8 Best Bond Trading Platforms & Brokers in 2023

When it comes to investing, diversifying your portfolio is key, and one of the ways to do this is through bond trading. Bonds offer a reliable source of income and can help balance the risk associated with stock and cryptocurrency investments. 

However, with the large number of online trading platforms that have emerged in recent years, it can be challenging to find out which broker has the best set of features, competitive fees, and a wide range of supported products.

In this article, we’ll explore the world of bond trading, from understanding the basics to choosing the best trading platforms and brokers.

Here are the best bond trading platforms in 2023:

1. E*TRADE – The best bond trading platform overall
2. Interactive Brokers – A bond platform with more than 1 million listed bonds
3. Fidelity – One of the most reputable online brokers with an extensive bond offering
4. CMC Markets – A bond broker with lightning-fast execution times
5. IG – A leading CFD broker with a comprehensive bonds offering
6. TD Ameritrade – A leading option for fixed-income investing
7. AvaTrade – Trade bond CFDs with up to 5x leverage
8. MarketAxess – A bond marketplace designed for institutional investors

The 8 best bond trading platforms: Examining the top brokers for bonds in 2023

In the following sections, we are going to examine the best bond trading platform available in the market today. Please note that while the following ranking is rooted in objective aspects like trading fees, range of supported bonds, and more, the ranking is ultimately based on this writer’s opinion, and the ranking spot itself doesn’t necessarily mean that one platform is better than the other.

1. E*TRADE – The best bond trading platform overall

E*TRADE is the leading broker in the bond trading space. The platform is backed by Morgan Stanley, one of the largest investment banks in the world. E*TRADE offers a wide range of bond products, including US Treasury bonds, municipal bonds, corporate bonds, and more, charging $1 commission per bond. It is worth noting that E*TRADE is not only the best bond broker around but also one of the best commodity trading platforms in the industry.

In addition to the wide range of products, E*TRADE provides helpful educational material via the Bond Resource Center. The dedicated platform allows you to quickly find bonds that match your investment goals, get market news and analysis, and create a bond portfolio using the Bond Ladder Builder, which allows you to manage interest rates and calculate expected income streams.

Key features: 

• More than 50,000 bond products, ranging from US Treasuries to high-yield, high-risk bonds
• A dedicated Bond Resource Center with a wide range of educational materials
• Bond Ladder Builder helps investors manage interest rate risks and build bond portfolios for a steady income stream
• Owned by international investment banking giant Morgan Stanley
• Suitable for both beginners and experienced traders

Visit E*TRADE

2. Interactive Brokers – A bond platform with more than 1 million listed bonds

Interactive Brokers is one of the best platforms for buying bonds, allowing traders to tap into global bond markets with over 1 million individual products. The offering spans both US and other countries’s bonds, corporate bonds, bond mutual funds and ETFs, and more. Bond traders who want to leverage algorithmic trading to enhance their trades will be happy to learn that Interactive Brokers is one of the best algorithmic trading platforms available in the market today.

While tools like Trader Workstation will appeal to experienced traders due to the extensive set of features, beginners can level up their trading game using Traders’ Academy, which includes 65 free online courses. It is worth mentioning that Interactive Brokers is one of the two platforms on our list trading on the stock market – it is listed on NASDAQ and trading under the ticker symbol IBKR.

Key features: 

• No mark-ups or built-in spreads 
• The Bond Search tool allows you to search bonds by maturity, yield, and quality
• The Trader Workstation platform is a bit complex, but it is highly customizable and offers a wide range of features for experienced traders
• Traders’ Academy with 65 free courses on trading, stocks, futures, crypto, bonds, and more
• Offers 4.83% APY on uninvested cash (on balances above $10,000)

Visit Interactive Brokers

3. Fidelity –  One of the most reputable online brokers with an extensive bond offering

Fidelity has one of the longest track records in the trading industry, serving clients since 1946. The platform is very popular among bond investors due to the huge number of bond products and supported bond product types. Like E*TRADE, the brokerage firm charges $1 per each online bond trade.

