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Focus Markets regulation: what happens if the firm fails

The licence is what decides where your money sits and who is obliged to do something about it. Here is who licenses Focus Markets and what the protections are.

Facts last checked . Read the full Focus Markets review.

Regulation and safety

Regulated by
ASIC (AFSL 514425); Mauritius FSC (GB25205284)
Regulator tier
Tier 1
Register entry
ASIC Professional Registers, AFSL 514425
Client money segregated
Yes, Australian entity
Held at
Not prominently disclosed
Negative balance protection
Australian retail protections apply; international entity-dependent
Compensation scheme
No statutory Australian investor compensation scheme equivalent to FSCS
Audited by
Not prominently disclosed
Not available to
Jurisdiction-dependent

Check the licence yourself: ASIC Connect, the Mauritius FSC register of licensees.

What this means

The licence is what decides where your money sits and who is obliged to do something about it.

Focus Markets holds a tier-one authorisation from ASIC. That matters more than any headline spread: it determines your leverage cap, whether losses can exceed your deposit, and what happens to your money if the firm fails.

It also operates an offshore entity (FSC). Which one you are onboarded to depends on where you live, and the two carry very different protections - worth confirming before you deposit.

ASIC caps retail leverage at 1:30, requires negative balance protection, and obliges the broker to hold client money in a separate trust account.

An FSC licence (Mauritius or Belize, depending on the entity) is an offshore authorisation with lighter reporting duties than a tier-one regulator.

Client money is held separately from the firm's own money, at Not prominently disclosed. That separation is what makes your balance recoverable if the company fails, rather than part of the pool its creditors divide up.

Covered by No statutory Australian investor compensation scheme equivalent to FSCS, which pays eligible clients up to its limit if the firm fails owing client money.

Questions about Focus Markets regulation

Is client money segregated at Focus Markets?

Yes. Focus Markets holds client money separately from its own funds, at Not prominently disclosed.

Does Focus Markets offer negative balance protection?

Negative balance protection at Focus Markets is recorded as: Australian retail protections apply; international entity-dependent.

Is there a compensation scheme at Focus Markets?

Focus Markets's compensation scheme is recorded as: No statutory Australian investor compensation scheme equivalent to FSCS. A scheme covers the broker failing, not losses on your trades.

Regulation at brokers under the same regulator

More about Focus Markets