Trading in a big market maker broker guarantees reliable service as they are generally recognized globally and trusted by the majority of traders in the world.
A market maker broker is a market member company that is legally allowed to provide clients with both sell and buy quotes. Such a broker can also serve as a liquidity provider so it can fill client orders. Therefore, a market maker is a broker that deals in securities and other assets while undertaking the transactions of such assets at specific prices at all times.
Market makers tend to be suspected of manipulating clients' orders due to their involvement in providing the prices. Yet, not all market makers act like that, especially those regulated by reputable financial authorities such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia.
Some of the biggest market maker brokers in the world that operate legally are either:
- Trusted by at least a hundred thousand traders (number of clients),
- executing millions of trades regularly (number of trades executed), or
- earning millions of dollars worth in yearly revenue (amount of revenues).
Below are a few examples of them:
eToro
eToro is a hybrid market maker broker that provides one of the most well-known social trading platforms in the world. Its popularity is due to a wide range of features which include:
- Social media and trading tools such as a newsfeed and the ability to chat with fellow community members.
- Peculiar social trading features like CopyPortfolios and CopyTrader.
- Advanced tools for technical analysis as well as ProCharts.
- An easy-to-use multi-asset trading platform that offers traders access to more than 2000 financial assets and CFDs that include forex, stocks, cryptocurrency, and so much more.
- Licensed by top-tier regulating bodies such as the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), FCA in the United Kingdom, and ASIC in Australia.
eToro has one of the largest social trading communities in the world with millions of traders from over 140 countries. For automated trading, traders can take advantage of the CopyTrader feature offered by the broker. This feature allows traders to search for other traders they want to follow so that they can copy the trades such traders make.
Another feature that can be used for automated trading is the CopyPortfolios which is slightly different from the CopyTrader because instead of replicating the strategies of individual traders, it is a portfolio that is copied. This portfolio will be made up of an aggregate of financial instruments while it is managed and rebalanced by experts of eToro. This saves the trader time and effort in making individual trades.
eToro established in early 2007, with a mission to make trading accessible to anyone, anywhere, and reduce dependency on traditional financial institutions. The company has head offices in the United Kingdom, Cyprus, USA, and Australia.
eToro (Europe) Ltd operates as a Financial Services Company authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC) under license no. #109/10. Meanwhile, eToro (UK) Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the license FRN 583263.
As for eToro AUS Capital Pty Ltd, the legal standing is acknowledged by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to provide financial services under Australian Financial Services License 491139.
A broker that belongs to the 4-digit type, eToro offers both short-term options for day traders and long-term options for investors, such as their innovative Smart Portfolios, a fully managed thematic portfolio.
Since 2007, eToro has been at the forefront of the Fintech revolution. The most recent was launched in 2017, which is Smart Portfolios powered by Machine learning Al. Beyond developing Smart Portfolios, the company integrated Microsoft's machine learning technology into Momentum DD.
The new Smart Portfolios investment strategy uses artificial intelligence to find the steadiest traders who are most likely to generate a double-digit return and bundle traders into one fully-managed portfolio. eToro has hundreds of financial assets for trading across several categories including stocks, commodities, crypto assets, currencies, indices, and ETFs. Each asset class has characteristics and can be traded using a variety of investment strategies.
Some positions on eToro involve ownership of underlying assets, such as non-leveraged positions on stocks and cryptos. Employing CFDs will enable a variety of options, such as leveraged trades, short (sell) positions, fractional ownership, and more. For example, traders can invest as little as USD100 in gold, even if a single unit of gold cost USD1,000. Some of eToro's most popular CFD commodities include gold, oil, natural gas, silver, and platinum.
Currencies are traded on eToro only as CFDs. Also, CFDs enable Sell (short) positions and leveraged trade, even for assets that don't offer the option in traditional trading. Some of the popular currencies include EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, USD/JPY, and USD/CAD.
Furthermore, An Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is a financial instrument comprising several assets grouped to serve as one tradable fund. After opening an account in eToro, traders can invest as little as USD250 in an ETF that costs USD500. Some of the popular ETFs on eToro include SPY, VXXB, TLT, and HMMJ.
