Direct Access Broker

A direct access broker will send your day trading order DIRECTLY to the market leading to very fast execution speed. Online brokers (like Datek, Schwab etc) can't compete with this speed, which is essential for day trading. The direct access software tends also to be much more geared towards day trading, with shortcuts for the rabid day trader such as default trade size, default routing and so on. Properly configured, most direct access broker software will allow you to simply click once to place an order. Also, having control over the routing gives you much more options in your trades. In day trading emergencies (such as when a stock goes into free fall) you will find it much easier to get your order placed than if you are hopefully clicking on your online broker's lame webpage.If you use an online broker, you might find a day trading fee structure that charges you, say, $10 per trade, up to 1000 shares. WIth a direct access broker, and an ECN route, you may have to pay 3 times as much. HOWEVER, the day trading benefits (execution speed, trade price and so on) will FAR outweigh any downsides. You will also probably find that the majority of direct access brokers will waive fees if you make a minimum number of trades per month, and this isn't hard to acheive in most trading cases.

Spread Betting Broker

The alternative gaining ground is to open a spread betting account for day trading, especially if you are trading in theUK or Europe, as there are major tax advantages over traditional day trading accounts at time of writing. Deal4Free, Finspreads and IGIndex are the big players.

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