Best New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) Regulated Brokers 2025
We’ve personally tested and ranked the top brokers regulated by the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA), ensuring high standards of trust and reliability.
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1BlackBull, based in New Zealand, is a CFD broker offering trading on over 26,000 instruments. After a 2023 rebrand, it now features a modern design with advanced trading tools and execution speeds averaging 20ms.
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Trust Platform Assets Fees Accounts Research Education Mobile Support 4.7 Established in 1989, CMC Markets is a reputable brokerage firm authorized by various top regulators such as the FCA, ASIC and CIRO, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. They boast a global client base of over 1 million traders and have received numerous awards. -
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Trust Platform Assets Fees Accounts Research Education Mobile Support 4.1 Plus500, founded in 2008 and based in Israel, is a leading brokerage with more than 25 million registered traders across 50+ countries. The company specializes in CFD trading, provides a user-friendly platform and mobile app, and offers competitive spreads. It does not impose commission, deposit, or withdrawal fees. Plus500 holds the trust of its traders by being licensed by well-known regulators such as FCA, ASIC, and CySEC. -
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Trust Platform Assets Fees Accounts Research Education Mobile Support 3.7 Founded in 2007, Axi is a forex and CFD broker regulated by multiple authorities. It has enhanced its trading experience by expanding stock offerings, upgrading the Axi Academy, and launching a copy trading app. -
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Trust Platform Assets Fees Accounts Research Education Mobile Support 3.4 TMGM is a broker supervised by ASIC, offering forex and CFD trading in a variety of markets such as stocks, indices, crypto, and commodities. Their account options offer a choice of either no commission or no spreads, with competitive rates overall.
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Safety Comparison
Compare how safe the Best New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) Regulated Brokers 2025 are.
Mobile Trading Comparison
Compare the mobile trading features of the Best New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) Regulated Brokers 2025.
Comparison for Beginners
Compare how suitable the Best New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) Regulated Brokers 2025 are for beginners.
Comparison for Advanced Traders
Compare how suitable the Best New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) Regulated Brokers 2025 are for advanced or professional traders.
Accounts Comparison
Compare the trading accounts offered by Best New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) Regulated Brokers 2025.
Detailed Rating Comparison
Compare how we rated the Best New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) Regulated Brokers 2025 in key areas.
Fee and Cost Comparison
Compare the cost of trading with the Best New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) Regulated Brokers 2025.
Broker Popularity
See how popular the Best New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) Regulated Brokers 2025 are in terms of number of clients.
Broker | Popularity |
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Plus500 |
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CMC Markets |
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Axi |
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Why Trade With BlackBull?
After upgrading its trading infrastructure with Equinix servers in New York, London, and Tokyo to reduce latency for traders, BlackBull is a top choice for trading stock CFDs with ECN pricing.
Pros
- BlackBull offers three ECN-powered accounts—Standard, Prime, and Institutional—catering to beginners, experienced traders, and professionals with flexibility for trading needs and capital requirements.
- After partnering with ZuluTrade and Myfxbook and improving its own CopyTrader, BlackBull provides a comprehensive trading experience.
- BlackBulls’s research is excellent, particularly the daily ‘Trading Opportunities’ articles, which make complex market movements easy to understand and help traders capitalize on new trends.
Cons
- Unlike most top brokers, BlackBull charges a $5 withdrawal fee, which can reduce cost-effectiveness, especially for active traders who often transfer funds.
- BlackBull doesn't have its own platform and uses MetaTrader, cTrader, and TradingView. Though these are excellent, other brokers' platforms, like eToro’s, often offer unique features for beginner traders.
- Despite having over 26,000 assets, including new Asia Pacific indices, the selection primarily consists of stocks, with an average range of currency pairs and indices.
Why Trade With CMC Markets?
CMC Markets offers a great online platform for traders. It has advanced charting tools and a wide variety of CFDs to trade, including a large selection of currencies and customized indices. It caters to traders at all levels.
Pros
- CMC Markets is strictly overseen by respected finance entities, helping to ensure safe and reliable trading. Its excellent reputation ensures a secure trading environment.
- The CMC web platform offers an excellent user experience, featuring advanced charting tools and customizable options for trading. It suits both beginners and experienced traders. It supports MT4 and will add TradingView in 2025.
- We upgraded its 'Assets & Markets' rating due to frequent product additions in early 2025, including extended hours trading on US stocks and new share CFDs.
Cons
- While the web platform has improved, it still needs more enhancements to be as user-friendly for trading as competitor software such as IG.
- Trading stock CFDs carries a comparatively high commission charge, particularly when contrasted with more affordable brokers such as IC Markets.
- CMC provides a commendable range of assets, but lacks support for actual stock trading and UK customers are unable to trade cryptocurrencies.
Why Trade With Plus500?
Plus500 provides a streamlined experience for traders through a modern and dynamic CFD trading platform. However, its research tools are limited, it charges higher fees compared to some brokers, and its educational resources can be improved.
Pros
- Plus500 recently expanded its trading products. This includes offering VIX options with increased volatility and extended trading hours for 7 stock CFDs.