However, eToro also offers additional functions using CFD trading. All leveraged ETF positions in the UK are under FCA regulations. Meanwhile, all CFD positions executed by eToro Australia are under ASIC regulations.
The company has other advantages. In all financial assets that can be traded, eToro does not charge any deposit or trading frees other than spreads.
eToro charges a USD25 fee for withdrawals and the minimum withdrawal amount is USD50. Long (Buy), non-leveraged crypto, stock, and ETF positions are not executed as CFDs and do not incur any fees. eToro does charge overnight or weekend fees for CFDs positions, such as leveraged positions and short (sell) orders.
Fee updates always apply to open positions. Fees are subject to change at any given time and could change daily, without prior notice, depending on market conditions.
As a beginner, trader can use CopyTrading eToro. Different from the features of other brokers, traders can copy the strategies of professional traders without fee or profit-sharing. Therefore, 100% profit is fully owned by traders. For example, while trader A who is copied by trader B, produces a profit of 10% this month, then trader B also gets a profit of 10%.
The company is the world's leading social trading network. Since eToro operates in complete transparency, each trader has valuable information on their eToro profiles, so other traders that are interested to copy their trades can have assistance in creating their best portfolios.
Another feature that is unique to eToro is the personalized, social News Feed. Just like on any social media, traders can post their updates on feed, comment on other's posts, and gradually create a feed that is tailor-fitted to trader's trading and investing interests. On eToro social trading platform, traders will also get notifications when a trader writes a new post and many other important updates.
FBS
FBS is a multi-regulated market maker broker holding licenses from FCA, CySEC, ASIC, FSCA, and IFSC. With such licenses, FBS has managed to become one of the renowned brokers trusted by over 13 million clients from 190 countries around the world.
Every day, 7,000 FBS accounts are opened by new users. It's no wonder, as FBS offers various attractive trading facilities such as leverage up to 1:3000, a minimum deposit of only $1, and spreads starting from 1 pip.
FBS offers three types of trading accounts: Standard, Cent, and Crypto. All of them utilize the MT4 and MT5 platforms for trading, except for the crypto account which uses the FBS Trader platform. What's interesting is that the starting spread of 1 pip applies to all types of FBS accounts.
Since 2009, the action of FBS Holding Inc. or known as FBS in the world of forex trading has been recognized by various international institutions. With clients reaching 14 million as of 2019, FBS has received the title of Most Transparent Forex Broker 2018, Best Investor Education 2017, Best Customer Service Broker Asia 2016, IB FX Program, and many others.
FBS is regulated by FSC Belize and CySEC Cyprus. This broker has been trusted by millions of traders and 370 thousand partners from various countries. Based on their data, FBS garners about 7,000 new traders and partner accounts every day. And, 80% of the clients stay in the FBS for a long time. No wonder the broker is growing rapidly due to the incredible growth in the number of clients.
Trading products offered by FBS range from forex, CFD, precious metal, and stock. For forex trading, CySEC-regulated FBS offers leverage up to 1:30 on Cent and Standard Accounts. Clients who want to try higher leverage than that can alternatively register an account under FBS Belize.
FBS spread begins from 0.5 pips for Pro account type and from 0.7 pips for Standard and Cent accounts. On a standard account, volume orders can be made from 0.01 to 500 lots. Therefore, this account is recommended for experienced traders.
Whereas on Cent Accounts, volume orders can be carried out with a maximum of 500 cent lots or the equivalent of 5 standard lots. Cent Accounts involve a different level of risk. FBS recommends Cent Accounts for beginner traders. All account types support the following trading instruments: 36 Forex pairs, 8 metals, 3 energies, 11 indices, 127 stocks, 5 crypto pairs.
Before plunging into the real forex market, traders can practice with FBS Demo Account which consists of two types, i.e Standard and Cent.
FBS uses the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms. They offer them on Windows and Mac as well as Android and iOS mobile. These platforms provide a trading experience at traders' fingertips, allowing traders to progress as a trader anywhere at any time.
MetaTrader platforms also have a variety of mainstay features, including the possibility to create, buy, and use expert advisors (EA) and scripts, One-click trading and embedded news, technical analysis tools, the possibility to copy deals from other traders, hedging positions, and VPS service support.
