BrokerSafari Evidence Score
This is an evidence-based editorial calculation, not a guarantee of safety, an account test or an investment recommendation. It uses only the structured research recorded for this broker, never another website’s rating.
| BrokerSafari Evidence Score | 8.2 / 10 — Strong |
|---|---|
| Evidence confidence | medium |
| Evidence coverage | 81% |
| Assessed quality score | 8.2 / 10 |
| Evidence-gap penalty | 0.0 |
| Score before caps | 8.2 / 10 |
| Calculated score after caps | 8.2 / 10 |
| Regulation & Legal Entity | Weight 30%; coverage 66.7% (2/3 inputs). Quality 8.3 / 10; 24.9 / 30 weighted points before normalization and penalties. |
|---|---|
| Safety & Client Protection | Weight 20%; coverage 75% (3/4 inputs). Quality 8.0 / 10; 16 / 20 weighted points before normalization and penalties. |
| Transparency | Weight 15%; coverage 100% (4/4 inputs). Quality 8.6 / 10; 12.9 / 15 weighted points before normalization and penalties. |
| Fees & Trading Costs | Weight 10%; coverage 100% (4/4 inputs). Quality 8.6 / 10; 8.6 / 10 weighted points before normalization and penalties. |
| Deposits & Withdrawals | Weight 10%; coverage 60% (3/5 inputs). Quality 7.5 / 10; 7.5 / 10 weighted points before normalization and penalties. |
| Trading Platform & Products | Weight 10%; coverage 100% (4/4 inputs). Quality 7.9 / 10; 7.9 / 10 weighted points before normalization and penalties. |
| Track Record & Independent Evidence | Weight 5%; coverage 100% (2/2 inputs). Quality 8.5 / 10; 4.3 / 5 weighted points before normalization and penalties. |
Quality uses only assessable inputs. Entirely unassessed categories are excluded and remaining category weights are normalized; missing evidence is not zero quality. Coverage separately measures assessed input weight out of 100%. A gap penalty of 0.0, 0.3, 0.7 or 1.2 is applied before regulatory caps. Source strength affects confidence, not a direct multiplication of the quality score.
Rating cap
None.
Why this score?
Verified strengths
- Regulation & Legal Entity — Account-serving legal entity: partially verified. Partial verification only; unresolved scope remains an evidence gap.
- Regulation & Legal Entity — Relevant financial regulation: partially verified. Only the documented relevant entity/permission is verified, not every group licence or account.
- Trading Platform & Products — Platform identity and clarity: partially verified. Partial verification only; unresolved scope remains an evidence gap.
Provider-disclosed evidence
- Safety & Client Protection — Client-money segregation: disclosed.
- Safety & Client Protection — Negative-balance protection: partial. Conditional protection is disclosed; account-specific independent verification is not established.
- Safety & Client Protection — Investor-protection coverage: partial. Partial coverage is disclosed; independent account eligibility is not established.
- Transparency — Company transparency: high.
- Transparency — Legal-document transparency: high.
- Transparency — Regulatory-disclosure transparency: high.
- Transparency — Contact transparency: medium.
- Fees & Trading Costs — Spread transparency: high.
- Fees & Trading Costs — Commission transparency: high.
- Fees & Trading Costs — Overnight-fee transparency: high.
- Fees & Trading Costs — Live trading-cost testing/corroboration: provider disclosed only.
- Deposits & Withdrawals — Deposit and withdrawal fee transparency: medium.
- Deposits & Withdrawals — Payment-method transparency: medium.
- Deposits & Withdrawals — Withdrawal-term transparency: medium.
- Trading Platform & Products — Mobile availability: disclosed.
- Trading Platform & Products — Trading-product transparency: medium.
- Trading Platform & Products — Platform testing: provider disclosed only.
- Track Record & Independent Evidence — Operating history: long.
Supplementary independent evidence
- Track Record & Independent Evidence — Independent-source documentation: medium.
Evidence gaps
- Regulation & Legal Entity — Regulatory warnings and enforcement: unassessed.
- Safety & Client Protection — Security controls: unassessed.
- Deposits & Withdrawals — Independent withdrawal testing/corroboration: unassessed.
- Deposits & Withdrawals — Verified withdrawal findings: unassessed.
- A relevant entity/regulator relationship is verified; other group licences and account-specific coverage remain unresolved.
Verified concerns
No verified adverse finding is recorded in these inputs. This is not a clean bill of health or continuous monitoring.
Broker Overview
CMC Markets is a financial-services group whose UK pages describe CFD trading, spread betting and investment services. The FCA register identifies CMC Markets UK plc under FRN 173730. CMC’s legal pages also name CMC Markets Investments Limited and CMC Spreadbet plc, reflecting different services and legal contracts.
