Compare Professional Trading Accounts

Professional trading accounts offer both professional traders and high net worth traders access to the markets with the best spreads for large trades and frequent activity. Compare brokers for professional traders to get the best account for your activity.

Featured Trading Brokers	Account Types	Key Information	Typical Costs	More Info
IG	CFDs: Yes Spread Betting: Yes Direct Market Access: Yes Pro Account: Yes Investments: Yes Futures & Options: No	Total Markets: 17,000 Active Clients: 178,000 Minimum Deposit: £250 Founded: 1974 Inactivity Fee: £12 pm HQ: London, UK	EURUSD: 0.6 pips UK 100: 1 point Wall Street: 2.4 points Gold: 0.3 points UK Shares: 0.10% US Shares: 0.10%	See Offer Your capital is at risk. 76% of retail CFD accounts lose money
CMC Markets	CFDs: Yes Spread Betting: Yes Direct Market Access: Yes Pro Account: Yes Investments: No Futures & Options: No	Total Markets: 9,300 Active Clients: 53,308 Minimum Deposit: £100 Founded: 1989 Inactivity Fee: £10 pm HQ: London, UK	EURUSD: 0.7 pips UK 100: 1 point Wall Street: 2.4 points Gold: 0.3 points UK Shares: 0.10% US Shares: 2¢ per share	See Offer 79% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider
Pepperstone	CFDs: Yes Spread Betting: Yes Direct Market Access: No Pro Account: Yes Investments: No Futures & Options: No	Total Markets: 178 Active Clients: na Minimum Deposit: £100 Founded: 2010 Inactivity Fee: £0 pm HQ: Melbourne, Australia	EURUSD: 0.13 pips UK 100: 3 points Wall Street: 2.4 points Gold: 0.5 points UK Shares: na US Shares: na	See Offer 79.3% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider
Saxo Markets	CFDs: Yes Spread Betting: No Direct Market Access: Yes Pro Account: Yes Investments: Yes Futures & Options: Yes	Total Markets: 19,000 Active Clients: 525,000 Minimum Deposit: £500 Founded: 1992 Inactivity Fee: £25 pq HQ: Copenhagen, Denmark	EURUSD: 0.6 pips UK 100: 1 point Wall Street: 3 points Gold: 0.6 points UK Shares: 0.05% US Shares: 2¢ per share	See Offer 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Interactive Brokers (IBKR)	CFDs: Yes Spread Betting: No Direct Market Access: Yes Pro Account: Yes Investments: Yes Futures & Options: Yes	Total Markets: 7,100 Active Clients: 607,000 Minimum Deposit: $100 Founded: 1978 Inactivity Fee: $20 pm HQ: Connecticut, USA	EURUSD: 0.20 basis point UK 100: 0.005% Wall Street: 0.005% Gold: na UK Shares: 0.05% US Shares: 2¢ per share	See Offer 64% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with IBKR
Spreadex	CFDs: Yes Spread Betting: Yes Direct Market Access: Yes Pro Account: Yes Investments: No Futures & Options: No	Total Markets: 10,000 Active Clients: 60,000 Minimum Deposit: £100 Founded: 1999 Inactivity Fee: £0 HQ: St Albans, UK	EURUSD: 0.6 pips UK 100: 1 point Wall Street: 2.4 points Gold: 0.4 points UK Shares: 0.1% US Shares: 0.15%	Visit IG Website 69% of retail investors lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider
XTB Brokers	CFDs: Yes Spread Betting: No Direct Market Access: Yes Pro Account: Yes Investments: Yes Futures & Options: Yes	Total Markets: 1,981 Active Clients: 149,304 Minimum Deposit: £100 Founded: 2002 Inactivity Fee: €25 pm HQ: Warszawa, Poland	EURUSD: 0.6 pips UK 100: 0.9 point Wall Street: 2 points Gold: 0.3 points UK Shares: 0.08% US Shares: 0.08%	See Offer 79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
ETX Capital	CFDs: Yes Spread Betting: Yes Direct Market Access: No Pro Account: Yes Investments: No Futures & Options: No	Total Markets: 5,000 Active Clients: 55,000 Minimum Deposit: £100 Founded: 2007 Inactivity Fee: £25 pm HQ: London UK	EURUSD: 0.6 pips UK 100: 1 point1 Wall Street: 4 points Gold: 0.4 points UK Shares: 0.1% US Shares: 2¢ per share	ETX Reviews 77.4% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
eToro	CFDs: Yes Spread Betting: No Direct Market Access: No Pro Account: Yes Investments: No Futures & Options: No	Total Markets: na Active Clients: 12,000 Minimum Deposit: $50 Founded: 2006 Inactivity Fee: $10 pm HQ: Limassol, Cyprus	EURUSD: 0.3 pips UK 100: 1.5 points Wall Street: 6 points Gold: 0.45 points UK Shares: 0.9% US Shares: 0.9%	See Offer 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Plus 500	CFDs: Yes Spread Betting: No Direct Market Access: No Pro Account: Yes Investments: No Futures & Options: No	Total Markets: 2,000 Active Clients: 199,750 Minimum Deposit: $100 Founded: 2008 Inactivity Fee: $10 pm HQ: Haifa, Israel	EURUSD: 0.8 pips UK 100: 2 points Wall Street: 4 points Gold: 0.59 points UK Shares: na US Shares: na	See Offer 76.4% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
City Index	CFDs: Yes Spread Betting: Yes Direct Market Access: No Pro Account: Yes Investments: No Futures & Options: No	Total Markets: 12,000 Active Clients: 126,000 Minimum Deposit: £100 Founded: 1983 Inactivity Fee: £12 pm HQ: London UK	EURUSD: 0.5 pips UK 100: 1 point1 Wall Street: 3.5 points Gold: 0.8 points UK Shares: 0.18% US Shares: 2¢ per share	See Offer 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Fineco	CFDs: Yes Spread Betting: Yes Direct Market Access: Yes Pro Account: Yes Investments: Yes Futures & Options: Yes	Total Markets: 180 Active Clients: na Minimum Deposit: £100 Founded: 1999 Inactivity Fee: £0 pm HQ: Reggio Emilia, Italy	EURUSD: 0.8 pips UK 100: 6 points Wall Street: 6 points Gold: 0.3 points UK Shares: 0.05% US Shares: na	See Offer 70.50% of retail investor accounts lose money due to CFD trading with FinecoBank

