Retail liability is limited to funds in the trading account

A retail trader cannot be pursued for a debt beyond what sits in the trading account, and cash held in that account for other purposes does not count towards the liability. Source: https://assets.adgm.com/download/assets/Appendix+1+OTCLPs+COBS+amendments+20220923.pdf/1b01fb3e7a4d11efba5f12b0822c8b1b

Complain to the firm first, then the FSRA within 28 days

Knowing the order of the route and the 28 day target lets a trader keep a dispute moving instead of waiting on a firm indefinitely, and the FSRA route is about regulatory action rather than an award of money back. Source: https://www.adgm.com/operating-in-adgm/additional-obligations-of-financial-services-entities/enforcement/complaints

FSRA jurisdiction stops at the ADGM boundary

If the entity a trader actually contracted with sits outside ADGM, the ADGM permission and this complaint route do not reach it, and the complaint belongs with a different UAE authority. Source: https://www.adgm.com/operating-in-adgm/additional-obligations-of-financial-services-entities/enforcement/complaints

Serving retail leveraged clients adds 40,000 USD each year

A firm that markets leveraged products to retail clients under an ADGM permission pays eight times the fee of one serving other clients only, which is a measure of how the regime treats retail leveraged business. Source: https://assets.adgm.com/download/assets/ADGM1547_7504_VER16181223.pdf/57b5e7045ef311ef8e8e7632602b8a6b

Register entries include firms whose permission has ended

Finding a broker's name on the register is not the same as finding a live permission. The status line and the dates on the activity rows are what tell a trader whether the firm may act today. Source: https://www.adgm.com/information/privacy-policy

No bonuses, no credit card funding, no paid referrals

These three practices are common in offshore marketing, so a deposit bonus, a paid introducer or a credit card funding option is a direct signal that the offer is not being run under this permission as the rules set it out. Source: https://assets.adgm.com/download/assets/Appendix+1+OTCLPs+COBS+amendments+20220923.pdf/1b01fb3e7a4d11efba5f12b0822c8b1b

ADGM runs several separate registers, only one covers financial firms

A firm can appear in an ADGM registry as an incorporated company or a licensed service provider without holding a Financial Services Permission, so the FSRA register is the one that answers whether it may deal in investments. Source: https://www.adgm.com/public-registers

Positions close when equity falls below 50% of margin

The close-out level is a rule, not a courtesy of the platform, so a retail account under an ADGM permission should not be left running deep into a loss below half its margin. Source: https://assets.adgm.com/download/assets/Appendix+1+OTCLPs+COBS+amendments+20220923.pdf/1b01fb3e7a4d11efba5f12b0822c8b1b

Onshore

ADGMAbu Dhabi Global Market

Q: Retail margin is at least 3.33% on major currency pairs

3.33% margin means a position of about 30 times the money posted, and 50% on Virtual Assets means about two times. An offer of higher leverage than these levels to a retail client is outside what these rules allow an ADGM firm to do. Source: https://assets.adgm.com/download/assets/Appendix+1+OTCLPs+COBS+amendments+20220923.pdf/1b01fb3e7a4d11efba5f12b0822c8b1b

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is the international financial centre in Abu Dhabi, and its Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) authorises and supervises financial firms inside it under a legal framework based on English Common Law. Any firm can be checked on the FSRA Public Register, which lists firms that are, or have been, approved, so the status line and the dates on each entry decide whether a permission is live today. For retail traders, two rules carry the most weight: a Retail Client must post margin of at least 3.33% of exposure on major currency pairs, and liability is limited to the funds in the trading account. A complaint goes to the firm first and then to the FSRA, which aims to complete its assessment within 28 days.

About Abu Dhabi Global Market

The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is part of the world's most influential international financial centers, located across Al Maryah Island and Al Reem Island, comprising an area of over 14.38 million square meters. Since its official opening in October 2015, ADGM has played a fundamental role in positioning Abu Dhabi as a global hub for finance, investment, and innovation.

A Progressive Regulatory Framework

A central pillar to ADGM's success is the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), which was established to create a progressive financial services environment while ensuring the highest ethical standards of integrity were maintained.

Official Description

Contact Information

Main Site

https://www.adgm.com/

Live chat

https://www.adgm.com/operating-in-adgm/a...