It is important not to treat a share CFD, a spread bet and a direct share investment as the same product. They can differ in ownership, leverage, tax, custody, pricing and client protections. The account’s legal company and the instrument terms determine the applicable arrangement.
CMC’s public pages describe a proprietary web and mobile platform and market access. They also disclose spread, commission, overnight and other possible charges. This review does not validate availability, test execution or estimate an individual’s trading costs.
Source: CMC Markets UK — legal documents · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — investment legal documents · Last Checked:
Regulation
The FCA register lists CMC Markets UK plc, FRN 173730, and company number 02448409. It notes that authorization covers specific activities and products. CMC’s UK legal documents separately identify CMC Markets Investments Limited (FRN 948126) and CMC Spreadbet plc (FRN 170627). These companies should be matched to the product and agreement being considered.
The FCA record for CMC Markets UK plc is the regulator-verified relationship in this review. The other entities are also listed by CMC in legal documents, but this review does not treat that provider text alone as a fresh independent permission check.
We did not perform a complete cross-jurisdiction warning or enforcement search. The warning field remains unknown; it should not be read as a clean-history conclusion.
Source: FCA — CMC Markets UK plc · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — UK legal entity information · Last Checked:
Legal Entities
CMC’s company disclosures assign distinct services to separate UK legal entities. The main FCA register record below is for CMC Markets UK plc. Investment and spread-betting customers should inspect the corresponding company record and agreement rather than assuming the same firm provides every service.
| CMC Markets UK plc | United Kingdom. Matched to FCA FRN 173730; company number 02448409. |
|---|---|
| CMC Markets Investments Limited | United Kingdom. CMC’s legal documents disclose FCA FRN 948126 and company number 12816952; not separately verified in this review. |
| CMC Spreadbet plc | United Kingdom. CMC discloses FCA FRN 170627 and company number 02589529; separate entity and service. |
Source: CMC Markets — legal documents · Last Checked:
Source: FCA — CMC Markets UK plc · Last Checked:
License Information
CMC Markets UK plc
Authority: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (United Kingdom). Licence identifier: FRN 173730.
Evidence status: The FCA register lists CMC Markets UK plc under reference 173730 and company number 02448409. It states that the firm is authorised for specific activities and products.
Source: FCA Financial Services Register — CMC Markets UK plc · Last Checked:
FRN 173730 belongs to CMC Markets UK plc. CMC’s legal page gives other reference numbers for separate firms. Before relying on protection or a complaint route, check that the entity name on the account matches the relevant FCA register entry and that the service is within scope.
Company Information
| Brand | CMC Markets. |
|---|---|
| FCA-verified entity | CMC Markets UK plc. |
| Company number | 02448409. |
| Other UK entities | CMC Markets Investments Limited and CMC Spreadbet plc are disclosed by the provider. |
| Public-market status / group finances | CMC Markets plc is publicly listed; this page is not a financial-statement or solvency analysis. |
Source: FCA — company record · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — legal information · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — company history · Last Checked:
Trading Platforms
CMC Markets’ official UK pages describe its web trading platform and mobile applications. The company also publishes information about additional tools and platform options. The exact platform and feature set can depend on whether the customer uses CFD, spread betting, investment or another service.
We did not install the app, test chart updates, order entry, risk tools, price alerts, mobile accessibility or platform uptime. A page advertising a product does not establish that every account type will be eligible to use it. Confirm platform access and any market-data subscriptions in the account terms.
Source: CMC Markets UK — platform information · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets UK — products and markets · Last Checked:
Trading Products
CMC Markets’ UK website describes CFDs and spread betting, while its investment pages cover direct share and ETF investment. Some product pages advertise thousands of instruments, but catalogues and eligibility vary by region and service. The exact legal entity and dealing model should be confirmed before comparing performance or costs.
CFDs and spread bets are leveraged products; direct investment in shares and ETFs is not the same as derivative exposure. Product disclosures should explain margin, ownership, corporate actions, dividends, financing, tax treatment and risk. This review does not assert that every instrument or feature is available to every reader.