How and where to compare professional trading accounts for CFDs and Spread Betting

How to compare professional trading accounts?

First of all if you are an experienced trader you may have the option with your broker to upgrade to professional account status.  This means you will get lower margin rates and access to more markets that traders classified as retail traders.

Choosing a Professional Trading Account

Because of the new ESMA rules Spread betting and CFD platforms are therefore placing their hopes on professional client accounts, but how can you make sure you choose the best option?

New restrictions from the ESMA threaten to put the party on hold for spread betting firms, but they have responded by opening up a host of professional trading platforms. But how do these work, can you qualify and how do you tell the difference between them?

Besides that professional clients are deemed capable of making their own investment decisions. Criteria may change a little from platform to platform, but generally speaking you will need to have been working in a professional position in financial services for at least a year, have a portfolio of at least €500 and you must have a certain level of professional trading experience.

What are the advantages of upgrading to a professional trading account

There are therefore many good reasons to upgrade to a professional account. First, you’ll sidestep the ESMA rules. You’ll be treated as someone who knows what they are doing and understands the risks they are taking on.

You’ll be given a dedicated client account manager and access to the latest and most sophisticated trading software. Most will also offer reductions on margin rates. Most importantly you'll get better margin rates when trading CFDs or spread betting in a professional account.

Disadvantages of becoming a professional trader

There are risks. As result a professional client, you’ll waive some of the FCA protections given to retail clients. Negative balance protection does not apply, so if your losses exceed your balance you could be in trouble.

Professional trading account margin rates

As with any platform they are not all created equal. Each one may differ in the margins it charges. One Capital, for example, advertises margin rates from 0.35% on major currency indices while another offers 0.25%.

Commission reductions for professional trading accounts

Some professional trading accounts also offer rebates for higher volume trading. Or may even offer a reduction in trading commissions for high volume accounts

They may also differ in the amount of support they offer and the accessibility of their service. Because you’re classified as a professional investor, many firms may assume a certain level of knowledge on your part. This means the language may be more complicated and they may offer little in the way of tuition, or expert support.

Who can you trade in a professional trading account?

When choosing a professional trading platform, then, you need to firstly check that you are eligible, and secondly decide what you want to trade and how frequently. Depending on the fee structures this could greatly affect how much you pay.

In conclusion what is the difference between professional and retail status?

All in all, they are a good option for those people who qualify to enjoy more sophisticated tools and lower margins on their trades. They get around the ESMA restrictions, and help you continue spread betting in much the same way as you were before. However, this is only something to get involved with if you know what you are doing. The clue’s in the name ‘professional’.