKFX Chile 2009
| 1:30 | $200 | Review |
| Xtrade Cyprus 2010
| 1:400 | $100 | Review |
| Velocity Trade New Zealand 1999
| 1:200 | $1000 | Review |
| Eightcap Australia 2009
| 1:500 | $100 | Review |
| City Index United Arab Emirates 2001
| 1:30 | $250 | Review |
| Ingot Brokers Australia 2004
| 1:400 | $100 | Review |
| Advanced Markets Bermuda 2006
| 1:50 | $1000 | Review |
| Royal Australia 2008
| 1:30 | $50 | Review |
| PhillipCapital Australia 1975
| 1:200 | $200 | Review |
| Synergy Markets Australia 2011
| 1:500 | $100 | Review |
| OffersFX Cyprus 2010
| 1:400 | $200 | Review |
| Capital.com Australia 2017
| 1:30 | $20 | Review |
| VT Markets Austria 2016
| 1:500 | $200 | Review |
| AETOS Australia 2007
| 1:200 | $250 | Review |
| TOP1Markets Australia 2018
| 1:100 | $100 | Review |
| Fusion Markets Australia 2018
| 1:500 | $1 | Review |
| HFTrading New Zealand 2019
| 1:400 | $300 | Review |
| CLMarkets Australia 2013
| 1:500 | $100 | Review |
| MARKETSX Cyprus 2006
| 1:300 | $100 | Review |
| Anzo Capital Australia 2015
| 1:1000 | $100 | Review |
| ACY Securities Australia 2013
| 1:500 | $50 | Review |
| Boston Merchant Financial Australia 1988
| 1:400 | $50 | Review |
| ETO Markets Australia 2013
| 1:30 | $200 | Review |
| Global Prime Australia 2010
| 1:200 | $200 | Review |
| Fortrade United Kingdom 2013
| 1:100 | $500 | Review |
| Invast Financial Services Australia 1960
| 1:400 | $100 | Review |
| Core Liquidity Markets Australia 2013
| 1:500 | $100 | Review |
| VPFX Malaysia 2020
| 1:500 | $100 | Review |
| Markets.com Cyprus 2006
| 1:300 | $100 | Review |
Advantages and Disadvantages of Trading in ASIC Regulated Brokers
Despite having basic requirements equivalent to the UK and US, ASIC regulated brokers are more flexible in managing their trading conditions. Unlike FCA which limits maximum leverage to only 1:30, ASIC regulated brokers can provide leverage up to 1: 100 or above. Also, ASIC-regulated forex brokers allow hedging strategies without First-In-First-Out regulations. Many ASIC regulated brokers also offer trading on ECN accounts, with the application of the FIX API. The trading technology allows traders to experience faster and transparent transactions.
It should be noted, since 2019, ASIC has issued a regulation that its brokers can only accept domestic clients and compensation funds apply to traders within Australia. This becomes both a deficiency and an excess. Since most ASIC regulated brokerage clients come from the Asia Pacific region, it is not surprising that these brokers have alternative regulations other than ASIC. That way, traders can get services from companies whose work systems have been recognized by ASIC, but still under the trading conditions required by these alternative regulations.
FAQ
What does ASIC regulated mean?
Being regulated by ASIC means operating under the standards of Australian financial regulator. Brokers licensed and recognized as Financial Service Providers (FSPs) in Australia must be registered with ASIC and comply with the Corporate Plan of 2018-2022.
What are the ASIC rules?
In general, ASIC rules are strictly applied to cover risk limitation, bonus prohibition, and consumer enlightenment. The risk management protocol at ASIC regulated brokers includes:
- A minimum operational fund of 1 Million USD,
- a segregated account at a tier 1 bank, and
- a physical office that can be visited in Australia.
Bonuses are also not allowed due to the risks of misusing them to attract new clients without a clear terms and conditions.
ASIC-regulated forex brokers allow hedging strategies without First-In-First-Out regulations. Most of them offer trading on ECN accounts with the application of the FIX API. But it should also be noted that as of 2019, ASIC has issued a regulation that brokers under its regulation can only accept domestic clients. In this case, the compensation funds would only apply to traders within Australia.
What is the main purpose of ASIC?
Just like other forex regulators in general, ASIC's basic task is to oversee forex brokers carry out their company's activities fairly and pay attention to the safety of client funds.
If you are interested to open an account in one of the brokers in the list above, make sure to try the forex demo account before proceeding to register in the live account.
