Short answer: it depends on which company holds your account. With an FCA-regulated UK broker, the FSCS covers up to £85,000. With a CySEC-regulated broker in Cyprus, the Investor Compensation Fund covers up to €20,000. Australian and offshore entities usually have no compensation scheme at all. None of these schemes cover money you lose trading.
Protection by where your account sits
| Where your account is held | Compensation scheme | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| UK (FCA) | Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) | £85,000 per person per firm |
| Cyprus / EU (CySEC) | Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) | 90% of the claim, up to €20,000 |
| Australia (ASIC) | No compensation scheme for CFD clients | Segregation rules only |
| Offshore (e.g. Mauritius, Seychelles, Vanuatu) | Usually none | Sometimes private insurance or an industry fund |
The UK raised its protection for bank deposits to £120,000 in December 2025. That higher limit is for bank accounts. Money held with an investment firm or broker is still covered up to £85,000.
Protection starts before the compensation scheme
The first line of defence is segregation: your money must sit in client accounts at a bank, kept apart from the broker’s own money. If the broker fails, segregated client money should be returned to clients rather than used to pay the broker’s debts. The compensation schemes exist for the cases where that money is missing, through fraud, poor record-keeping or a shortfall.
UK, EU and Australian rules all require segregation. Offshore rules vary a lot, and enforcement is weaker.
What no scheme covers
- Losses from trades that went against you
- Money lost because the market moved while the broker was closing down
- Bonuses or credit the broker added to your account
- Accounts opened with an unlicensed or cloned firm
What about “insured up to $1 million”?
Some brokers advertise private insurance on top of, or instead of, a statutory scheme. It can be real, but the terms decide everything: who the insurer is, which entity’s clients are covered, and how a claim is triggered. Read the policy document, not the banner. And remember it doesn’t replace the protections an FCA or CySEC licence gives you.
How to check your own account
Open your client agreement and find the company you contract with, then look it up on our broker profiles under “Which entity holds your money”. That tells you the regulator and, from the table above, the scheme that applies. If you want the stronger protection, choose a broker that will onboard you through its UK or EU entity. Our brokers by country page shows who serves where.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Most retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
