Top 10 Professional Trading Accounts - Best for Expert Traders

Compare the best professional trading accounts for CFD, Forex and spread betting brokers authorised and regulated by the FCA. Choose a professional trading account that offers the most markets, best pricing and client security.

CFD trading carries a high level of risk and can result in losses that exceed your deposits. Featured brokers appear first. Learn about how brokers are ranked...

Featured CFD Broker	What can you trade via CFDs?	What are the CFD trading costs?	CEO Interview	More Info
IG	IG clients can trade a range of over 17,000 CFD markets Trade CFDs on interest rates, bonds, sectors, forex, indices, global shares, commodities and cryptocurrencies	Opening an account is free, and charges are competitive. Trade spreads from 0.6 points on key FX pairs like EUR/USD, 1 point on major indices like the Germany 30 and FTSE 100, and 0.3 points on Spot Gold.	Read June Felix CEO Interview	Open Account Your capital is at risk. 76% of retail CFD accounts lose money
CMC Markets	Trade contracts for difference (CFDs) and access over 9,500 instruments with competitive spreads. Trade CFDs on forex, indices, cryptocurrencies, commodities, shares and treasuries.	Trade CFDs on major forex pairs from 0.7 points and popular indices from 1 point. When trading UK shares a commission is charged from 0.1% or 2 cents per unit for US.	Read Peter Cruddas CEO Interview	Open Account 79% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider
Pepperstone	150+ instruments across FX, indices, equities, cryptos, energy and commodities, and more, across three, free powerful platforms	During liquid times, CFD spreads can go as low as 0 pips on the EURUSD on the Pepeprstone Razor account	Read Tamas Szabo CEO Interview	Open Account 79.3% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider
Fineco	Trade Fineco CFDs on thousand of asset classes Equity, Indices, Commodities, bond and Interest Rates	Share CFDs have no additional spreads, indices have spread as low as 0.4pips on S&P 500 and 0.6pip on Nasdaq 100 and FTSE 100. FX spreads on 50+ pairs from 0.8pips.	Paolo Di Grazia, Fineco GM	Open Account 70.50% of retail investor accounts lose money due to CFD trading with FinecoBank
Interactive Brokers (IBKR)	With IBKR CFDs you can trade one of the largest universes of stocks, forex, commodities and other assets classes with direct market access.	Interactive Brokers CFD commission are 0.05% on all share CFDs, with lower rates available for active traders. Overnight financing charges start at only benchmark +/-1.5%, also with lower spreads available for larger balances.	Thomas Peterffy	Open Account 64% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with IBKR
Saxo Markets	Access 9,000+ CFDs and trade CFDs on single stocks, indices, forex, commodities, options and bonds.	Ultra-competitive pricing for trading UK stock CFDs from GBP 8, and US 30 Wall St. from 2 points.	Read Andrew Edwards CEO Interview	Open Account 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
XTB Brokers	Trade over 1500 global CFD markets including Forex, Cryptocurrencies, Indices, Commodities, Share CFDs and ETFs.	Low forex spreads from 0.1 pips, stock CFD commission from 0.08%	Omar Arnaout	Open Account 79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Spreadex	Trade one of the widest ranges of CFD markets including shares, indices, forex, commodities, bonds and interest rates.	CFD spreads start from just 0.6 pts on EUR/USD, 1pt on UK 100 and 0.4 pts on Gold	Jonathan Hufford	Visit IG Website 69% of retail investors lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider
eToro	Trade CFDs in USD on eToro on a wide range of stocks, forex, indices, commodities and copy other CFD traders	Cost are based in USD and eToro CFD trading costs are built into the spread.	Yoni Assai Interview	Open Account 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
Plus 500	Trade CFDs on a wide range of Indices, Forex, Commodities, Crypto, Shares, Options and ETFs	Plus 500 CFD spreads are variable, yet competitive for new traders. There is no commission. Overnight funding is charged on positions.	Coming Soon	Open Account 76.4% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
City Index	CFD Trading with City Index gives you access to over 4000 global markets including Indices, Shares, FX, Commodities and Bonds.	Fixed and variable CFD spreads from 0.5 points with benchmark UK financing is LIBOR +/-2.5%	Coming Soon	Open Account 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
ETX Capital	Trade CFDs on ETX on over 5,000 instruments in all major asset classes including FX, Indices, Shares and Commodities..	Trade CFDs low commissions through ETX's pooled liquidity from a range of sources to deliver the best prices and narrowest spreads.	Phil Adler CEO Interview	ETX Reviews 77.4% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

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

First of all, professional CFD and spread betting accounts are not for everyone. I've been involved in spread betting and CFDs for about twenty years, but of late there has been a real move to make CFDs and spread betting mass-market products. However, they are not.

There are about 150,000 active traders in the UK, about 340,000 in EMEA and only about 100,000 in the US. Which is not really a lot, when you think about the size of the overall investing markets.

No matter how many brokers sponsor football teams, or how many flash little gits you see on Instagram bragging about their Forex profits, derivatives is not for the masses.

Trading spread betting (compare spread betting brokers here) and CFDs (compare CFD brokers here) is very risky and as per the new ESMA required risk warnings around 75% of traders lose money. But who knows what that is based on, or how accurate the reporting is, or even if it's even relevant.

But never the less, traders will trade and they will want to make the most efficient use of their risk capital by searching for a broker that offers the best margins, rates and access.

Should you become a professional trader?

There are benefits to becoming a professional trader. These benefits can include;

a reduction in margin rates
using collateral as margin

However, there are disadvantages too, such as;

no negative protection
no leverage or product restrictions
assumption of increased experience by the brokers so they won't explain things in detail

Here's what you need to think about before you decide whether to become a professional trader.

How to compare professional trading accounts?

The key differences between brokers offering professional trading accounts are:

Margin rates
Commission rates
Spread width
Additional/restricted market access
Voice brokerage/personal account managers

Where to compare professional trading accounts?

Brokers are a bit fussy about comparison sites comparing margin rates so we've put together a comparison table of brokers that offer professional trading accounts.

All brokers in our professional trading account list are regulated by the FCA and offer higher leverage to traders that can prove they are of professional status. In some cases, these brokers will offer discounted commission rates for high volume traders.

There are of course risks upgrading your account to professional status and disadvantages with going offshore with an ASIC regulated broker.

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’.

Trading & Investing	Spread Betting	Forex Trading	Currency Transfers
IG Reviews	CMC Reviews	Pepperstone Reviews	Compare Quotes

Plus 500

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

Should you become a professional trader?

How to compare professional trading accounts?

Where to compare professional trading accounts?

How to compare professional trading accounts?

Choosing a Professional Trading Account

What are the advantages of upgrading to a professional trading account

Disadvantages of becoming a professional trader

Professional trading account margin rates

Commission reductions for professional trading accounts

Who can you trade in a professional trading account?

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

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