Is IC Markets A Legal Broker In The UK?

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Yes, IC Markets is a legal broker in the UK. While it is not directly regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), it operates under ASIC and CySEC licenses, which are globally recognized. The broker complies with strict financial regulations and offers secure trading conditions, making it a legitimate choice for UK traders.

Reliability is the key criterion for choosing any broker. If you have doubts about the reliability of a company, it is not recommended to work with it. Traders from the UK often ask “Is IC Markets safe? Does the company operate legally in the territory of the country, can it be trusted?" Traders Union analysts have prepared a detailed analysis, where we will see whether IC Markets is legal in the UK and whether you can work with this broker.

Some traders wonder, "Is IC Markets a scam in the UK?" However, the broker is fully licensed by ASIC and CySEC, ensuring compliance with strict financial regulations. A legitimate broker provides transparent terms, secure transactions, and regulatory oversight—criteria that IC Markets meets, confirming its credibility.

Short summary about the broker IC Markets

IC Markets Review

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Your capital is at risk.

IC Markets stands out as a highly reputable broker offering trading with 2,250+ instruments across Forex, stocks, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and more.

The broker provides ultra-fast execution with order speeds up to 40 milliseconds facilitated by its top-tier liquidity partners and processes over $29 billion in Forex trades daily. With a strong focus on active traders, it offers ECN accounts with raw spreads from 0 pips and leverage up to 1:500 (based on which regulator's rules apply to a trader's account). Copy trading is also well-supported through integration with ZuluTrade, cTrader Copy, and other platforms.

Additionally, traders who are wondering whether IC Markets is legal to trade in the UK should verify its licensing and compliance with international regulations. The broker operates under recognized financial authorities, ensuring that it meets the necessary legal requirements for UK traders.

A transparent broker like IC Markets makes it easier for traders to confirm its legitimacy by providing access to essential regulatory documentation. Before opening an account, traders in the UK should review these details to ensure they are trading with a fully compliant and authorized platform.

IC Markets clients benefit from robust security and regulatory licenses from ASIC, CySEC, and others.

Short summary about the broker IC Markets
Account currency:	EUR, USD, GBP, CAD, AUD, HKD, NZD, CHF, SGD, and JPY
Minimum deposit:	$200
Leverage:	1:500 (FSA); 1:30 (ASIC and CySEC)
Spread:	Standard: 0.8 pips; Raw Spread: 0 pips;
Instruments:	Cryptos and Forex CFDs on indices, commodities, stocks, bonds, and futures
Margin Call / Stop Out:	Column50%/100%Value2

Pros and cons of IC Markets

Availability of three licenses;
Wide range of assets;
Standard and ECN account types for trading on different platforms;
Mobile apps for Android and iOS-based devices;
Scalping, hedging, and algorithmic trading are allowed;
Minimum delay when executing orders and ultra-fast market execution;
Competitive trading fees;
Wide choice of social trading and copy trading platforms;
24/7 customer support via live chat;
Demo accounts on MT4, MT5, and cTrader;
Swap-free accounts are available for Muslim traders.

Education materials available on the website are not very informative or diverse;
Rebates are available outside Australia and the European Economic Area;
Not all clients are equally protected since compensation for investment is subject to the trader's country of residence.

What information should a broker disclose?

Only the broker that discloses all legal information can be considered reliable. You need to take notice of this factor when choosing the company.

The official website of the broker should contain the following information:

The name of the legal entity.
Country of registration.
Number of the registration certificate.
Legal address, factual addresses of the offices of the broker.
License to conduct financial activity.

The information must be published either in a special section on the website of the broker or in the disclaimer. Make sure to check it.

The official website of the broker must also provide internal regulatory documents. Before you start working with a company, review Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, Risks Notice, and other documents.

Broker regulation

ASIC

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the official financial regulatory body of Australia. The commission regulates the operation of banks, investment companies, Forex brokers, and participants of exchange and over-the-counter trading.

ASIC is a reputable authority. The license of this regulator is recognized as reliable in the entire world. Brokers with licenses issued by ASIC also operate outside Australia, for example in the EU countries, the UK, Asia, etc.

CYSEC

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec) is the financial regulator authority of Cyprus. The regulator has the power to audit companies and issue licenses to conduct financial activities in the territory of the country.

Cyprus is an EU member and therefore the CySec license also allows companies to operate in the entire territory of the EU. Furthermore, the document issued by the regulator is considered reliable beyond the borders of the EU countries.

Is IC Markets legal in the UK? Broker’s license

Security (Protection for Investors)

Information
IC Markets includes three legal entities registered in Australia, EU, and Seychelles. They are licensed by local ASIC (ACN: 123 289 109), CySEC (362/18), and FSA (SD018) regulators, respectively. Also, since 2021, IC Markets has been a member of the Financial Commission that resolves disputes between brokers and their clients and compensates the latter with up to €20,000. CySEC has its own compensation fund ICF and pays to clients of bankrupt brokers. Availability of three licenses of key global regulators provides the company with a possibility to offer brokerage services to traders in more than 100 countries.

Moreover, IC Markets partners with Lloyds Bank (London) to cover client losses in case of its insolvency. Each trader is compensated for their account balance and amounts of all open positions, but not more than $1,000,000.

For those asking, is IC Markets legit in the UK? The answer lies in its strong regulatory framework and robust risk management measures, which ensure a high level of security for traders. The broker is authorized to operate under reputable financial regulators, giving UK traders confidence in its reliability.

Additionally, the platform maintains partnerships with major financial institutions and is a member of independent dispute resolution bodies. These factors further strengthen IC Markets’ credibility and reinforce why traders consider it a legit option in the UK.

