Investor Compensation Schemes Compared: FSCS, ICF, CIPF and More
What happens to your money if a regulated broker fails? A comparison of statutory compensation limits by country.
Compensation schemes are a last line of defence. They pay out when an authorised firm has failed and cannot return client money or assets — typically because of fraud, poor record-keeping or a shortfall in segregated funds. They do not cover trading losses. Limits vary widely.
| Country | Scheme | Typical investor limit |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | FSCS | £85,000 |
| Spain | FOGAIN | €100,000 |
| France | FGDR (investor guarantee) | €70,000 |
| Greece | Synegiko | €30,000 |
| Portugal | SII | €25,000 |
| Poland / Lithuania | National schemes | about €22,000 |
| Cyprus | ICF | €20,000 |
| Germany | EdW | 90% up to €20,000 |
| Ireland | ICCL | 90% up to €20,000 |
| Canada | CIPF | CAD 1,000,000 per account category |
| Switzerland | esisuisse (bank deposits) | CHF 100,000 |
| Australia, US (spot FX), Singapore, South Africa, UAE | — | No statutory scheme for retail FX/CFDs |
Figures are headline maximums; each scheme has eligibility rules, and several cover only a percentage of the loss. Always check the scheme's own website.
Compensation versus segregation
In most broker failures, clients are repaid mainly from segregated client money, not from a compensation fund. That is why the quality of client-money rules — trust accounts, daily reconciliations, audits — matters even in countries without compensation schemes. Australia and Japan, for example, have no retail FX compensation fund but strict trust-account rules. See our guide to segregated client funds.
Private insurance
Some brokers advertise additional private insurance, for example through Lloyd's of London syndicates, covering amounts above the statutory scheme. These policies can be useful but come with conditions and aggregate limits; read the terms rather than relying on the headline figure.
Dispute-resolution funds
The Financial Commission runs a compensation fund of up to €20,000 per award for disputes with member brokers. This is not a statutory scheme and only applies to its own dispute process, but it can help clients of offshore brokers.