Ultra-low latency direct market access is a set of technologies used as part of modern trading strategies, where speed of execution is critical.
As defined by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), DMA arrangement is a process by which traders transmit orders on their own, without any handling or re-entry by another person, directly into the market’s trade matching system for execution.
It is at this point that brokers may monitor the behaviour of their DMA clients.
For the purpose of best execution, first to market is an important feature for some buy-side strategies such as high-frequency trading.
Other technologies firms offer independent products to measure such low latencies.