#1
Marex Group
RegulatedUnited KingdomEst. 2005FCA
Regulation
License
Spread
91.3Score
These ten brokers hold the highest WIKILIX scores among the 105 firms in our database that carry a UK Financial Conduct Authority licence, a clean regulation status label and a recorded maximum leverage figure. Marex leads on 91.3. Velocity Trade closes the list on 76.4. The median score across all 105 qualifying firms is 61.3, so tenth place here sits fifteen points above the middle of the group it was drawn from.
| # | Broker | Score | Regulators recorded | Opened | Max leverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marex | 91.3 | FCA, SFC, NFA | 2005 | 1:500 |
| 2 | StoneX | 85.7 | FCA, SFC, SEC | 1924 | 1:1000 |
| 3 | ADMIS | 84.4 | FCA, SFC | 2008 | 1:30 |
| 4 | Hantec Markets | 83.1 | FCA, ASIC | 2009 | 1:500 |
| 5 | Trading.com Markets UK | 82.4 | FCA, CySEC | 2015 | 1:30 |
| 6 | Paxos | 82.2 | SEC, MAS, NFA, FCA | 2012 | 1:500 |
| 7 | iDealing.com | 80.5 | FCA | 1999 | 1:200 |
| 8 | Darwinex | 80.5 | FCA | 2012 | 1:200 |
| 9 | CBCX | 77.4 | FCA, FSCA | 2011 | 1:500 |
| 10 | Velocity Trade | 76.4 | ASIC, FCA, FSCA | 2007 | 1:500 |
How this ranking was built
The pool came from a single query against the WIKILIX broker database: an FCA licence recorded on the profile, a status label of regulation, a score of 50 or above, and a maximum leverage figure on file. That last condition does real work. It drops the asset managers and wholesale brokerages that hold FCA permissions without running a leveraged retail account, which is why Jefferies and T. Rowe Price are absent even though both score above 87 on an FCA licence. What remained was 105 firms. The order is the score, descending, and nothing else. iDealing.com and Darwinex both score 80.5, and that tie is broken by the database's own ordering rather than by a judgement of ours.
What the score is, and what it is not
The WIKILIX score is the composite rating recorded against each broker profile by our research team. One number per firm, stored in the database, reproduced here in order. It is not a measure of spreads, execution quality or customer service, because we hold no data on any of those, and it carries no view on whether a firm suits you.
Why the usual names are missing
Most published FCA lists open with IG or Pepperstone. Both qualified for the pool of 105 and neither reached the cut. IG Group, which our records open in 1974 and which holds licences from eight authorities including ASIC and BaFin, scores 69.5. eToro (UK) scores 67.8, CMC Markets 64.9, Pepperstone 62.5. Tenth place needed 76.4.
What an FCA licence actually covers
Authorisation by the Financial Conduct Authority means the firm appears on the Financial Services Register, has to keep retail client money in segregated accounts, and brings eligible claims within the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. UK retail CFD leverage is capped at 1:30. Now read the leverage column against that. Fourteen of the 105 qualifying firms record a maximum of 1:30, while 22 record 1:1000 or higher, and StoneX at 1:1000 sits second on this page. A figure that high, recorded against a group that also holds an FCA licence, is not a number a UK retail client should assume applies to their own account.
Before you open an account
- Look the firm up on the FCA register by name and by firm reference number, and check that the permissions listed there cover the product you intend to trade.
- Confirm the legal entity named in your client agreement is the one holding the licence. Domicile varies across this page: Marex Group is recorded in the United Kingdom, ADMIS in Hong Kong.
- Ask which entity will hold your money, and whether the account you are being offered is the FCA one.
- Read the status label we record beside each broker. Every firm here carries regulation, while other pages on this site carry labels such as suspiciousClone or noRegulation.
This page will not tell you what these firms charge or how they fill an order. It also cannot tell you whether any of them accepts clients from where you live, because our records hold licences and domicile rather than client acceptance. Everything above reflects the WIKILIX database as it stands today, and a licence recorded here should still be confirmed on the regulator's own register before you deposit.
10brokers on this list
Researched & ranked by the Wikilix team
- #2
StoneX Group Inc.
