FMA
Financial Markets Act
Regulates South African securities markets including licensed exchanges, central securities depositories, clearing houses, and trade repositories, and prohibits insider trading and other market abuse.
Sections
3
Duties
3
Questions
4
Assessment from
R 80 000
What it covers
The Financial Markets Act 19 of 2012 (FMA) governs the regulation of securities markets in South Africa, replacing the earlier Securities Services Act. It provides for the licensing and supervision of market infrastructures — licensed exchanges (such as the JSE and A2X), central securities depositories (CSDs, such as Strate), clearing houses, and trade repositories for over-the-counter derivatives — each subject to specific governance, capital adequacy, and operational resilience requirements given their systemic importance to market integrity. The FMA also regulates authorised users (stockbroking firms) and approved nominees, and prescribes detailed rules on securities lending, short selling, and the safekeeping of client assets. Critically, the Act creates the offences of insider trading and market manipulation under its market abuse provisions — prohibiting any person from dealing in securities while in possession of inside information, or from engaging in conduct (false or misleading statements, price manipulation, wash trades) that creates a false or misleading impression of trading activity or price. These market abuse provisions apply broadly — not only to market infrastructure participants but to any director, employee, or connected person of a listed company who may come into possession of price-sensitive information through their role. The FSCA's Market Abuse Directorate has significant investigative powers, and FMA enforcement frequently results in some of the largest administrative penalties imposed under South African financial sector legislation.
Does this apply to you?
It applies if
- Your organisation operates or seeks to operate a licensed exchange, central securities depository, clearing house, or trade repository
- Your organisation is an authorised user (stockbroking firm) or approved nominee dealing in listed securities
- Your organisation's directors, employees, or connected persons may come into possession of inside information about a listed company through their role (this applies broadly across virtually any organisation with a listed parent, subsidiary, or significant shareholding)
- Your organisation engages in securities lending, short selling, or derivatives trading subject to trade reporting requirements
Thresholds that change what's required
- Market infrastructure licensing thresholds and requirements are specific to each category (exchange, CSD, clearing house, trade repository) and assessed by the FSCA on application
- Market abuse provisions (insider trading, market manipulation) apply without any size or transaction value threshold — a single instance of trading on inside information is a complete offence regardless of the rand value involved
Exemptions
- Certain specified categories of market making and liquidity provision activity may have specific safe harbour provisions under the market abuse rules, subject to strict conditions
- Private, unlisted company share transactions generally fall outside FMA's securities market regulation, though connected persons to a listed entity remain subject to market abuse provisions regardless
What non-compliance costs
Maximum fine
R 50 000 000
Imprisonment
Up to 10 years for insider trading or market manipulation offences
Civil exposure
The FSCA may impose administrative penalties (among the largest in South African financial regulation, with cases involving penalties well into the tens of millions of Rand), and affected investors may pursue civil claims for losses caused by market abuse
Reputational
FSCA market abuse enforcement actions are extensively covered in financial media; a finding against an individual typically ends their career in the securities industry given mandatory disclosure obligations to current and future employers in regulated roles
What the assessment covers
The assessment works through 4 questions across 3 duties, scored out of 53. Each answer generates the specific actions needed to close or prove that duty — and a “yes” only counts once its evidence is in, which is what makes the score defensible rather than self-declared.
The questions themselves are part of the assessment.
Find out where you stand on FMA
Run the assessment, get your score, and get the exact list of what to fix — with the evidence trail an auditor will ask for.