Source: CMC Markets UK — markets and products · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — investment service terms · Last Checked:
Trading Conditions
| CFD provider | CMC Markets UK plc, according to CMC’s UK legal disclosures. |
|---|---|
| Spread betting | CMC Spreadbet plc is identified for spread-betting services; local eligibility applies. |
| Investment services | CMC Markets Investments Limited is identified for investment products. |
| FX Active pricing | CMC advertises minimum spreads on selected major FX pairs plus a separate commission; check current terms. |
| Overnight funding | May apply to leveraged positions held overnight; rates and timing vary by market. |
| Execution | No independent test of fills, latency or slippage was performed. |
For a fair comparison, calculate the spread and commission together and include overnight charges, currency conversion and any platform or market-data fees. A direct share purchase should not be compared to the financing cost of a leveraged CFD as though both products carry the same risks.
Source: CMC Markets — charges FAQ · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — UK entity information · Last Checked:
Fees
CMC’s UK cost information describes spreads and overnight holding costs for CFDs and spread bets. Share and ETF CFDs can involve commission; CMC’s charges FAQ gives example rates and minimums for certain regions and instruments. These details should be checked against the instrument schedule because the rate may vary by market, currency and entity.
CMC also publishes a commission-based FX Active structure for selected currency pairs. A minimum spread from 0.0 is not a guaranteed trading spread, and the separate commission must be included in the total. Direct investing may have different commission, FX conversion or market-data charges than CFD trading.
This review did not monitor live prices or calculate a sample trade. We do not claim that CMC is cheaper or more expensive than a competitor. The order preview and current account fee schedule are the relevant source for a specific transaction.
Source: CMC Markets — charges FAQ · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — product and fee information · Last Checked:
Deposit & Withdrawal
CMC’s important-information pages describe deposits and withdrawals through customer accounts, with available methods depending on location. The provider states that deposits should be made from an account in the trading-account holder’s name and that third-party deposits are not accepted. Cash deposits are not supported according to the cited page.
The full set of methods may require logging in. Confirm payment limits, bank processing time, currency conversion, returned-payment policy and withdrawal verification steps before funding. Intermediary charges can be separate from CMC’s charges. These rules should not be assumed to apply identically to CMC companies in other countries.
We did not initiate a payment or withdrawal and have no independent evidence of processing speed or success rate.
Source: CMC Markets — funding and withdrawal information · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — regional legal terms · Last Checked:
Research Summary
Sources reviewed include the FCA record for CMC Markets UK plc, CMC’s UK legal and investment documents, its charges FAQ, market catalogue and platform information. The entity split is important: the FCA record does not automatically cover the investment or spread-betting company.
The review is not based on live account use. It does not verify order execution, platform uptime, withdrawal processing or the availability of each market. Published fee pages are provider disclosures, and their stated minima should not be read as typical costs.
The Evidence Score is generated from structured facts recorded on this page. It does not use an outside broker score and does not make a personal suitability recommendation.
Source: FCA — primary firm record · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — published cost information · Last Checked:
Safety / Regulation Analysis
The FCA register confirms the named record for CMC Markets UK plc. CMC’s own legal documents identify separate companies for investment and spread-betting services. Customers should match the contract to the entity and regulator, and verify the permission and compensation eligibility for the specific service.
CMC’s UK CFD page describes segregated client funds, retail negative-balance protection and FSCS eligibility subject to the scheme rules. The page concerns eligible UK CFD customers; other products, client categories and international entities may have different protection. We did not independently audit custody or account balances, and compensation does not cover ordinary market losses.
No comprehensive enforcement or warning review was completed; the score input for warnings remains unknown. The page does not imply either a clear record or a current issue.
CFDs and spread bets can magnify losses through leverage. Direct shares and ETFs carry market risk. This page is general educational research, not financial or tax advice.
Source: FCA — CMC Markets UK plc · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — terms and protections · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets UK — CFD and client-protection information · Last Checked:
What We Could Verify
The FCA register lists CMC Markets UK plc under FRN 173730 and company number 02448409. CMC’s UK legal pages disclose separate entities for investment and spread-betting products. Its cost FAQ documents several applicable fee categories.
We did not independently confirm the other two firms’ live register status in this review or determine which company would serve a particular applicant.
Information Still Unclear
- Which UK or international company would provide a specific reader’s product.
- The current all-in cost for a particular instrument and holding period.
- Live execution, platform stability, support and withdrawal performance.
- The full current regulatory history and account-protection eligibility for each group entity.
Evidence Reviewed
Sources were checked on 20 October 2026. The checked date is a source snapshot, not ongoing monitoring.
Source: FCA — CMC Markets UK plc · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — legal documents · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — charges · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — markets · Last Checked:
Source: CMC Markets — funding information · Last Checked:
How to Continue Your Research
FAQ
The FCA register lists CMC Markets UK plc under FRN 173730. CMC’s UK legal pages identify separate companies for investment and spread-betting services. Confirm the entity that provides your product and check that firm’s permissions.