I’m pretty new to forex trading, maybe 3 months in, and I keep hearing about regulation being important when choosing a broker. But honestly, I don’t really understand what it actually does or why I should care.
Like, if a broker is regulated, does that mean my money is safe? Or is regulation just something they check off to look legitimate while my deposits are actually just sitting in a regular bank account somewhere?
With FP Markets and other brokers I’m looking at, I see they mention licensing and client protections a lot. But it’s hard to tell if that’s marketing language or if it actually means something when things go wrong.
I’m trying to be cautious because I don’t want to deposit with someone shady, but I also don’t want to overthink this. Is there a simple way to understand what regulation actually does for me as a trader? And should I be prioritizing regulation over other things like spreads or user interface when I’m picking my first broker?