How to Check If an Investment Company Is Licensed
Before investing, check the firm and adviser on your financial regulator's register and warning lists. Where to look in the US, UK, Ghana, Nigeria, India, Australia and beyond.
Almost every investment scam could be avoided by one check: is this firm, and this person, authorised by the financial regulator? It takes a few minutes and costs nothing.
Where to check
| Country | Where to look |
|---|---|
| United States | FINRA BrokerCheck and the SEC's Investor.gov. |
| United Kingdom | The FCA's Financial Services Register and its warning list, via ScamSmart. |
| Australia | ASIC's registers. |
| India | SEBI's lists of registered intermediaries. |
| Ghana | The Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana. |
| Nigeria | The Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria. |
| Elsewhere | Your country's securities regulator or central bank. |
How to check properly
- Get the firm's full legal name and registration number.
- Search it on the regulator's own website.
- Check the individual adviser too, not just the firm.
- Check the regulator's warning list for the firm's name and website.
- Contact the firm using details from the register. See the clone firm warning below.
Clone firms copy real names. A perfect match on the register means nothing if the person contacting you is not really from that firm.
Related: "guaranteed returns" and reporting to regulators. For more, see investment scams.
Frequently asked questions
What if the firm is registered in another country?
Check that country's regulator too, and whether the firm is allowed to offer services where you live. Many scams claim overseas registration.
The firm showed me a licence certificate. Is that enough?
No. Certificates can be forged. Check the regulator's own register directly.
What is a clone firm?
A scam that copies the name and details of a real registered firm. Contact the firm using details from the register, not from the person who approached you.
Sources
- BrokerCheck, FINRA
- Financial Services Register, UK Financial Conduct Authority
- ScamSmart, UK Financial Conduct Authority
- Search ASIC registers, Australian Securities and Investments Commission
- Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI
