Broker shortlist criteria I refuse to compromise on

[LondonScalper]

Over twenty years I've had accounts with something like fourteen brokers. Most were fine, a few were excellent, and two were bad enough that I still remember the moment I realised it. My shortlist criteria come mostly from those two.

Regulation by an authority I'd actually be able to complain to. For me, as a UK resident, that means the FCA, or at a stretch another regulator with a working compensation scheme. An offshore entity of a well-known brand is not the same thing.

Withdrawals that work. Before funding properly I deposit a small amount and withdraw it. If the withdrawal takes more than three working days or comes with questions that weren't mentioned up front, the broker is off the list.

Stop levels of zero, or very close to it, on the pairs I trade.

A written answer to "do you allow positions held for under one minute?" If the answer is vague, I move on.

Server-side stops. I want to know my stop lives on their server, not in my terminal.

Commission and spreads I can verify on a live account within a week, not just on a demo.

A platform that doesn't fight me. MT4, MT5 or cTrader, with full trade history I can export.

Things I'm happy to compromise on: the website, the education section, the account manager, the bonuses (I'd rather there weren't any), and the number of instruments.

The two bad brokers both failed the withdrawal test. I didn't run it back then.

[Shadow Trader]

The small withdrawal test is the one I'd put first on anyone's list. I'd add a second version of it: withdraw again after the account has made some profit. A few brokers I've heard about were fine with returning the deposit but slower once profit was involved.

On holding times under a minute, I'd also ask about the number of trades. Some brokers have no rule on holding time but will flag accounts that do more than a certain number of trades a day. Better to know that in writing too.

The server side stops point matters a lot for scalpers. I'd add a question about how stops behave during the rollover spread spike. Some brokers trigger stops on the bid for longs, which is normal, but a few use the ask, which means a widening spread can stop you out with no price move.

I agree on bonuses. A bonus usually comes with conditions on withdrawals, which conflicts with your second criterion.

Do you test the support desk too? I send a technical question during the London open and see how long the answer takes.

[Shadow Trader]

One more on stop levels, because a zero stop level on the spec page doesn't tell the whole story. MT4 and MT5 also have a freeze level, which blocks changes to an order or stop once price is within a set distance of it.

Most brokers keep it at zero on majors, but some raise it around news without saying so. For a scalper trailing a stop by hand, the modify button then returns an error at the exact moment you need it.

I test it on a live micro account during a data release, moving a stop to two pips from price and back again. If that fails, the broker goes off the list whatever the spec page says.

The other thing I'd add is that the shortlist isn't a one time exam. I had a broker pass everything, then six months later move my account to a different server with noticeably worse fills.

So I rerun the withdrawal and fill checks twice a year on every account I keep funded. It costs an afternoon and has caught one change already.

When a broker fails a recheck, do you move everything at once, or keep a small balance there while the replacement proves itself? I've done both and still don't know which I prefer.