Financial regulators are government agencies that monitor and enforce laws related to financial services. They typically regulate the banking, insurance, securities, derivatives and other financial markets in order to protect consumers from fraud or abuse.
The purpose of a regulator is twofold: firstly, they ensure that firms offering products and services comply with relevant regulations; secondly, they provide industry guidance on best practices for mitigating risk when conducting business transactions.
A primary function of a regulator is to maintain market stability by ensuring fair competition between participants in secondary markets such as stock exchanges. This helps prevent price manipulation or insider trading which can cause significant economic losses in the long term if not regulated properly. Regulators also act as an advisory body for investors by providing education about investment risks associated with different types of assets like stocks or cryptocurrencies.
In most countries there exists at least one agency responsible for overseeing all aspects of finance-related activities within their jurisdiction – these are termed ‘financial supervisors’ or ‘supervisory authorities’ depending on the region you live in (e.g., The Financial Conduct Authority [FCA] oversees regulation across United Kingdom). Supervisors have wide ranging powers including setting rules governing how companies must conduct themselves during sales processes (e.g., product disclosure statements) as well as being able to impose fines / sanctions should any be deemed necessary against those who fail meet required standards set out by legislation passed down through parliament/congress etc.. Additionally many will offer consumer protection schemes designed specifically help people affected adversely due fraudulent behaviour i
