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STARTRADER 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 STARTRADER and what the protections are.

Facts last checked . Read the full STARTRADER review.

Regulation and safety

Regulated by
ASIC (421210); FSCA (52464); Mauritius FSC (GB24203371); Seychelles FSA (SD049); UAE CMA (20200000241, Category 5 introduction/promotion only)
Regulator tier
Tier 1
Register entry
ASIC Professional Registers, AFSL 421210
Client money segregated
Yes
Held at
Regulated banking institutions
Negative balance protection
Yes
Compensation scheme
Financial Commission compensation fund up to €20,000 per eligible client; no statutory compensation scheme for the Seychelles/Mauritius entities
Audited by
Independent external auditors
Not available to
United States and other jurisdictions where STARTRADER services are prohibited or restricted

Check the licence yourself: ASIC Connect, the FSCA search of financial services providers, the Mauritius FSC register of licensees, the Seychelles FSA list of regulated entities.

What this means

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

STARTRADER 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 and FSA). 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.

The FSCA licenses derivative providers in South Africa without a fixed retail leverage cap, so headline leverage is often higher than an FCA or ASIC entity may offer.

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 Regulated banking institutions. That separation is what makes your balance recoverable if the company fails, rather than part of the pool its creditors divide up.

Negative balance protection applies, so a losing position cannot take the account below zero and leave you owing the broker money.

Covered by Financial Commission compensation fund up to €20,000 per eligible client; no statutory compensation scheme for the Seychelles/Mauritius entities, which pays eligible clients up to its limit if the firm fails owing client money.

Questions about STARTRADER regulation

Is client money segregated at STARTRADER?

Yes. STARTRADER holds client money separately from its own funds, at Regulated banking institutions.

Does STARTRADER offer negative balance protection?

Yes. STARTRADER offers negative balance protection, so a losing position cannot leave you owing the broker more than your account held.

Is there a compensation scheme at STARTRADER?

STARTRADER's compensation scheme is recorded as: Financial Commission compensation fund up to €20,000 per eligible client; no statutory compensation scheme for the Seychelles/Mauritius entities. A scheme covers the broker failing, not losses on your trades.

Regulation at brokers under the same regulator

More about STARTRADER