- The broker provides free trading in different markets, which reduces extra costs and interests experienced traders.
- Plus500 offers a WebTrader platform specifically made for CFD trading. It presents a neat and straightforward interface.
Cons
- The absence of MetaTrader or cTrader charting tools in Plus500 might deter experienced traders who value familiarity.
- Without social trading, users cannot mimic the trading actions of experienced traders.
- The lack of educational resources adds a challenge for new traders, unlike top-tier brokers like eToro that offer extensive learning materials.
Why Trade With Axi?
Axi is an excellent choice for trading forex on the MetaTrader 4 platform. It offers over 70 currency pairs, the MT4 NextGen upgrade, and tight spreads from 0.2 pips with the Pro account.
Pros
- Advanced traders can now join the Axi Select funded trader program via the broker’s offshore entity, offering up to $1 million in funding with a 90% profit share.
- The expanding educational resources in the Axi Academy, including free eBooks, video tutorials, and interactive quizzes, effectively support beginner traders.
- Axi provides an excellent MT4 experience, enhanced with the NextGen plug-in for advanced order management and analytics, featuring low execution latency of about 30ms.
Cons
- Axi lags behind because it only provides MT4, while many competitors now offer MT5, cTrader, TradingView, and custom software for a smoother experience with better tools.
- Axi's support is not available 24/7, which can inconvenience traders in different time zones or those needing help outside regular trading hours, despite performing well when used.
- Even after expanding its stock CFDs in US, UK, and EU markets, it is far less extensive than firms like BlackBull, which offer thousands of equities for diverse opportunities.
Why Trade With TMGM?
TMGM is an excellent choice due to its wide variety of assets, various account options, multiple platform choices, and reasonable pricing. It's well-suited for trading and traders.
Pros
- The platform has top-tier support for MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and IRESS trading systems.
- HUBx provides copy trading support for new traders and those with limited time.
- Get a free VPS for automated trading.
Cons
- A $30 monthly fee applies to trading accounts that are either inactive for over 6 months or contain less than $500.
- Shares can only be traded on the IRESS account and are not tradeable through MT4 and MT5.
Filters
New Zealand’s Financial Market Regulation Changes
In 2011, New Zealand changed its approach to regulating the financial market to combat online trading scams. This reform introduced the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), which now enforces strict rules on trading platforms.
The Role of the FMA
The FMA plays a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of trading. This includes:
– Enforcing strict rules for brokers.
– Keeping a list of over 195 firms that are not registered.
– Taking legal action against those who break the rules – they fined Tiger Brokers $900,000.
– Issuing more than 600 warnings to online investors.
If you’re looking for reliable brokers controlled by New Zealand’s FMA, it’s essential to ensure they’re listed on the FMA’s Financial Services Register. We have personally verified that each recommended platform is authorized and safe to use.
Our Approach to Choosing Regulated Brokers
Our experts follow a thorough process to find the best brokers regulated in New Zealand:
– We use a directory to identify brokers claiming FMA authorization.
– We double-check their details on the FMA’s official register.
– We rate them based on 100+ detailed data points combined with our insights.
How to Verify a Broker’s FMA Regulation
You can easily confirm if a broker is regulated by the FMA. Just follow these steps:
1. Go to the FMA’s Financial Services Register.
2. Enter the broker’s name, FSP number, or NZBN number (often found on their website) and click ‘search’.
3. Click on the results to ensure their status is ‘Registered’ and view details like ‘Registration Date’ and ‘Financial Services’.
For instance, BlackBull Markets, which we have verified, is regulated by the FMA.
BlackBull Markets Overview
BlackBull Markets, based in New Zealand, stands out by offering over 26,000 different trading assets on advanced platforms. They provide fast execution speeds and attractive pricing options, which are ideal for traders.
FMA-Regulated Broker Requirements
The FMA insists that brokers follow several important rules, including:
– Holding at least NZ$1 million in capital, similar to EU standards.
– Participating in the Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS) to resolve trader disputes.
– Not offering leverage beyond 1:500, much higher than other countries.
– Keeping client money separate from company funds.
– Offering protection so traders cannot lose more than their deposits.
– Having an office and director in New Zealand.
– Conducting background checks from their New Zealand office.
– Registering as a Financial Services Provider (FSP).
If you encounter an illegal trading platform, you can report it directly through the FMA website.
FMA Powers and Actions
Brokers neglecting FMA rules face severe consequences. The Authority can:
– Issue public warnings about unregistered brokers and potential scams, like the 2024 warning against Prospero Markets.
– Impose fines and deregister those who don’t comply, such as the $900,000 fine to Tiger Brokers in 2023.
– Educate investors about trading risks and scams through social media and partnerships with groups like KiwiSaver.
Conclusion
New Zealand has strengthened its regulation of online brokers, and the FMA is now as stringent as global bodies like ASIC in Australia. It’s wise for New Zealanders to trade with FMA-regulated brokers to ensure trust and transparency. However, be aware that online trading always carries risks, including the loss of all your invested New Zealand Dollars.