RegulatedUnited StatesEst. 1924FCARegulationLicenseSpread85.7Score - #3
ADMIS Singapore Pte. Limited
RegulatedHong KongEst. 2008FCARegulationLicenseSpread84.4Score - #4
Hantec Markets Limited
RegulatedUnited KingdomEst. 2009FCA
RegulationLicenseSpread83.1Score - #5
Trading.com Markets UK Limited
RegulatedUnited KingdomEst. 2015FCA
RegulationLicenseSpread82.4Score - #6
Paxos Trust Company, LLC
RegulatedUnited StatesEst. 2012SEC
RegulationLicenseSpread82.2Score - #7
iDealing.com Limited
RegulatedUnited KingdomEst. 1999FCARegulationLicenseSpread80.5Score - #8
Darwinex
RegulatedUnited KingdomEst. 2012FCARegulationLicenseSpread80.5Score - #9
CBCX MARKETS LIMITED
RegulatedUnited KingdomEst. 2011FCA
RegulationLicenseSpread80.9Score - #10
Velocity Trade Limited
RegulatedAustraliaEst. 2007ASICRegulationLicenseSpread81.3Score
Ten pins is a selection, not a population. The 95 other FCA licensed firms that qualified for this pool are real, and several of them are far better known than the ones above, so treat this page as one measured cut through the data rather than a verdict on the market.
The list is hand-ordered, which means it does not rebuild itself the way a stored query does. It is rechecked when scores are next recalculated or when a licence record changes, and the order will move when it does. Ties like the one at 80.5 can also change position without either firm changing.
If you want the whole set instead of the top of it, the full FCA regulated brokers list carries every firm in our database with an FCA licence and a clean status label. For the age question rather than the score question, see the ten longest-established FCA regulated brokers. Readers narrowing by headquarters can use FCA brokers based in the UK, and the same shortlist built on the Australian regulator is at top 10 ASIC regulated brokers by score.
Nothing here is advice, and no ranking on this site is a recommendation to open an account with any firm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions
Answers from the Wikilix research team about this ranking.
Most Popular Questions
The Financial Services Register lists firms that are authorised with specific permissions, firms registered only for limited purposes such as anti-money-laundering supervision, and appointed representatives operating under another firm's permission. The distinction matters, because only some of those statuses carry the protections attached to full authorisation. Look up the firm reference number and read the permissions on the entry itself.
This page cannot tell you. Our records hold each firm's licences and its registered domicile, and neither of those says which countries a broker accepts clients from. Three of the ten here are domiciled outside the UK, in the United States, Hong Kong and Australia. Read each broker's own terms, or ask them directly, before assuming you are eligible.
The leverage we record is the maximum figure on file for the group, not the figure a UK retail client would receive. Large groups run several licensed entities. Across the 105 qualifying firms, 14 record a maximum of 1:30 and 22 record 1:1000 or higher. Check which entity your account would be opened with before assuming the higher number applies.
No. The score is our own composite rating for a broker profile, and it is the only thing ordering this page. It does not measure spreads, execution, withdrawal speed or customer service, and we hold no data on any of those. It is not a safety rating and not a recommendation. Verify any licence on the regulator's own register before you deposit.
Both hold FCA licences and both qualified for the pool, but neither scored high enough. IG Group scores 69.5 and Pepperstone 62.5, against a tenth-place cut of 76.4. eToro (UK) is at 67.8 and CMC Markets at 64.9. Their absence reflects the score recorded in our database, not a judgement about the firms themselves.
StoneX Group, whose opening date is recorded as 1924, sits second on the page with a score of 85.7. iDealing.com from 1999 is the next oldest here. Across the wider pool of 105 the oldest recorded opening date belongs to J.P. Morgan at 1799, which scores 59.1 and therefore falls well outside the top ten.
By WIKILIX score, descending, and by nothing else. The pool was every broker in our database with an FCA licence, a regulation status label, a score of 50 or above, and a maximum leverage figure on file. That came to 105 firms. The top ten scores were taken in order, from 91.3 down to 76.4, with no editorial reordering afterwards.
The WIKILIX database records 252 active brokers holding a licence from the Financial Conduct Authority. Of those, 105 also carry a clean regulation status label, a score of 50 or above and a recorded maximum leverage figure, which is the pool this page selected from. The ten shown here are the highest scoring of that 105, led by Marex on 91.3.