Is ACY Securities Safe in 2026? The Honest ASIC Verdict
By Ken Chigbo, founder of KenMacro, 2026-05-27. Honest broker verdict, no affiliate to ACY Securities. Educational only, not financial advice.
Verdict: credible ASIC-regulated retail broker, mid-tier brand, real raw-spread option. ACY Securities has operated under ASIC since 2011 with a clean enforcement record on the regulated entity. The ProZero raw account is competitive with Pepperstone Razor and only fractionally behind IC Markets cTrader Raw. International flow routes to Bahamas and Vanuatu offshore entities where the protections drop sharply, which is standard for this tier of broker but worth being explicit about. For Australian retail traders, this is a credible second-tier alternative to IC Markets / Pepperstone, especially at smaller account sizes.
The entity stack , ASIC plus offshore
ACY Securities runs ASIC-regulated retail for Australia plus offshore entities for the rest of world. There’s no FCA or CySEC tier in the stack. Which entity your account paper lands with is decided by your country of residence.
The pattern matches what the desk has consistently flagged on Vantage, Admirals, and the rest of the multi-entity stack: brand is one thing, entity is another. “ACY is ASIC-regulated” is accurate strictly for ACY Capital Australia Ltd accepting Australian residents. Everyone outside that geography routes to one of the offshore entities.
Free macro framework
Reading the macro? Get the framework behind it.
The free regime-first framework the desk uses to read every session. No fluff, straight to your inbox.
Free
The KenMacro Framework
A broker is only as good as the framework you bring to it. The desk’s regime-first read of every tape, free.
What ACY does well
Real ASIC track record. Operating under ASIC since 2011 with no major regulator-action history is a solid signal in retail forex. Many mid-tier brokers have had at least one published action; ACY has not at the time of writing.
Competitive raw spreads. The ProZero account is genuinely competitive with the Pepperstone Razor and IC Markets cTrader Raw price-point on EUR/USD intraday. Small absolute difference, real across volume.
Low entry friction on ASIC. USD 50 minimum on the standard account is notably low for an ASIC-regulated broker; the regulated bracket usually sits at USD 100-200. ACY pushes the entry threshold lower without abandoning the Tier-1 oversight.
Clean platform stack. MT4 and MT5 with no excess clutter. AutoChartist and PsyQuation-style overlays exist via integration but they’re not pushed aggressively. Trader-friendly UX without the social-trading carousel marketing.
Where ACY loses ground
No FCA entity. For UK traders specifically wanting FSCS depositor protection, ACY is not the answer. ASIC oversight is real but the entity does not accept UK retail clients on UK regulatory terms.
Brand awareness sits below the top tier. ACY does not have the trader-community recognition of IC Markets, Pepperstone, or Vantage. That doesn’t matter from a safety perspective (ASIC is ASIC), but it does mean smaller third-party tool integrations, fewer copy-trading bridges, and less network-effect on signal providers.
Offshore entity exposure is real. International clients route to Bahamas or Vanuatu where the protection picture is much thinner. If you’re not Australian-resident, the ACY product you actually get is meaningfully different from the ASIC-regulated AU product.
US traders excluded. Standard NFA / CFTC blocker.
The desk’s broker stack
The eight brokers KenMacro approves
If you’re shopping for a broker today, this is the curated short-list the desk runs. Each one disclosed by regulatory tier, account spreads, and which trader profile it actually fits.
The desk’s read on safety, specifically
ACY Capital Australia Ltd under ASIC: full Australian retail-broker protection regime. Client funds in segregated trust accounts at Australian banks, AFCA dispute resolution path, ASIC product intervention rules. Solid by any measure.
ACY’s offshore entities: meaningfully weaker. Bahamas SCB and Vanuatu VFSC are recognised regulators in absolute terms, but the enforcement track record on retail forex broker insolvencies is thin compared to ASIC or FCA. Recovery on a disputed withdrawal or operator failure is materially harder. The standing desk rule applies.
