Direct market access (DMA)
Direct market access means that a trader's orders go to the exchange's order book under the broker's supervision, rather than being filled by the broker as a counterparty. In exchange-traded futures every order ends up in the exchange's central book, so the practical questions are which risk checks sit on the path and how short it is, not whether the market is real.
Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026
Definition
Under DMA, the trader's order enters the exchange's central limit order book as the trader specified it: same price, same size, anonymous among all other orders. The broker provides the connection, the risk controls and the clearing, but does not take the other side. Sponsored access is a stricter form where the client's own systems connect through the broker's exchange membership under the broker's controls.
Futures versus dealing-desk products
| Product | Where the order goes | Counterparty |
|---|---|---|
| CME futures via a futures broker | Exchange central order book | Another market participant, cleared by the clearing house |
| Index CFD | Broker's own pricing | Usually the broker |
| Retail spot FX | Broker or its liquidity providers | The broker or its providers |
Worked example
An order to buy 3 ES at 5,000.00 placed through a futures broker adds 3 contracts to the exchange's bid at 5,000.00, visible to every participant with depth data as part of the size at that price. The same intent expressed as an index CFD trade would change nothing in the ES book; its price is derived by the CFD provider.
DMA is not the same as a direct connection
In order flow software, a direct connection means the application speaks the broker's or vendor's protocol itself, without another platform in between, such as Senzoukria's native Rithmic connection compared with a NinjaTrader or Quantower bridge. Both paths end in the exchange's book for futures; they differ in software architecture, not in market access.
In Senzoukria
Orders on a Rithmic connection are routed through the account's FCM and trade route to the exchange. The application's own layer adds guards before an order leaves: trading can be disabled per connection (it is off by default on funded accounts), a per-order contract cap, and an optional confirmation step.
Common mistakes
- Comparing a futures broker with a CFD provider on price alone.
- Believing a 'direct' software connection changes where the order executes.
Related
- Direct connection
- Central limit order book
- Order routing
- Spot FX vs currency futures
- Futures trading stack
In the same section
- Disposition effect
- DOM
- Diagonal imbalance
- DOM profile
- Developing POC
- DOM software
- Demo and trial
- Double distribution
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Frequently asked questions
- Does every futures broker offer DMA?
- For exchange-traded futures, orders are executed on the exchange; there is no dealing desk filling them internally. Brokers differ in the path, the risk checks and the speed, not in whether the order reaches the exchange.
- Is a prop firm evaluation account DMA?
- Many evaluation accounts are simulated, in which case orders do not reach the exchange at all. Funded accounts vary by firm; the firm's documentation states whether and how orders are routed to the market.