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Richard Berry
Derivatives brokerages are firms that let you speculate on financial markets like stocks, commodities, indices, fixed income and foreign exchange through financial products derived from their pricing via futures, options, CFDs or spread betting. We have ranked and reviewed the best retail derivatives brokers in the UK that are regulated by the FCA.
| Trading Platform | Markets | CFDs | Spreads | Futures | Options | DMA | Customer Reviews | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 13,500 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | (Based on 124 reviews)
| See Platform 71% of retail investor accounts lose money |
 | 5,000 | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | (Based on 16 reviews)
| See Platform 76% of retail investor accounts lose money |
 | 1,200 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | (Based on 86 reviews)
| See Platform 75.3% of retail investor accounts lose money |
 | 2,000 | ✔️ | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | (Based on 144 reviews)
| See Platform* 80% of retail investor accounts lose money |
 | 10,000 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | (Based on 257 reviews)
| See Platform 64% of retail investor accounts lose money |
 | 17,000 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | (Based on 678 reviews)
| See Platform 71% of retail investor accounts lose money |
 | 12,000 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ | ✔️ | ❌ | (Based on 148 reviews)
| See Platform 70% of retail investor accounts lose money |
 | 9,000 | ✔️ | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | (Based on 73 reviews)
| See Platform 65% of retail investor accounts lose money |
 | 7,000 | ✔️ | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | (Based on 934 reviews)
| See Platform 60% of retail investor accounts lose money |
 | 2,967 | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | (Based on 277 reviews)
| See Platform 61% of retail investor accounts lose money |
 | 2,100 | ✔️ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | (Based on 136 reviews)
| See Platform 75% of retail investor accounts lose money |
What are derivatives brokers?
Derivatives brokers offer access to OTC markets like CFDs, futures, options and swaps. Derivaitives brokers are considered slightly more professionally focussed than retail brokers, but genreally offer similar products.
These are the main types of derivatives brokers and how the products differ. To compare derivatives brokers by product, please view the specific pages:
- Futures brokers – derivatives based on future monthly or quarterly prices – traded on exchanges like CME.
- Options brokers – derivatives based on the option, but not the obligation to take delivery of a stock or commodity.
- CFD brokers – derivatives based on the difference between the opening and closing price of a trade (a contract for difference).
- Spread betting brokers – a derivative based on a price per point movement – structured as a bet for UK trades and free of capital gains tax.
- Forex brokers – derivatives based on currency pairs – usually traded OTC at broker or market maker quotes.
Retail versus professional derivatives brokers
There are two different types of derivatives brokers, retail and professional.
Institutional derivatives brokers
Professional derivatives brokers provide hedge funds with direct market access to stock, commodity and futures exchanges around the world. If you cannot be classified as a professional investor with sufficient market knowledge or capital you will not be able to trade with them. Institutional derivatives brokers provide some of the best leverage and lowest commission as their customers trade in large volume and with high frequency.
- Are you a hedge fund? Use our prime broker finder to get connected to discount institutional derivatives brokers.
Retail derivatives broker
These are more online trading platforms where everyday investors can trade CFDs, spread bets, futures and options. These firms are heavily regulated by the FCA as they can offer very high risk products to investors with little or no experience.
Derivatives broker FAQs:
A derivatives broker places orders on behalf of their clients on financial derivatives products like futures, options, CFDs and spread bets on stocks, forex, bonds, commodities and indices.
We have ranked Saxo Markets and Interactive Brokers as two of the best derivatives brokers for professional traders in the UK.
Yes, but as they are high-risk financial products, before you can open an account with a derivatives broker, you need to demonstrate that you understand the risks involved. If you are new to investing, you are better off with an investing account, and only using derivatives to hedge your portfolio.
Yes, you can make money trading derivatives if, as with any investment, you correctly time the market. It’s also important to note that as derivatives are often leverage products, your profits can be amplified by trading on margin. But, more importantly, so can your losses, and you can very quickly lose all of your money. Although if you are a retail trader, you do benefit from negative balance protection, so you will never lose more than your account balance.
Yes. Statistics show that between 65% and 85% of retail clients in the UK that trade derivatives lose money. You can read more the importance of client loss risk warnings here.
The most popular financial products for derivatives traders are:
- Futures
- Options
- CFDs
- Financial spread betting