Another advantage provided by FBS is a deposit bonus of 100% for clients who fulfill certain requirements. The process of FSCing and withdrawing funds can be run easily and quickly. Based on clients' testimonies, each process usually takes no more than 3-4 hours, except on holidays.
Traders also have the opportunity to develop a side business when trading with FBS, namely as an Introducing Broker (IB) or Affiliate. The FBS partnership system provides partner commissions that are already in 3 level positions. Only by introducing new clients to FBS according to certain procedures, traders can earn extra income.
Traders will also get trading education experience at FBS. They have prepared a comprehensive forex course. The course consists of 4 levels: beginner, elementary, intermediate, and experienced. Traders can take courses that will turn them from newbies to professionals. All materials are well-structured. Besides, FBS provides various forex analyzes, webinars, forex news, and daily market analysis that can be accessed easily on their site.
Traders can access the FBS website with many language choices. Of course, this will increasingly provide comfort for traders. Available languages include English, Italian, French, Portuguese, Indonesian, Spanish, and others. Live chat support is also provided 24 hours 7 days a week.
In conclusion, FBS is a widely known broker among retail traders around the world. It continually grows to become a preferred broker because of flexible trading conditions that enable its clients to trade with various instruments, low deposit, and other trading advantages.
AvaTrade
AvaTrade is a traditional market maker broker offering CFD trading that comprises both currency pairs and cryptocurrencies. This broker only offers account types that have fixed spreads compared to other market makers that provide variable spreads. AvaTrade is regulated by different financial bodies around the world such as CySEC in Cyprus, NFA in Japan, and ASIC in Australia which has made it a safe and trustworthy broker.
In terms of size, AvaTrade has attracted more than 400,000 clients all over the world with a recorded 2 million transactions every month. AvaTrade is an excellent option for traders who are interested in concentrating their trading strategies on cryptocurrency CFDs. There are seven major cryptocurrency CFDs offered by AvaTrade for trading with no commission fees involved. Along with trading the cryptos against the USD, there are other fiat currencies that the cryptos can be traded against such as JPY and EUR.
Avatrade can be called one of the most well-rounded brokers that support almost all trading styles. Not only allowing hedging, scalping, and expert advisor (EA), Avatrade also completes their service with One-cancels-the-other order (OCO) and AutoTrading in many variants of automated trading systems.
AvaTrade was founded in 2006, with the primary mission to empower people to trade with confidence. If traders are still confused about what is the best broker for supporting trader's trading, AvaTrade perchance option of traders, because it has been evaluated and honored for some of the industry's most remarkable financial and technological achievements that it provided to clients.
In 2019, the Dublin-based broker got achievement from Daytrading.com as The Best Forex Broker 2019. Besides, the company is honored as Best Forex Broker, Best Bitcoin CFD Trading Provider of the year, and Best Affiliation Programme in the European area.
Furthermore, for traders who have high mobility, AvaTrade provides many platforms that allow traders to trade using laptops and mobile phones. The availability of the free Autochartist tool in the platforms is the best support for both novice and experienced traders because it makes it easier for them to find trading opportunities without the need to glance at charts all day.
The Autochartist free signal is provided in Gold Account, Platinum Account, and AVA Select. By opening an account in AvaTrade, traders don't have to pay for getting a full Autochartist service. Autochartist itself is a market scanner tool that can detect trading signals from various technical perspectives.
Traders can access AvaTrade in many variants of platforms, such as AvaTradeGO, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Automated Trading, Mac Trading, Web Trading, Mobile Trading, and AvaOptions.
In terms of regulation, AvaTrade is regarded as a superior broker because it has a lot of credible licenses. That way, even with deposits of up to ten thousand dollars, security can be guaranteed. Applying the Segregated Account system, AvaTrade is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland (No.C53877), ASIC Australia (No.406684), JFSA Japan (No.1662), and South Africa (FSP 45984).
Can traders lose more than their deposit abruptly in the event of high volatility? AvaTrade explicitly answers no, as traders have negative balance protection.
With a minimum deposit of USD100, AvaTrade offers various leverage depending on the trading instruments; whether it is forex (starts from 30:1), indices (starts from 20:1), commodities (starts from 5:1), ETFs (starts from 5:1), or cryptocurrencies (starts from 2:1).
