NDD Order Routing Flow
In a No Dealing Desk model, your order never touches a human dealer. It travels through a fully automated chain: from your platform, through the broker's STP engine, to a Smart Order Router, and finally to one or more liquidity providers. This diagram traces that journey.
Step-by-Step Breakdown
Client Platform
Trader submits an order via MT4/MT5, cTrader, or proprietary platform. The order includes instrument, volume, direction, and price tolerance.
Broker Gateway
The order hits the broker's FIX gateway server. It is validated (margin check, symbol check, session check) and timestamped.
STP Engine
Straight-Through Processing engine passes the order without manual intervention. No dealing desk reviews or holds the order.
Smart Order Router
SOR evaluates all connected LPs in real time. It considers price, depth, historical fill quality, and latency to select the optimal execution venue.
Liquidity Providers
The order is sent to one or more LPs (Tier-1 banks, non-bank market makers, ECNs). LPs either fill, partially fill, or reject.
Execution Report
The LP sends back an execution report with fill price, volume, and timestamp. The broker passes this directly to the client.
Key Insight
The critical difference from a dealing desk model: at no point does the broker take the opposite side of the trade. The broker acts as a router, not a counterparty. Revenue comes from commission or transparent markup, not from client losses.