Email

fsra.complaints@adgm.com

About and how to use Abu Dhabi Global Market

How to verify a licence

Open the FSRA Public Register at https://www.adgm.com/public-registers/fsra and choose one of the four tabs: FIRMS, INDIVIDUALS, FUNDS or EXEMPT PERSONS. Type the firm name in the search box, which builds a result URL of the form https://www.adgm.com/public-registers/fsra/firms?query=<name>, then open the matching firm entry. Read four things on the entry: the FSP Number, the FSP Date, the Status, and the Regulated Activities list with the effective and withdrawn date shown against each activity. The register also holds firms whose permission has ended, and those entries carry a status of Withdrawn together with a withdrawn date, so a name appearing on the register is not by itself proof of a current permission. The entry also carries tabs for Conditions/Limitations, Approved Persons and Regulatory Actions, which is where a restriction on the permission would appear. The FSRA states on the register page that it cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information, so match the FSP number and the activity you are being offered, and ask the firm for its FSP number if it does not publish one.

How to complain

Contact the firm first. The FSRA states that Authorised Persons must have processes to receive and respond to complaints, and that customers should try contacting the Authorised Person directly in the first instance before coming to the FSRA. A complaint to the FSRA itself must be in writing, submitted through the FSRA Complaints Form at https://fsraconnect.adgm.com/s/submit-a-complaint, and should carry your contact details, the identity of the subject of the complaint and a dated chronology with supporting documents. The FSRA acknowledges the complaint in writing, assesses it to decide what regulatory action to take if any, and provides a written final response. It aims to complete the assessment within 28 days of receipt, and says some assessments take longer depending on complexity. Complaints about ADGM commercial legislation or about non-financial businesses registered in ADGM go to the Registration Authority instead.

Jurisdiction and scope

The FSRA regulates the provision of financial services in ADGM, which covers Al Maryah Island and Al Reem Island, an area ADGM states is 14.38 million sqm. ADGM applies English Common Law directly alongside its own civil and commercial laws. Outside ADGM, financial services in the UAE fall to other authorities: the FSRA states that banking and insurance sit with the Central Bank of the UAE and that securities and brokerage business sit with the Securities and Commodities Authority. A firm authorised by the FSRA must also have a physical presence on Al Maryah Island or Al Reem Island, and its Senior Executive Officer, Compliance Officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer must be resident in the UAE.

What is protected

For Retail Clients trading OTC Leveraged Products, COBS Chapter 23 sets the protections. Liability is limited to the funds in the account maintained for trading those products, which is negative balance protection stated as a rule. The firm must close positions once net equity falls below 50% of the margin requirement, must assess a client's skill, experience, knowledge, financial resources and risk tolerance before offering the products, must publish the percentage of active Retail Client accounts that were profitable, and must not offer bonuses or other inducements, accept paid referrals from unregulated persons, or let a client fund the account with a credit card. Capital sits behind this: a firm dealing as matched principal in OTC derivatives with Retail Clients has a base capital requirement of 2 million USD, and the FSRA requires an Authorised Person's Capital Resources to be kept with a bank in the UAE. No investor compensation or guarantee scheme document was located on ADGM's own domain during this reading, so no compensation cap is stated here.

Using this regulator

Ask the firm for its FSP number and check it on the FSRA Public Register, then confirm the exact Regulated Activity you are being sold appears on the entry with no withdrawn date. If the offer involves leveraged forex, indices, commodities or crypto, the ADGM rules give you a floor to test the offer against: margin of at least 3.33% on major currency pairs, 5% on non-major pairs, gold and major equity indices, 10% on other commodities and non-major indices, 20% on single equities and 50% on Virtual Assets. A bonus or deposit promotion, a paid introducer, credit card funding, or a promised leverage above those margin levels are all outside what the rules permit for a Retail Client of an ADGM firm, which is a quick way to tell whether the entity in front of you is really operating under this permission. Expect to be asked appropriateness questions and to sign a risk disclosure statement that includes the share of profitable retail accounts, and keep the acknowledgement copy the firm must give you. Keep a written record of any dispute: the FSRA route starts with the firm, and the FSRA assesses complaints and takes regulatory action rather than awarding redress.

