What is Broker?

The regulated firm that connects your orders to the market, holds your funds, and provides the platform, leverage and pricing you trade on.

A broker is the company that gives a retail trader access to the market. It provides the trading platform, streams prices, executes your orders, holds your deposited funds, and extends the leverage that makes small-account trading possible. Brokers earn through spreads, commissions and swap fees. Some pass your orders through to external liquidity providers, while others act as the counterparty to your trades internally — a structural difference in incentives that matters far more than most beginners realise.

Choosing a broker is a risk decision, not a shopping decision. The first filter is regulation: a broker overseen by a serious authority (such as the FCA, ASIC or CySEC) answers to someone when disputes arise, while an unregulated offshore entity effectively holds your money on trust. After regulation, compare real trading conditions — spreads during the hours you trade, execution speed, withdrawal reliability and swap policy. No bonus offer compensates for a broker that will not give your money back.