Brokers need to do more than just provide access to markets—they need to offer superior execution, transparent pricing, and the right infrastructure to support traders in all conditions. While many brokers claim to have the best execution and tightest spreads, the real question is: How do they achieve this?
To dive deeper into how Exness sets itself apart, we spoke with Milica Nikolic, Trading Product Operations Team Leader, about Exness’ approach to liquidity, pricing, and execution technology—and how the company ensures a seamless experience for its over 1 million active traders.
You lead the Trading Product Operations team at Exness, a broker known for its innovation and reliability. Can you share an overview of how Exness maintains its leadership in the industry?
I believe that the reason we have become industry leaders can be traced back to the beginning of Exness. From its inception, Petr Valov, Exness’ founder and CEO, set out to create a company that put clients first. He was the only developer in the company for the first two years of operation, but he wasn’t just coding. He actively listened to clients, communicated with them in chats, identified their problems and needs, and developed solutions himself.
His vision for Exness wasn’t just about creating a brokerage–it was about engineering something better than anything that existed at the time. When you combine a deep understanding of how our complex system works with a client-focused approach and the expertise to identify and understand risks, you get a formula that is safe for the broker and provides something truly unique to clients. That’s what shaped Exness, and this mindset still defines how we work today.
This dedication cascades down to everyone and everything we do. We tailor our product to our clients by combining their requirements with a deep understanding of our complex system. We build our own solutions, Pricing engines, and execution logic–everything is proprietary. That’s what allows us to stay ahead of the market instead of just following it.
When a new developer joins us, they learn about what makes Exness different. Everyone is encouraged to question everything, to look under the hood, and to think critically. If something is inefficient, communicate it, find solutions, and improve our end product. We have a culture where we encourage people to take ownership, step up, contribute, and refine the system.
A great example of this can be found in the Trading team. Suppose I approach Igor Desyatov, Exness Chief Trading Officer, with an idea. His hands-on expertise and knowledge of both the market and our solutions give him an immediate understanding of its risks and potential benefits and how much work it would require for us to implement it. This enables quick, informed decisions, making the team more agile and efficient.
With Exness operating at such an impressive scale–over 1 million active clients–how do you ensure consistency in execution quality across millions of trades daily, especially during high-volatility market events?
When you’re handling trades on this scale, maintaining consistent execution quality is extremely important. It’s not just about volume—it’s about ensuring that millions of transactions are executed consistently with maximum speed and efficiency, even during high-volatility events.
We began preparing for higher trade volumes long before reaching 1 million active clients. We asked ourselves, How are we going to manage execution on a larger scale? What happens when we multiply in size? If we had waited until we hit 1 million, it would have been too late. Forward planning drove us to develop an execution algorithm that allows us to process pending orders during major news events faster than before. This helps minimize execution delays due to congested MT (MetaTrader) servers, improving client experience when volatility spikes.
We also monitor execution quality after every major economic event. We check how many orders were executed within the promised guidelines set out in the client agreement. If anything falls outside of those limits, we proactively compensate clients. We don’t wait for them to come to us–something most brokers don’t do.
Liquidity is critical in ensuring tight spreads and accurate pricing. How does Exness use technology to optimize liquidity provisioning to benefit clients?
To answer this question, let’s look at how pricing works in the industry, using FX as an example. It all starts with tier-1 investment banks. These banks have huge clients that make large transactions. Let’s say a corporate client in the US needs to pay a European supplier in Euros. The bank trades EURUSD on their behalf, aiming to ensure they get the best exchange rate. To do so, they place limit orders on interbank trading platforms (thus saving the spread cost), and when these platforms are filled with limit orders, it creates deep liquidity pools in the interbank market, forming the basis of pricing that permeates the spot FX market.
Now, when uncertainty kicks in – let’s say big news like NFP – these banks try to avoid risk. They start pulling their orders from the order books, which is what causes spreads to widen. When the orders closest to the market price are pulled out, it results in spreads widening, which trickles down to mid-sized banks, liquidity providers, and eventually brokers. This is why we see spreads blowing out when the market is volatile.
Most brokers accept this as a reality, and pass on the pricing they receive from their sources to their clients (including wide spreads), but Exness does not.
At Exness, we built our own price aggregator that combines data from a variety of sources and combines it, taking into consideration multiple factors such as volatility, depth of market, etc. We don’t just look at what one bank or one LP is offering, but rather the overall market, filter out the noise, and determine the prevailing price level and the best possible spread we can offer our traders. During periods of volatility, I have observed that we offer some of the tightest spreads in the industry on popular instruments like Gold, USOIL, USDJPY, EURUSD, BTCUSD, etc*.
