STUDY RECORD · last re-checked 2026-09
CMC Markets Institutional (CMC Connect / API Direct) — institutional liquidity provider
Founded in 1989, CMC Markets UK plc is a licensed institutional liquidity provider on the London Stock Exchange. It offers services primarily to banks, brokers, and funds, but does not serve retail clients. The firm operates under FCA license 173730 and claims extensive institutional experience with partnerships in over 25 countries.
CMC Markets UK plc (institutional services; group parent CMC Markets Group plc, LSE: CMCX) · City of London, United Kingdom · evidence score 90/100
Licence, read on the register
| Regulator | Licence number | Jurisdiction | Tier | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCA | 173730 | UK | tier-1 | open source ↗ |
Tier classification follows the same scale as the retail register: tier-2 means real supervision and client-money segregation, without an investor compensation scheme — never misread it as tier-1 protection.
What this record teaches
Four reading skills, each anchored to something the firm actually published.
- 01 — Teaching pointCMC Markets operates as a tier 1 FCA licensed institutional liquidity provider.
- 02 — Teaching pointThey serve banks, brokers, and funds across more than 25 countries.
- 03 — Teaching pointAPI Direct offers comprehensive multi-asset liquidity with consistent pricing.
Claims ledger
Claims specific enough to be falsified — and the ones that remain the venue's own measurement.
Testable claims
- CMC's own institutional page states 'Formed in 1989 and listed on London Stock Exchange, we have accumulated over 20 years' institutional experience, with existing partnerships in more than 25 countries' (cmcmarkets.com/partners/institutional)
- Own API Direct description: 'comprehensive multi-asset coverage from a single provider with our API Direct feed, including access to our market-leading CFD liquidity and FX product suite' with 'consistent pricing and market depth across more than 400 instruments' (cmcmarkets.com/partners/institutional)
- CMC Connect page: 'CMC Connect offers multi-asset liquidity provision and tailored trading technology to a global institutional client base' (cmcmarkets.com/en/connect)
Claims we cannot verify from outside
- 64.5m spread bet and CFD trades annually (2018-19) and 80,000+ active clients appear on liquidityfinder.com directory copy of CMC profile — directory source, not verified on CMC's own pages
Perimeter and coverage
| Asset classes | Venues | Connectivity | Clients accepted | Explicitly refused |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CFDs, FX spot, Spread betting (UK), Multi-asset derivatives (400+ instruments) | API Direct feed, Prime FX, Prime Derivatives, Grey label / white label platforms | FIX API, REST API, Native API (API Direct), MT4/MT5 white label | Banks, Brokers, Funds, Trading desks, Partnerships in more than 25 countries | Retail clients (institutional arm) |
A firm that publishes its own negative space — who it refuses, where it is not licensed — is materially easier to diligence than one that doesn't. The refusal list is treated here as a disclosure, not a defect.
Self-check
Answer these before you consider the record read. If you cannot, re-read the licence and the claims ledger — the answers are all in what the firm published.
- What types of clients does CMC Markets refuse to serve?
- Which asset classes are covered by CMC Markets' liquidity provision?