Rights and obligations of both the broker and the client are clearly stated in the agreement.
The broker’s clients can file official claims with regulators.
Coverage from Lloyds Bank is available.
Client funds and the company’s capital are held separately.

Limited leverage up to 1:30 for clients of offices regulated by ASIC and CySEC.
Negative balance protection isn’t available in all countries.

Brokers that are similar to IC Markets

In addition to license and reliability, you also need to take notice of the trading conditions of brokers. This is important both for beginners and experienced traders, as the demands of the clients with different experience differ. Traders Union analysts have prepared a comparison table of IC Markets with similar brokers.

IC Markets vs other brokers
Broker	IC Markets	Eightcap	RoboForex	Exness	Pocket Option	4XC
Trading platform	MT4, cTrader, MT5, TradingView	MT4, MT5, TradingView	MT4, MT5, R MobileTrader, R StocksTrader, R WebTrade	Exness Trade App (mobile), Exness Terminal (web), MetaTrader 5, MetaTrader 4	Pocket Option, MT5, MT4	MT5, MT4, WebTrader
Min deposit	$200	$100	$10	$10	$5	$50
Leverage	From 1:1to 1:500	From 1:30to 1:500	From 1:1to 1:2000	From 1:1to 1:2000	From 1:1to 1:1000	From 1:1to 1:500
Trust management	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Accrual of % on the balance	No	No	10.00%%	No	No	No
Spread	From 0 points	From 0 points	From 0 points	From 0 points	From 1.2 point	From 0 points
Level of margin call / stop out	No	No	No	No	No	No
Execution of orders	Market Execution	Market Execution	Market Execution, Instant Execution	Market Execution, Instant Execution	Market Execution	Market Execution
No deposit bonus	No	No	No	No	No	$50
Cent accounts	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Open an account	Open an account Your capital is at risk.	Open an account Your capital is at risk.	Open an account Your capital is at risk.	Open an account Your capital is at risk.	Open an account Your capital is at risk.	Open an account Your capital is at risk.

IC Markets Trading Company is a great broker for beginners, scalping enthusiasts, and automated trading lovers.
Eightcap has favorable working conditions due to a large choice of instruments, tight spreads, high leverage, and no withdrawal fees. Integration with popular trading platforms and basic deposit/withdrawal options greatly facilitates work with the broker and reduces the entry threshold. In addition to comfortable conditions and low financial costs, traders get free educational materials and special services for technical analysis. Some solutions, like Capitalise.ai, have no constructive counterparts. A relative disadvantage is the absence of opportunities for passive income. Also, the broker works only with CFDs, so other groups of trading instruments are not available.
The minimum deposit in RoboForex is $10. Leverage up to 1:2000. Traders choose RoboForex for reliability, favorable trading conditions, minimum spreads, and commission fees. The company is recommended for beginner traders and experienced investors.
Exness broker is a trusted broker partner that is compliant with all relevant terms. Exness complies with all payment obligations and pays money earned.
PO TRADE BROKER offers a wide range of trading instruments and copy trading services. It constantly improves its service quality and expands the list of assets and trading platforms. The broker is suitable even for novice traders without significant capital due to the low initial deposit. Experienced traders who work with CFDs and binary options can also use Pocket Option’s services.
4XC broker is suitable for traders with a basic trading experience, who are prepared to start trading on a real account right away.

Conclusion

Traders Union showed that IC Markets is indeed very reliable and legal in the UK. The company holds all necessary licenses to conduct financial activity; it complies with all key requirements of the regulator. Legality of the broker’s operation in the country is one of the key criteria for choosing the company for trading. It is important to take this into consideration, as well as the trading conditions. In this case, we can say that the broker meets all the reliability requirements.

When choosing a broker, traders often consider its market standing and trustworthiness. IC Markets has earned a strong broker reputation in the UK thanks to its strong regulatory framework, competitive trading conditions, and a lot of positive reviews from traders. The broker’s focus on transparency, along with its secure financial operations, adds to its credibility. Because of this, IC Markets is popular among both retail and professional traders.

FAQ

Can I work with a broker who does not hold the license?

Trading with a broker without the license involves high risks. The license guarantees that the company performs its obligations. Working with a broker without the license creates a risk of manipulations with quotes, failure to pay, and other schemes.

Where can I complain if a broker with a license violated its obligations?

If a broker allows a violation of the conditions, you can appeal to the authority that issued the license and to the court.

How do I choose the best broker in the UK for beginners?

Novice traders need to consider the brokers with licenses issued in UK or other European Union countries, availability of a demo account or cent account, the level of commissions and fees and minimum deposit, as well as educational materials.

Team that worked on the article

Oleg Tkachenko is an economic analyst and risk manager having more than 14 years of experience in working with systemically important banks, investment companies, and analytical platforms. He has been a Traders Union analyst since 2018. His primary specialties are analysis and prediction of price tendencies in the Forex, stock, commodity, and cryptocurrency markets, as well as the development of trading strategies and individual risk management systems. He also analyzes nonstandard investing markets and studies trading psychology.

Also, Oleg became a member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (membership card No. 4575, international certificate UKR4494).

Learn about our editorial policies

Chinmay Soni is a financial analyst with more than 5 years of experience in working with stocks, Forex, derivatives, and other assets. As a founder of a boutique research firm and an active researcher, he covers various industries and fields, providing insights backed by statistical data. He is also an educator in the field of finance and technology.

As an author for Traders Union, he contributes his deep analytical insights on various topics, taking into account various aspects.

Mirjan Hipolito is a journalist and news editor at Traders Union. She is an expert crypto writer with five years of experience in the financial markets. Her specialties are daily market news, price predictions, and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO).

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