AvaTrade has committed to a set of values in relation to customers. Therefore, the company provides the best trading experience, offering multilingual customer service and the most sophisticated and user-friendly trading platform.
New traders can also learn forex trading in the Education tab on AvaTrade's official website. Traders will find a wide collection of articles, video tutorials, and more tools that will assist them every step of the way. It is an important requirement as the forex market might be a bit overwhelming and even scary at times, so traders need to make sure that they are fully prepared to begin trading in the real account.
There are many types of account types provided by AvaTrade. There is also an Islamic Trading Account, which is uniquely provided for Muslim Traders. Islamic account type is similar to a regular one with one key difference; it is not subject to any special fees or interests (swap-free), which sits well with the finance principles of Sharia Law.
If traders have felt confident for forex trading, traders can choose AvaTrade as an ideal choice. The minimum deposit and various platforms offered to make it a suitable destination for even beginners who would like to try forex trading for the first time.
XM
XM is a market maker that is popular for its low variable spreads and its various account types that are free from commissions. The broker offers two of the most popular trading platforms in the world which traders can choose from: MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). The three account types available in XM are:
- Micro account: features commission-free spreads starting from 1 pip, micro-lot sizes of 1,000, and a trading volume of at least 0.01 lot on MT4 and 0.1 lot on MT5.
- Standard account: features commission-free forex spreads starting from 1 pip, standard lot sizes of 100,000, and trade sizes of at least 0.01 lot.
- Ultra-low account: this offers tighter spreads starting from 0.6 pips without commission and a trading volume of at least 0.01 lot (standard ultra) or 0.1 lot (micro ultra).
The initial minimum deposit requirement for opening an account with this broker is low compared to other brokers. For a Micro or Standard account, only $5 is required to open an account while for an Ultra-low account, just $50 is required. Hedging is allowed on each account type which is something traders can take advantage of and use to enhance their chances of making profitable trades.
Established in 2009, XM broker has the power to gather more than 5 million worldwide clients and executes over 2.4 billion trades with zero requotes or rejections, ever.
XM Group is a group of regulated brokers and it is owned by Trading Point Holdings Ltd. Entities under XM Group have significant experience as financial services providers worldwide.
Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd was established in 2009 with headquarters in Limassol, Cyprus, Trading Point of Financial Instruments Pty Ltd was established in 2015 with headquarters in Sydney, Australia, XM Global Limited was established in 2017 with headquarters in Belize and Trading Point MENA Limited was established in 2019 with headquarters in Dubai.
XM Group is regulated by the CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) - Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd, FSC (Financial Services Commission) – XM Global Limited, the ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) - Trading Point of Financial Instruments Pty Ltd and DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority) - Trading Point MENA Limited.
XM is one of the more experienced brokers in the world of online forex trading today. Since its founding, the broker has experienced a lot of changes, including the addition of the Ultra-Low Account and EN Live Edu that is instructed by 16 global experts.
In terms of trading instruments, XM is a well-known diverse class assets provider, varying from Forex, Crypto, Stock CFDs, Turbo Stocks, Commodities, Equity Indices, Precious Metals, Energies, & Shares. XM prides itself to be the ideal broker in trading execution, offering a stat of 99.35% orders to be executed in less than 1 second. Trading in XM would be also provided with a strict no requotes policy, no virtual dealer plug-in, no rejection of orders, real-time market execution, and the choice for traders to place orders online or by phone.
Spreads on all majors can reach as low as 0.6 pips in Ultra-Low Account, while spreads on other accounts usually start from 1 pip.
To protect the client's fund in the event of extreme volatility, XM presents each account type with Negative Balance Protection. Minimum deposit of $5 applies to Standard, Micro, and also Ultra-Low Accounts. Traders who open accounts in XM are enabled a condition similar to a Cent Account environment in the Micro Account, in which the Contract Size for every lot is only 1,000 units. If it is applied with the smallest lot size in the MetaTrader platform which amounts to 0.01, it means that traders can go as small as 10 units per trade.
For the deposit, XM applies zero-fee deposits in most of its available payment methods. Traders can choose to fund or withdraw their accounts via wire transfer, credit card, as well as the most favorable e-payment choices like Skrill, Neteller, and FasaPay.