Due to our large balance sheet, we can take on more risk than most brokers, meaning we can afford to offer our clients better-than-market spreads. And thanks to our in-house aggregation logic, we are able to create custom better-than-market spreads based on volatility and our risk appetite, rather than having to widen spreads when the rest of the market widens. Finally, thanks to our size and ability to take on more risks than many other brokers, we can execute very large trades at the same prices as small ones, without market impact – i.e. very large trades do not get any additional slippage due to their size, and are filled at the same price displayed in our trading terminals as very small trades.
For example, if you place a large Bitcoin trade on most other exchanges, you’ll experience a lot of slippage because your order goes through the order book. On the other hand, we can absorb large trades without slippage because we are a market maker and willing to offer clients the chance to trade any volume at the prices we display.
Trust and transparency are core to Exness’ values. What measures do you take to provide clients with clarity around pricing, order execution, and trading conditions in an industry that often faces scrutiny in these areas?
Being good people is one of our core values, which is reflected in everything we do. We always honor what we promise clients and make decisions based on what would be in their best interests.
We maintain close collaboration between our trading and client-facing teams so that whenever issues that affect our clients arise, we know about them immediately and can take remedial action when appropriate. Transparency is key, and we believe in proactively addressing potential concerns rather than waiting for clients to report them.
Our approach is simple: we always do right by our clients. We don’t make arbitrary decisions or apply different rules depending on the situation. We do what is fair and transparent for everyone.
For example, when it comes to pricing, if we identify a pricing issue, we proactively check if it affected any clients negatively and remedy the situation without them needing to contact us. If something ever needs to be addressed, we are proactive, communicate, and resolve it in a way that maintains trust.
This is why traders stick with us— they know Exness is a broker that puts integrity first.
Final thoughts
Throughout this conversation, Milica’s expertise and deep understanding of trading operations have provided a rare look into what makes Exness stand out in a highly competitive industry.
But beyond technology and processes, it’s experts like Milica that make the real difference. Their ability to challenge assumptions, refine strategies, and push for continuous improvement allows Exness to evolve alongside traders’ needs.
As financial markets become increasingly complex, the importance of expert-driven innovation will only increase. At Exness, it’s clear that staying ahead isn’t just about technology—it’s about the people shaping it.
* “Tightest spreads” refers to the maximum spreads offered by Exness on the abovementioned instruments for the first two seconds following high-impact news. This comparison is made between the Exness Pro account and commission-free accounts of several competitors, excluding agent commission, over the period referenced above. Spreads may fluctuate and widen due to factors including market volatility, news releases, economic events, when markets open or close, and the type of instruments being traded.
Brokers need to do more than just provide access to markets—they need to offer superior execution, transparent pricing, and the right infrastructure to support traders in all conditions. While many brokers claim to have the best execution and tightest spreads, the real question is: How do they achieve this?
To dive deeper into how Exness sets itself apart, we spoke with Milica Nikolic, Trading Product Operations Team Leader, about Exness’ approach to liquidity, pricing, and execution technology—and how the company ensures a seamless experience for its over 1 million active traders.
You lead the Trading Product Operations team at Exness, a broker known for its innovation and reliability. Can you share an overview of how Exness maintains its leadership in the industry?
I believe that the reason we have become industry leaders can be traced back to the beginning of Exness. From its inception, Petr Valov, Exness’ founder and CEO, set out to create a company that put clients first. He was the only developer in the company for the first two years of operation, but he wasn’t just coding. He actively listened to clients, communicated with them in chats, identified their problems and needs, and developed solutions himself.
His vision for Exness wasn’t just about creating a brokerage–it was about engineering something better than anything that existed at the time. When you combine a deep understanding of how our complex system works with a client-focused approach and the expertise to identify and understand risks, you get a formula that is safe for the broker and provides something truly unique to clients. That’s what shaped Exness, and this mindset still defines how we work today.
This dedication cascades down to everyone and everything we do. We tailor our product to our clients by combining their requirements with a deep understanding of our complex system. We build our own solutions, Pricing engines, and execution logic–everything is proprietary. That’s what allows us to stay ahead of the market instead of just following it.
When a new developer joins us, they learn about what makes Exness different. Everyone is encouraged to question everything, to look under the hood, and to think critically. If something is inefficient, communicate it, find solutions, and improve our end product. We have a culture where we encourage people to take ownership, step up, contribute, and refine the system.
A great example of this can be found in the Trading team. Suppose I approach Igor Desyatov, Exness Chief Trading Officer, with an idea. His hands-on expertise and knowledge of both the market and our solutions give him an immediate understanding of its risks and potential benefits and how much work it would require for us to implement it. This enables quick, informed decisions, making the team more agile and efficient.
With Exness operating at such an impressive scale–over 1 million active clients–how do you ensure consistency in execution quality across millions of trades daily, especially during high-volatility market events?
When you’re handling trades on this scale, maintaining consistent execution quality is extremely important. It’s not just about volume—it’s about ensuring that millions of transactions are executed consistently with maximum speed and efficiency, even during high-volatility events.
