Key takeaways
- A-Book passes client risk to liquidity providers; B-Book keeps it in-house.
- Most brokers run a hybrid model, routing by group or client profile.
- Whatever the model, exposure monitoring and clear rules are essential.
A-Book
Client orders are passed to liquidity providers. The broker earns from spreads, markups and commissions, and market risk sits with the LP.
B-Book
The broker takes the other side of client trades. It can be profitable but concentrates risk with the broker and requires strong monitoring and capital.
Hybrid
Flow is routed by group, symbol, size or client behaviour. For example, experienced or high-volume clients may be A-Booked while small retail flow is internalised.
Configuring it in MetaTrader
- Routing rules at group level, often through the bridge.
- Exposure limits per symbol.
- Alerts for large positions and unusual behaviour.
- Daily risk and toxic flow reports.
Risk policy is a management decision; configuration and monitoring are technical work. See Risk Management.