To give their clients the best experiment in trading, XM has given access to both MT4 and MT5 platforms, each is available for more than 6 display formats (PC, Mac, Multiterminal, WebTrader, iPad, iPhone, Android, and Android Tablet).
All in all, there is no doubt that XM has gone global with its deep commitment to providing services in more than 30 different languages across the world. Aside from easing traders' experience with mainstream trading platforms and high-quality trading execution, XM is open to various types of traders, from small capital traders to the more experienced ones with big deposits at the ready. Traders are even provided with a Cent Trading environment should they choose to register under Micro Account.
For their global approach, XM has ensured that traders from various countries could access their service easily. This results in the provision of different domains specified for traders in certain jurisdictions. For example, traders from Indonesia could access XM via this link.
CMC Markets
CMC Markets is regarded as the best market maker broker for forex trading. It was founded in the United Kingdom in 1989 and is traded publicly on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) while being under the supervision of multiple top-tier regulators. In terms of size, CMC Markets was reported to earn a revenue of £461.3 million as of 2021, while the disclosed net income from the same year reached £178.1 million.
CMC Markets offers one of the biggest ranges of currency pairs to retail traders as there are more than 300 major, minor, and exotic currency pairs available for trading either as spot or forward pairs without any commission. The broker offers low spreads starting from 0.7 pips for major pairs like EUR/USD, USD/JPY, and AUD/USD. Traders can also get competitive variable spreads starting from 0.9 pips on other currency pairs that are highly traded such as GBP/USD.
Apart from the hundreds of currency pairs, there is a wide range of other financial markets that traders can speculate on by trading CFDs. CMC Markets also offers assets such as ETFs, Indices, Commodities, and Shares.
To gain access to all the financial instruments offered by CMC Markets, there is a proprietary trading platform called the Next Generation through which these instruments become accessible. The Next Generation platform has the options of both a beginner and advanced interface which makes it highly suitable for all kinds of traders irrespective of the level of trading experience. Below are some of the main features of the platform:
- An inbuilt charting package containing chart types, technical indicators, and drawing tools.
- Fundamental analysis and sentiment data tools like Reuters news, research reports, economic calendar, and market insights.
- A desktop trading platform and trading apps that are compatible with iPhones, iPads, and Android mobile devices.
- Advanced risk management tools containing sophisticated order types such as guaranteed stop-loss orders.
- Pattern recognition tools that have the functionality of price projection.
CMC Markets also offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) for traders that might be searching for algorithmic trading features. While traders using MT4 will have limited access to the market compared to those using the Next Generation platform, they can still use Expert Advisors to fully automate their trading. The MT4 platform is available in WebTrader, mobile app, and desktop.
Interactive Brokers
This is a top broker that makes a market maker-designed trading platform available, especially for experienced traders as it is ideal for them. Interactive Brokers' platform is known as Trader Workstation (TWS) Mosaic which allows full customization to suit the preference of its traders. It allows the users to gain access to the full range of financial instruments offered by the broker for trading while also engaging in comprehensive technical analysis and risk management.
The trading platform from Interactive Brokers contains specific tools for risk management. A good example is the IB Risk Navigator which is a real-time risk management tool that measures the level of risk exposure across several multiple asset classes in the world. Furthermore, there are more than 100 order types that users of TWS can get access to which can be used to help limit trading risks, boost the execution of trades, and simplify trading.
For traders that prefer a platform and an interface that is less complex than the TWS Mosaic, this market maker broker offers a mobile trading app and WebTrader option (Client Portal) which are both beginner-friendly. Irrespective of the trading platform chosen by traders, they get access to more than 100 currency pairs with this broker.
Interactive Brokers has been serving for more than four decades so their experience is almost unrivaled in the trading industry. So far, they have achieved 2.01 million of client accounts, 1.92 million in daily average revenue trades, and a whopping $10.9 billion in equity capital. Their company is US-based and has been publicly listed as IBKR on the NASDAQ exchange.
www.interactivebrokers.com
1:100
$10000
1977
Interactive Brokers is a direct market access broker that provides execution, clearance, settlement, and prime brokerage for customers. Since it was found 41 years ago by Thomas Peterffy, the company has grown internally to become one of the premier securities firms with over $7 billion in equity capital.
