Dealing desk versus ECN is a spectrum, not a switch
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2026 7:31 pm
Brokers advertise themselves as ECN, STP, market maker, or hybrid. The marketing labels hide a messy reality, which is that most firms mix several approaches depending on the client and the moment.
A market maker takes the other side of trades. Conflict of interest is built in, but spreads can be fixed and fills can be quick. ECN or STP brokers route orders to liquidity providers, usually with a commission, and the quality depends on how many providers are connected and how deep the book is.
Many brokers run hybrid models. Small, losing accounts might be internalised while profitable scalpers are passed to the market. That's a reason to watch execution quality over time, not just on day one.
Signs of trouble: fills that get slower after a winning streak, slippage that turns one-sided, or sudden changes in account terms.
A cheap test is to open a tiny account on a second broker with a different model and run identical orders on both for a fortnight. Comparing average slippage, fill times and rejection counts says more than any marketing page ever could.
None of this is proof of anything alone, but the combination is worth noting. Has anyone seen their execution quality change after consistent profits?
A market maker takes the other side of trades. Conflict of interest is built in, but spreads can be fixed and fills can be quick. ECN or STP brokers route orders to liquidity providers, usually with a commission, and the quality depends on how many providers are connected and how deep the book is.
Many brokers run hybrid models. Small, losing accounts might be internalised while profitable scalpers are passed to the market. That's a reason to watch execution quality over time, not just on day one.
Signs of trouble: fills that get slower after a winning streak, slippage that turns one-sided, or sudden changes in account terms.
A cheap test is to open a tiny account on a second broker with a different model and run identical orders on both for a fortnight. Comparing average slippage, fill times and rejection counts says more than any marketing page ever could.
None of this is proof of anything alone, but the combination is worth noting. Has anyone seen their execution quality change after consistent profits?