Regulator profile · NL
AFM — Autoriteit Financiële Markten
Tracked byBrokerlist Editorial · Independent review teamUpdated
The Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM) is the Netherlands' conduct-of-business regulator for capital markets. AFM supervises asset managers, investment firms and conduct rules for retail forex and CFD providers operating in the Dutch market. De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) handles prudential supervision separately under the "twin peaks" model.
Brokers in Netherlands accepting residents under AFM- Jurisdiction
- Kingdom of the Netherlands.
- Founded
- 2002
- Mandate
- Established by the Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht, Wft) on 1 March 2002, replacing the previous STE (Stichting Toezicht Effectenverkeer). AFM enforces MiFID II/MiFIR via the Wft and AFM-specific market-conduct regulations; coordinates with DNB under the Dutch twin-peaks framework and with ESMA on EU standards.
- Consumer protection
- Banking deposit protection up to €100,000 per depositor via the Dutch Deposit Guarantee Scheme (DGS) administered by DNB. Investor protection up to €20,000 for securities held with insolvent investment firms via the Investor Compensation Scheme (Beleggerscompensatiestelsel). Negative balance protection mandatory for retail CFD clients under MiFID II.
- Retail leverage caps
- ESMA-aligned: 1:30 on major FX pairs, 1:20 on minors and gold, 1:10 on commodities and major indices, 1:5 on individual equities, 1:2 on crypto CFDs. The Netherlands was an early proponent of EU-wide leverage harmonisation; AFM enforces ESMA's permanent product-intervention measures domestically.
- Public register
- AFM maintains public registers of authorised investment firms, asset managers, CIF advisors and other regulated entities. Cross-reference DNB registers for banking and insurance authorisations. Open register ↗
- Dispute resolution
- Retail clients escalate to KiFiD (Klachteninstituut Financiële Dienstverlening) — the independent Dutch financial-services dispute-resolution institute. KiFiD awards are binding on member firms up to €1,000,000 under the standard arbitration agreement.
- Editor notes
- Dutch retail FX/CFD market is moderately developed; major international brokers operating in NL use CySEC EU passports or local AFM authorisation depending on operating model. AFM has been particularly active on crypto-CFD and unauthorised broker marketing, working with European peers via ESMA coordination on cross-border enforcement.
Brokers we track with a AFM licence
No brokersNo tracked broker currently holds a AFM licence in our database.