First acknowledged as a popular broker for advanced traders, Interactive Brokers launched a second tier of service called IBKR Lite for more casual investors in 2019.
The IBKR Lite provides services on over 125 market destinations worldwide and gives direct access (online) trade execution and clearing services, both to institutional and professional traders for a wide variety of traded products including stocks, options, futures, forex, fixed income, and funds worldwide. Interactive Brokers Group and its affiliates execute over 859,000 trades per day.
Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, Interactive Brokers has over 1,400 employees in the USA, Switzerland, Canada, Hong Kong, UK, Australia, Hungary, Russia, Japan, India, China, and Estonia companies. IBKR is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and is registered in the New York Stoch Exchange (NYSE).
Interactive Brokers offers a wide range of product-centered tools like the OptionTrader and Probability Lab for simplified single and complex multi-leg option trading; FXTrader for forex trading, Mutual Fund/ETF Replicator for helping traders find a lower cost on ETF alternatives, also fixed-income screeners for corporate and agency bonds. Overall, trading with Interactive Brokers would be provided with the most useful and updated tools to maximize trading and investing goals.
As a popular and regulated broker in the US, Interactive Brokers has won some awards. Recently, they were awarded by the Barrons as the 2019 Best Online Broker, which is categorized as the best broker for mobile, international, and frequent traders. Besides, they also won an award as Top Performing Broker by the Preqin Service Providers, and Best Overall Broker by Investopedia (Best for Low Costs, Best for International Trading, Best for Options Trading, Best for Day Trading, and Best for Penny Stocks). The awards are not only achieved during 2019. Since 2005, Interactive Brokers has won lots of awards regarding its best services for clients.
To optimize clients' trading speed and efficiency, Interactive Brokers provides some powerful suites of trading platforms. Below is the list:
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Client Portal
A one-stop destination to check quotes and place trades, see account balances, Profit and Loss, as well as key performance metrics, funding, and reporting. -
Desktop TWS
A flagship platform designed for active traders and investors who trade multiple products and require power and flexibility. Opening an account in Interactive Brokers and using this platform allows traders to utilize the most advanced algorithms and trading tools, as well as a library of tools and asset-based trading layouts for optimum customization. -
IBKR TWS for Mobile
The IBKR TWS for Mobile is made for traders who want to easily trade and monitor their IBKR account on-the-go from either iOS or Android device (tablet or smartphone). -
IBoT
IBoT is a robot for finding information and placing orders using clients' own words. IBot is available on TWS for Desktop, IBKR Mobile, and Client Portal. -
IBKR WebTrader
IBKR WebTrader is made for traders and investors who prefer a simplified interface. -
IBKR APIs or IBKR Pro
This trading platform is provided especially for traders and investors who want to write their trading software or automated trading programs; third-party software users.
Overall, Interactive Brokers has always been a great choice for those who want to find out a credible and regulated broker for trading. Offering lots of trading platforms, Interactive Brokers has committed to provide their best services for both novices and professionals, since it is suited to every clients' needs.
IG
IG has been in existence for almost 50 years, making it the oldest broker on this list, and is the only one that can challenge Interactive Brokers in years of experience. This has allowed it to grow into one of the most reputable brokers in the world while being available to most retail traders around the world. It adopts a traditional market maker pricing and execution model which it uses to offer both CFD and traditional share trading.
IG offers access to one of the most varying choices of CFDs with an astonishing 17,000 financial instruments that traders can pick from.
- Stocks – over 13,000 ETFs along with Australian and international shares.
- Forex – more than 80 currency pairs are available with spreads starting from 0.6 pips without any commission fees.
- Indices – there are more than 80 indices available for trading including the FTSE 100, US 500, and Australian 200.
- Commodities – there are about 35 CFDs derived from energy, metal, and soft commodity markets.
- Cryptocurrency – there are 10 major cryptos and crosses for traders to choose from as well as cryptocurrency indexes.
- Other instruments like bonds, options, digital 100s, interest rates, and sectors available for trading.
The reputation of this broker manages to attract over 313,000 clients worldwide. The parent company reports a yearly revenue of £863.0 million in 2021 and has a market value of £2.9 billion.
