Jurisdiction alone does not decide which account is suitable.
General informationSources and dates included
Record scope before making comparisons
CMA is the federal authority referred to in current materials; older search results use SCA. DFSA regulates financial services in or from DIFC, while FSRA is ADGM’s financial-services regulator. Use the current official register for each.
Compare the same activity and customer class
For each account, record dealing versus arranging permission, retail conditions, client-money arrangements and any restrictions. A difference in licence scope is not resolved by choosing the most familiar acronym.
Do not import protections across entities
A group’s overseas compensation scheme or leverage rule may not apply to your account. Obtain the agreement and relevant rules before publishing a numerical comparison of protections. This page is an evidence checklist, not a legal conclusion that one regime is universally safer.
Compare two permissions without inventing a safety score
Consider two hypothetical records. Company A can introduce clients; Company B has a specified dealing permission and a retail endorsement. The first question is which company will issue the account. Comparing just the regulator names misses that difference.
Create a row for the issuer, one for the introducer and one for any custodian. Record the relevant register, activity, restrictions and source date for each. Put “not established” where the agreement does not supply an answer. Do not turn a blank field into a negative finding or use a group’s overseas licence as a substitute for the issuer’s record.