Best-for / not-for
Best for: Australian retail traders wanting ASIC protection with low entry friction and competitive raw spreads; traders shopping the IC Markets / Pepperstone / Vantage / ACY bracket on AU regulator terms; mid-volume retail who want a no-marketing-fluff platform stack.
Not for: UK traders wanting FSCS cover; cTrader-specific users (MT4 / MT5 only); US-resident traders (excluded); copy-traders who need a deep social ecosystem; anyone non-AU treating ACY as the same product their ASIC-Australian peers see (the offshore-tier version is materially different).
Related KenMacro broker work
- Pepperstone vs IC Markets: the desk’s honest Aussie raw-spread comparison
- Best forex brokers 2026: the eight the desk actually trades
- Is Admirals safe in 2026? Honest verdict + alternatives
- Is Axi safe in 2026? Honest verdict on the MT4-first broker
- FCA-regulated vs offshore brokers: the honest UK trader trade-off
- How to choose a forex broker in 2026 (the desk’s checklist)
Frequently asked questions
Is ACY Securities ASIC-regulated?
Yes. The primary retail entity is ACY Capital Australia Ltd, holding ASIC AFSL 403863. That entity accepts Australian residents and offers the standard ASIC consumer protections: client-money segregation, negative-balance protection, the 1:30 retail leverage cap, and AFCA dispute resolution. International clients route to non-ASIC entities (Bahamas / Vanuatu / St Vincent depending on jurisdiction), where the protections are materially weaker.
What does ASIC cover get me with ACY?
If you’re an Australian resident on ACY Capital Australia Ltd, you get ASIC client-money rules requiring segregation from operational funds, negative-balance protection, AFCA dispute mediation, and the 1:30 retail leverage cap from ASIC’s 2021 product intervention. None of those apply to the offshore entities; AU traders should verify they’re being signed onto the AFSL entity specifically.
How do ACY’s raw spreads compare to IC Markets and Pepperstone?
ACY’s ProZero account offers raw ECN-style spreads with per-lot commission, in the same product bracket as IC Markets cTrader Raw and Pepperstone Razor. The desk’s measured difference on EUR/USD intraday is small. IC Markets cTrader Raw remains marginally tighter under the desk’s measurements; ACY’s ProZero is roughly comparable to Pepperstone Razor on the AU entity. For pure scalp-grade execution, IC Markets cTrader is still the desk’s default.
What’s the minimum deposit on ACY Securities?
USD 50 on the Standard account, higher on the ProZero raw account. Among the lower minimums in the ASIC-regulated bracket. Verify on ACY’s current account-types page before funding.
Does ACY offer cTrader or only MetaTrader?
ACY is MetaTrader-led: MT4 and MT5 are the primary retail platforms. cTrader has been signalled at various points but has not been the focal platform. Verify the current platform list on the live ACY site if cTrader is critical to your strategy.
Can US clients trade with ACY?
No. ACY does not accept US-resident clients due to NFA registration requirements. US traders need NFA-registered brokers.
Is the Bahamas / Vanuatu offshore entity safe?
Both Bahamas Securities Commission and the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission are recognised regulators but the consumer-protection regime is materially thinner than ASIC. Client-money rules exist on paper, leverage caps go up to 1:500, but recourse on a disputed withdrawal or insolvency event is significantly harder. The standing desk rule applies: treat the offshore account as the maximum-loss tier, do not size up because the leverage cap is higher.
Has ACY had any major regulatory issues?
The ASIC entity has a clean enforcement record at the time of writing, with no major published actions against ACY Capital Australia Ltd. The broker has operated under ASIC since 2011. The desk would call that clean for the regulated entity, with the standard caveat about past versus future behaviour, and that the offshore entities run under materially weaker oversight.
Primary sources
For information and education only, not financial advice. CFDs and spread bets are leveraged products; most retail accounts lose money. KenMacro maintains affiliate relationships with several brokers, listed in our broker hub. ACY Securities is not currently one of them. This review is editorial only.
From the desk, free
Get the macro framework the desk actually trades
The same regime-first framework behind every call on this site, plus the weekly macro brief. Free. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Continue reading