IG Markets is an online trading provider with decades of experience in the financial market. Founded in 1974, the world-leading company has gathered more than 178,000 clients worldwide with over 16,000 markets reached as of 2019. IG Markets is authorized and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). It is also important to note that being established in 1974 makes IG Markets one of the forefront online CFD brokers. Their service has expanded to 15 countries across five continents.
Aside from famous for its reliable experience, IG Markets is also known for its truly broad range of trading instruments. In fact, the broker has long been regarded as one of the most accomplished companies in offering the most trading assets to clients. The wide choice of instruments includes forex pairs, 26 indices, over 12,000 shares, hard and soft commodities, cryptocurrencies, as well as other markets such as bonds, rates, and options.
Forex trading in IG Markets is provided in two ways: CFD and DMA (Direct). Here are the conditions for each type of trading:
Forex CFD
- Minimum spread: 0.6 pips
- Commission: None
- Platforms: Web, mobile apps, MT4, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer, terminals and APIs
- Trading size: Contracts
- Demo account: Yes
Forex DMA
- Minimum spread: No details
- Commission: from $10 per $1 million traded
- Platforms: Web, mobiles apps, L2 Dealer, terminals, and APIs
- Trading size: Lots
- Demo account: No
Both ways of trading are available for all clients. However, DMA does not enable trading in MetaTrader 4. Clients are also not allowed to trade in a demo account for virtual trading. It is essentially a type of trading reserved for experienced traders with high necessity for the best pricing in the market, as DMA offers market depth from a range of exchanges (including full market depth from the LSE).
Trading platforms in IG Markets are accessible via web, mobile app, and desktop. They are offered with 2 main varieties: Core Platforms and Specialist Platforms. The core platform is meant for all types of trading with the add-ons of DMA, ProRealTime access, and Forex Direct. Meanwhile, Specialist Platforms consist of L2 Dealer, ProRealTime, and MetaTrader 4.
The first two platforms charge fees that include minimum $2000 balance and monthly fees for shares data and level 2 prices (for L2 Dealer), as well as platform fees amounting to $40 per month and monthly fee for shares data (for ProRealTime).
IG Markets does not require a minimum balance to open an account. It also provides a swap-free account that frees clients for any interest, rollover, or swap charges on overnight positions. Yet, All costs and charges are built into the spread. This account suits well with long-term traders who need to keep their positions open for days or even weeks.
For beginners, IG Markets builds an IG Academy that gives interactive education and online trading courses. This way, clients can get a grip on the financial markets with the essentials of trading provided in infographics, video explainers, and end-of-course quizzes. Even better, the IG Academy is already integrated into its mobile app so clients can always learn about financial markets in much more efficient ways.
In conclusion, IG Markets is a client-friendly broker with more than 40 years of experience to back up its credibility. Their efforts and commitments to provide the best varieties of trading platforms are proven in the unique Core and Specialist Platforms.
Traders with little experience can apply to Forex CFD account in either Core Platforms or MetaTrader 4, while professionals can achieve the best experience in the financial market with IG Market's DMA trading and L2 Dealer or ProRealTime platforms.
Overall, those are some of the biggest market maker brokers in the industry with all of their specific features. You can check them out from each of their websites to determine if they are well-suited to your needs. Just note that market maker brokers are still market makers, so they don't act as an intermediary between you and the market; they are the market itself. For more information on this type of broker, go to "Broker Fact Check: Are Market Makers Always Bad?"
6 Comments
Jan 5 2023
What`s market maker mechanism in broker, I mean how they work and get money then? Because I never heard about market maker brokers in Forex and I think do they safe? But it guaranted with some financial regulator, right? Many consideration at Trading Forex and it make me so confuse right now
Jan 5 2023
Jan 5 2023
Jan 5 2023
Jan 10 2023
Out of all the market maker brokers described in this article, I am most attracted by the XM broker. Why XM? Because I like to trade at low cost. And yeah, as explained that this broker provides trading with low spreads. And because it has been in operation since 2009, it means that its customers have trusted it for about 12 years. And yeah, I'm sure this broker has many loyal customers.So it seems, I'm interested in joining as one of the customers. But there's something I want to ask if Avatrade offers CFD trading which consists of currency pairs and cryptocurrencies. So for Xm itself, what trading instruments are offered? If anyone knows, friends can help answer yes...
Jan 10 2023