We began preparing for higher trade volumes long before reaching 1 million active clients. We asked ourselves, How are we going to manage execution on a larger scale? What happens when we multiply in size? If we had waited until we hit 1 million, it would have been too late. Forward planning drove us to develop an execution algorithm that allows us to process pending orders during major news events faster than before. This helps minimize execution delays due to congested MT (MetaTrader) servers, improving client experience when volatility spikes.
We also monitor execution quality after every major economic event. We check how many orders were executed within the promised guidelines set out in the client agreement. If anything falls outside of those limits, we proactively compensate clients. We don’t wait for them to come to us–something most brokers don’t do.
Liquidity is critical in ensuring tight spreads and accurate pricing. How does Exness use technology to optimize liquidity provisioning to benefit clients?
To answer this question, let’s look at how pricing works in the industry, using FX as an example. It all starts with tier-1 investment banks. These banks have huge clients that make large transactions. Let’s say a corporate client in the US needs to pay a European supplier in Euros. The bank trades EURUSD on their behalf, aiming to ensure they get the best exchange rate. To do so, they place limit orders on interbank trading platforms (thus saving the spread cost), and when these platforms are filled with limit orders, it creates deep liquidity pools in the interbank market, forming the basis of pricing that permeates the spot FX market.
Now, when uncertainty kicks in – let’s say big news like NFP – these banks try to avoid risk. They start pulling their orders from the order books, which is what causes spreads to widen. When the orders closest to the market price are pulled out, it results in spreads widening, which trickles down to mid-sized banks, liquidity providers, and eventually brokers. This is why we see spreads blowing out when the market is volatile.
Most brokers accept this as a reality, and pass on the pricing they receive from their sources to their clients (including wide spreads), but Exness does not.
At Exness, we built our own price aggregator that combines data from a variety of sources and combines it, taking into consideration multiple factors such as volatility, depth of market, etc. We don’t just look at what one bank or one LP is offering, but rather the overall market, filter out the noise, and determine the prevailing price level and the best possible spread we can offer our traders. During periods of volatility, I have observed that we offer some of the tightest spreads in the industry on popular instruments like Gold, USOIL, USDJPY, EURUSD, BTCUSD, etc*.
Due to our large balance sheet, we can take on more risk than most brokers, meaning we can afford to offer our clients better-than-market spreads. And thanks to our in-house aggregation logic, we are able to create custom better-than-market spreads based on volatility and our risk appetite, rather than having to widen spreads when the rest of the market widens. Finally, thanks to our size and ability to take on more risks than many other brokers, we can execute very large trades at the same prices as small ones, without market impact – i.e. very large trades do not get any additional slippage due to their size, and are filled at the same price displayed in our trading terminals as very small trades.
For example, if you place a large Bitcoin trade on most other exchanges, you’ll experience a lot of slippage because your order goes through the order book. On the other hand, we can absorb large trades without slippage because we are a market maker and willing to offer clients the chance to trade any volume at the prices we display.
Trust and transparency are core to Exness’ values. What measures do you take to provide clients with clarity around pricing, order execution, and trading conditions in an industry that often faces scrutiny in these areas?
Being good people is one of our core values, which is reflected in everything we do. We always honor what we promise clients and make decisions based on what would be in their best interests.
We maintain close collaboration between our trading and client-facing teams so that whenever issues that affect our clients arise, we know about them immediately and can take remedial action when appropriate. Transparency is key, and we believe in proactively addressing potential concerns rather than waiting for clients to report them.
Our approach is simple: we always do right by our clients. We don’t make arbitrary decisions or apply different rules depending on the situation. We do what is fair and transparent for everyone.
For example, when it comes to pricing, if we identify a pricing issue, we proactively check if it affected any clients negatively and remedy the situation without them needing to contact us. If something ever needs to be addressed, we are proactive, communicate, and resolve it in a way that maintains trust.
This is why traders stick with us— they know Exness is a broker that puts integrity first.
Final thoughts
Throughout this conversation, Milica’s expertise and deep understanding of trading operations have provided a rare look into what makes Exness stand out in a highly competitive industry.
But beyond technology and processes, it’s experts like Milica that make the real difference. Their ability to challenge assumptions, refine strategies, and push for continuous improvement allows Exness to evolve alongside traders’ needs.
As financial markets become increasingly complex, the importance of expert-driven innovation will only increase. At Exness, it’s clear that staying ahead isn’t just about technology—it’s about the people shaping it.
* “Tightest spreads” refers to the maximum spreads offered by Exness on the abovementioned instruments for the first two seconds following high-impact news. This comparison is made between the Exness Pro account and commission-free accounts of several competitors, excluding agent commission, over the period referenced above. Spreads may fluctuate and widen due to factors including market volatility, news releases, economic events, when markets open or close, and the type of instruments being traded.
