Finding a reputable broker
The single most important check is authorization by a regulator in your own jurisdiction. Everything else comes after that.
Before you look at fees or the interface, check one single thing: is the provider authorized by a regulator in the EU, and are they listed in that regulator's public register?
You can search these registers yourself. The provider needs to appear there under its full name and registered address. If you can't find it, or only under a different company in a far-away country, stop right there.
Warning signs are reliable and always the same: calls or messages pushing you to deposit. Promised returns. A personal advisor looking after you. Trouble withdrawing money, while depositing went smoothly.
With reputable providers, nobody calls you. You open an account, transfer the money yourself, and trade yourself. Anyone who wants to help you get rich wants your money.
Within the EU, the European passport applies: an investment firm authorized in one member state may operate across borders. Supervision then rests with the home country, which matters for enforcing any claims. Authorization can be checked through national regulators' registers and the central register of the European Securities and Markets Authority.
A distinction is needed between custody of securities and custody of cash. Securities are held as segregated assets for the client and don't fall into the broker's bankruptcy estate. Cash sitting in the settlement account, by contrast, is a deposit and subject to deposit insurance with its own coverage limits. Which institution holds that settlement account is therefore part of the check.
A common pattern with disreputable providers is separating a regulated group entity, used in marketing, from the entity you actually contract with in a third country. What matters exclusively is which legal entity appears in the contract. That's found in the contract documents and the imprint, not in the advertising.
Summary
- Check authorization in the public register first, everything else after.
- What matters is the entity in the contract, not the one in the advertising.
- Reputable providers never call you.
Did you get it?
What do you check first with a broker?
Whether it's listed in a regulator's public register, and which legal entity you're actually contracting with.
How does protection differ between securities and cash?
Securities are segregated assets and protected from insolvency. Cash is a deposit and covered by deposit insurance up to a limit.
What's a reliable warning sign?
Being contacted by someone pushing you to deposit or promising returns.
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