Best New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) Regulated Brokers 2026

How BrokerListings.com Chose The Top FMA Brokers

To identify the best FMA-regulated brokers in New Zealand, we took a hands-on approach:

• Our team cross-referenced broker claims with the official Financial Markets Authority (FMA) register to verify the validity of licenses.
• From there, we filtered the list using our in-house ratings, applying both 200+ data-driven metrics and testing insight to rank platforms that meet our standards.

What Is The FMA?

Established in 2011, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) is New Zealand’s official financial services regulator, overseeing online brokers
and other financial market participants.

It’s widely regarded as one of the most reputable authorities on the planet, and has secured Category A status under BrokerListings’ broker regulator classification system.

According to its website, the FMA (known as Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko in Maori) is committed “to promoting and facilitating fair, efficient, and transparent financial markets, characterized by fair access, suitable products, quality advice, transparent actions and integrity.”

Following a series of major failures in the financial services sector – brought about during the Great Financial Crisis – the FMA was created to replace the Securities Commission during the early 2010s.

The FMA issues licenses for financial services companies, such as trading brokers, to ensure they act responsibly and with their customers’ best interests at heart. It also acts in a supervisory capacity and takes enforcement action when it deems necessary.

What Powers Does The FMA Have?

If brokers are found to have breached regulations, the FMA can take a range of actions, from issuing fines to revoking financial services providers’ trading licenses.

It can choose to take informal measures “where such action is proportionate to the misconduct and will achieve an appropriate market outcome.” But it can choose to pursue a stronger recourse when the law is broken and minimum standards are not upheld.

Furthermore, the FMA can pursue regulatory action even if no ‘rules’ have actually been broken.

Examples include:

• In September 2024, the FMA cancelled Rockfort Markets’ derivatives issuer (DI) license after deeming it had contravened eight of its license obligations. These included “a failure to maintain adequate and effective systems, policies, processes, and controls to ensure compliance with its obligations under the standard conditions of its license,” and failing to remove false or misleading advertising from its website.
• In June 2023, the FMA issued a $900,000 fine to Tiger Brokers for breaching the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act. The regulator alleged four counts of improper conduct, including failure to conduct customer due diligence and failing to report suspicious activities.

Pro tip: The regulator provides updates of enforcement action it’s carried out on its website.

What Rules Must An FMA Broker Follow?

The obligations that licensed brokers must abide by are helpfully provided in a comprehensive guidance note first published in 2014.

Under New Zealand’s Financial Advisers Act 2008, brokers are broadly defined as “a financial services provider who holds or deals with client money or property on behalf of clients.” This includes stock brokers, financial advisers and portfolio administration services providers.

The document outlines a wide range of broker requirements, including the need to:

• Demonstrate care, skill and diligence when dealing with retail investors.
• Keep adequate records of client assets.
• Only use or apply client money or property in a way as expressly directed by the customer.
• Avoid deceptive or misleading practices.

More specifically, some of the FMA’s requirements are that brokers must:

• Belong to one of four dispute resolution schemes approved by the New Zealand government’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
• Meet minimum capital requirements (usually NZD$1 million).
• Have at least one director, and if there are several, at least one of them must be a New Zealand resident.
• Process Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and customer identity documents from New Zealand.

How Can I Check If A Brokerage Is FMA Regulated?

The Financial Service Providers Register is an online resource operated by the New Zealand Companies Office. It provides a comprehensive list of all companies licensed by the FMA, as well as those approved by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), such as banks and insurance companies.

The Financial Service Providers Register on the New Zealand Companies Office website

To search the register for a broker, simply punch in the company’s name, or a more familiar name under which it trades. Alternatively, you can use the brokerage’s Financial Services Provider (FSP) number or New Zealand Business Number (NZBN).

Under FMA rules, brokers are provided with an FSP number that they must include in key documents (like client agreements and onboarding forms) along with advertising and promotional materials for licensed services.

Individuals can also use an advanced search facility to narrow down results. For instance, by filtering for FSPs that are registered between specific dates, or for the financial services that firms are licensed to provide.

Once the result appears, individuals can see details like when the broker became FMA licensed, their business address and registered office, and the financial services that they are permitted to provide.

My search showing IG on the Financial Service Providers Register

Pro tip: The FMA also provides its own digital warnings and alerts list containing the names of known bad actors that traders should be on the lookout for.

The regulator publishes a list of unregistered companies it suspects of providing financial services without a license as well.

Bottom Line

The FMA has transformed oversight of New Zealand’s financial markets since its introduction more than a decade ago, providing traders with strong protections from rogue operators.

It’s essential that individuals, especially those in New Zealand, use a regulated brokerage that’s licensed to trade by the authority. Failure to do so could put their capital and their personal data in jeopardy.

Article Sources

Financial Markets Authority (FMA)

Enforcement Activity – FMA

Forex license in New Zealand – Lawrange

Choosing a dispute resolution scheme (DRS) – New Zealand Companies Office

Guidance Note: Broker Obligations – FMA

Financial Service Providers Register – New Zealand Companies Office

Warnings And Alerts – FMA

Unregistered Businesses – FMA