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Reviews By Richard Berry - Updated
Direct Market Access (DMA) brokers give traders direct market access to exchange order books for better pricing and execution of futures, options and CFDs.
| Name | Logo | DMA Markets | Min Deposit | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews | CTA | Feature | Expand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | DMA Markets 20,000 | Min Deposit $2,000 | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews | Visit Platform 59.7% of retail investor accounts lose money | DMA Account Types:
| Interactive Brokers has one of the best DMA offerings for professional tradersAccount: IBKR DMA Description: IBKR offers direct market access to 30+ market centres with low commissions from USD 0.25 to 0.85 per contract and a trading platform with advanced order execution types and futures tools. Is Interactive Brokers good for Direct Market Access trading? Yes, Interactive Brokers has one of the best DMA offerings for professional traders. IBKR offer direct market access to the most exchanges at the lowest cost of all the brokers we compare. Pros
Cons
Overall4.7 | |
| | DMA Markets 12,000 | Min Deposit £250 | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews | Visit Platform 68% of retail investor accounts lose money | DMA Account Types:
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❓Methodology: How Good Money Guide Chose The UK’s Best DMA Brokers
- Analysis of over 30,000 customer votes and reviews in our annual awards
- Our experts’ own experiences testing the direct market access accounts with real money
- A deep dive of the stand-out features each DMA broker offers
- Good Money Guide’s exclusive interviews with the DMA broker CEOs and senior management
- Read more about how we rate and review financial service providers here.
How do you choose a direct market access broker?
The main things to consider when comparing direct market access brokers are:
- Commission rates – these are often volume-based for larger DMA traders and can be significantly cheaper than the published rate card.
- Leverage and margin – exchanges set margins for DMA futures and options trading, but DMA brokers set their own margin rates for DMA CFDs
- Types of DMA – Do you need direct market access for trading futures, options or CFDs?
Futures
Saxo Markets is the best DMA broker for futures trading as they offer DMA futures on 300 contracts across 16 future exchanges. Saxo Markets has won ‘best futures broker’ in our awards three out of the past four years. For more information on futures trading platforms, you can compare futures brokers here.
Options
Saxo Markets is the best DMA options broker as it offers options trading on over 30,000 stocks and indices across 60 exchanges. Saxo Markets has won ‘best options broker’ in our awards three of the past four years. For more information, you can compare options brokers here.
CFDs
Saxo Markets is the best broker for trading DMA CFDs as it offers CFDs with direct market access on over 9,500 shares, indices and commodities. Saxo Markets has also won ‘best CFD broker‘ in our awards for the past four years.
DMA CFDs (offered by CFD brokers that offer professional accounts) are for when you have a big account and work big orders or are trading on a high-frequency basis or a trading strategy requires you to be inside the bid/offer spread.
Forex
Saxo Markets is the best broker for trading forex DMA as they offer on-exchange forex futures and options compared to other forex brokers like IG and CMC Markets that only offer DMA forex to institutional clients as a prime offering.
UK Shares
IG is the best DMA broker for UK equities according to Good Money Guide’s broker matrix as they offer access to the most shares. With IG you can also trade UK shares as a spread bet or CFD whereas other DMA stock brokers do not.
US Stocks
Interactive Brokers is the best DMA broker for trading US stocks. IBKR are US based but take on non-US residents through their international offices.
Pros & Cons Of Direct Market Access Brokers
Here is a round-up of the advantages and disadvantages of using DMA brokers.
Pros
- Clean pricing: You can place your DMA orders directly on the exchange and get in between the bid and offer price
- Speed of execution of trade: Cutting out the ‘middle man’ means a slicker, quicker trading process
- Better prices: No middle man means less people taking a cut of the trade
- Less risk of error: As a broker is acting on your behalf this decreases the chances of a human error on your part
Cons
- Account size: DMA brokers may only be looking for larger accounts
- Tax: There are no tax benefits of financial spread betting
- Charges: You need to factor in the commission charges the DMA broker imposes into your profit/loss calculations
⚠️ FCA Regulation – What You Need To Know
All DMA trading platforms that operate in the UK must be regulated by the FCA. The FCA is the Financial Conduct Authority. They are responsible for ensuring UK direct market access trading platforms are properly capitalised, treat customers fairly and have sufficient compliance systems in place.
Good Money Guide only features DMA brokers that are regulated by the FCA, where your funds are protected by the FSCS.
DMA (Direct Market Access) Broker FAQs:
Yes and no. If you want to get inside the bid-offer you need to be trading with direct market access (DMA). However, this is a tricky thing to do if you want a spread betting broker to provide direct market access.
The reason is quite simple. The mechanics just don’t work. Spread betting is over the counter (OTC), in that it is conducted off-exchange and structured as a bet. There is no exchange to access and the quotes provided by the spread betting brokers are based on the prices in the underlying exchanges.
It is possible to spread bet with DMA, although it’s all about relationships. You can ask your dealers at brokers like IG or Spreadex to work order in the market for you. However, you will need a big account and a good relationship with your account executive to get the service.
Yes, IG offer direct market access trading. You can find out more about their account offering here. Other brokers like Saxo Markets & Interactive Brokers also offer it.
Yes, DMA brokers if you are a high-frequency day trader making short term trades you will get better pricing and fills with direct market access.
Yes, as they provide direct market access to exchange order books they do not have to internally match or decide whether or not to hedge client positions.
DMA stock trading means buying and selling shares on stock exchanges like the LSE with direct market access. It enables clients to place bids and offers directly on the exchange order book.
No, DMA trading platforms are not suitable for beginners. Leveraged trading is a high-risk form of speculation and generally, it’s only economical using a direct market access provider if you are trading with over £50,000 and are a regular and experienced trader.