Good to know

ADGM publishes its consolidated FSRA rulebooks on a separate hosted rulebook platform, so this reading used the rule text published on ADGM's own domains: the FEES Rules PDF marked VER16.181223, and the COBS Chapter 23 rule text that the FSRA links from its 30 November 2022 implementation notice. Amendments to the FEES Rules announced for 2 January 2025 could not be read as a consolidated document, so the fee figures quoted here are those of VER16.181223, which are also reproduced in the 2025 Getting Started Guide with FSRA. COBS Chapter 14 on Client Money could not be read on the official domain during this run, so no client money segregation clause is quoted. No compensation scheme or investor guarantee document was found on ADGM's own domain. Of the archived copies supplied for the version diff, the 2024 copy of the Public Registers page and the 2025 copy of the Cookies policy could not be extracted. The register's own search interface was exercised this run, and firm entries were opened to confirm the fields described.

Key insights and tips

Check a firm on the FSRA Public Register before funding

Key

A trader can confirm in about a minute whether the entity taking the money is the entity the FSRA approved, and whether the activity being offered is on its permission.

The FSRA Public Register at adgm.com/public-registers/fsra is the FSRA's official public record of firms, individuals, funds and exempt persons, and the FSRA states it is designed to help the public, investors and market participants verify regulatory status. Search by name in one of the four tabs, then open the firm entry.

This Register is the official public record of the FSRA that shows details of firms, individuals and other bodies that are, or have been, approved by the FSRA. It also contains details relating to securities, funds and certain other information. It is designed to help the public, investors, and market participants verify regulatory status and access basic information.

Quoted in FSRA Public RegisterRead the source

public register
license verification
retail clients

Retail margin is at least 3.33% on major currency pairs

Official documents examined

Official documentDispute Resolution
Fetched Sep 1, 2026View source
Official documentCookies policy
Fetched Sep 1, 2026View source
Official documentPrivacy Statement
Fetched Sep 1, 2026View source
Public registerPublic Registers
Fetched Sep 1, 2026View source

Licensed Brokers

Brokers authorized and regulated by this authority

13 Licensed Brokers

View All Licensed Brokers

About this information

The details on this page about Abu Dhabi Global Market were compiled from the regulator’s own official documents, its website and other public sources, and are presented as neutral, factual guidance.

If you believe something here is inaccurate, or you spot a critical problem, please let us know via Contact us.

ADGMAbu Dhabi Global Market

About Abu Dhabi Global Market

A Progressive Regulatory Framework

Contact Information

Main Site

Live chat

Email

About and how to use Abu Dhabi Global Market

How to verify a licence

How to complain

Jurisdiction and scope

What is protected

Using this regulator

Good to know

Key insights and tips

Check a firm on the FSRA Public Register before funding

Retail margin is at least 3.33% on major currency pairs

Official documents examined

Licensed Brokers

About this information

Performance Metrics

Overview

Key Performance Indicators

Client Protection Details

Client Fund Insurance

Account Managed Separately

Operational Metrics

Compliance Status

Advanced Metrics

Licensing Information

Regulatory Performance Scores

Regulatory Support Features

Core Performance Metrics

License Value

Regulatory

Performance Summary

About and how to use Abu Dhabi Global Market

How to verify a licence

How to complain

Jurisdiction and scope

What is protected

Using this regulator

Good to know

Key insights and tips

Check a firm on the FSRA Public Register before funding

Retail margin is at least 3.33% on major currency pairs

Official documents examined

Negative Balance Protection

Investment Professional Support

Geographic Coverage

Regulatory Features

Trading Information

International Memberships

IOSCO Membership

Benefits:

FATF Membership

Benefits:

Institutional

Risk Management

Investment Protection

Client Fund Insurance Rating

Retail liability is limited to funds in the trading account

Complain to the firm first, then the FSRA within 28 days

FSRA jurisdiction stops at the ADGM boundary

Serving retail leveraged clients adds 40,000 USD each year

Reading the registerThe register lists former licensees alongside current ones

Register entries include firms whose permission has ended

ADGM runs several separate registers, only one covers financial firms

Client protectionRetail liability is capped at the funds in the trading account

No bonuses, no credit card funding, no paid referrals

Firms must publish the share of profitable retail accounts

An appropriateness assessment comes before onboarding

What the licence coversA Financial Services Permission names each Regulated Activity separately

Permission is granted activity by activity, not as one licence

What a firm must meetBase capital reaches 2 million USD for retail OTC derivatives dealing

Four named officers, three of them resident in the UAE

Retail OTC derivatives dealing needs 2 million USD capital

An ADGM firm must have premises inside the district

Margin and leverageRetail margin starts at 3.33% of exposure on major currency pairs

Positions close when equity falls below 50% of margin