Fidelity offers a wide variety of educational material as well – from basic descriptions of bond market dynamics to fixed-income seminars. The platform also offers personalized wealth management services via dedicated advisors who can plan your financial strategies and manage investments.

Key features: 

• One of the largest asset management firms in the world
• More than 100,000 bond products
• Personal wealth management service (for accredited investors)
• Customer support with fixed-income specialists
• A long track record with the company’s origins dating back to 1946

Visit Fidelity

4. CMC Markets – A bond broker with lightning-fast execution times

CMC Markets is one of the best CFD trading platforms, offering a wide range of CFD products relating not only to stocks, forex, and ETFs but bonds as well. It guarantees minimal slippage, with execution times of 0.0075 seconds. In addition, the platform promises a 99.9% fill rate, regardless of trading size.

CMC Markets boasts an advanced trading interface, allowing traders to make use of charting tools and advanced order types (including partial closure, trailing stop loss, etc.). In addition, CMC Market’s mobile application is one of the best in the business, providing bond traders the ability to trade when on the go.

Key features: 

• Industry-leading execution times (0.0075 seconds)
• Regulated by the FCA and LSE
• A CMC Pro account comes with a personal accounts manager, added funds protections, and priority products
• Advanced charting tools and order types

Visit CMC Markets

5. IG – A leading CFD broker with a comprehensive bonds offering

IG is a renowned CFD trading platform that supports CFDs for bonds in addition to stocks, commodities, forex, and other asset classes. Trading bond CFDs allows investors to speculate on bond price movements. In addition, CFDs allow investors to trade fractions of contracts, which can be beneficial to investors who want a higher degree of precision.

The spreads for bond CFDs start at 1 basis point, which is a very competitive trading fee structure compared to other brokers. One benefit of trading CFDs is the ability to magnify market exposure using leverage – it is worth noting that the minimum margin requirement to enter margined positions is 20%. 

Key features: 

• Speculate on bond prices with leveraged derivative contracts
• Supports more than 17,000 global markets
• Competitive fees, with spreads starting at 1 BPS
• A fully regulated FTSE 250 company

Visit IG

6. TD Ameritrade – A leading option for fixed-income investing

TD Ameritrade is another online broker that provides a comprehensive trading offering, ranging from stocks and cryptocurrencies to bonds and fixed-income products. In total, the platform lists more than 40,000 bond products from over 100 dealers, over 3,000 bond mutual funds, and more than 400 bond ETFs.

In addition to the large number of supported bond products, TD Ameritrade features helpful tools like bond ladders and bond alerts. Investors can also request aid from Fixed Income Specialists, which can review portfolios based on personalized investment goals.

Key features: 

• More than 40,000 bond products from 100+ dealers
• Specialized bond investing tools
• Help from TD Ameritrade’s Fixed Income Specialists
• FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor per issuer

Visit TD Ameritrade

7. AvaTrade – Trade bond CFDs with up to 5x leverage

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, AvaTrade is a regulated online trading broker that offers a wide range of trading instruments, including forex, CFDs, stocks, cryptocurrencies, and options. Bond investors can use CFDs on AvaTrade to speculate on bond prices of US, European, and Asian government bonds.

Traders can use leverage of up to 5x when buying and selling bonds. The platform also offers competitive spreads, which start as low as 0.9 pips (percentage in point or price interest point). One of AvaTrade’s goals is to help traders hone their skills through educational resources, webinars, and market analysis, which is why AvaTrade is one of the top choices if you are just starting out in bond CFD trading.

Key features: 

• Up to 5x leverage when trading bond CFDs
• Very competitive spreads and no commission
• Regulated by authorities in Ireland, Australia, Japan, South Africa, Abu Dhabi, British Virgin Islands, and Israel
• Funds are insured up to €20,000

Visit AvaTrade

8. MarketAxess – A bond marketplace designed for institutional investors

MarketAxess is a leading electronic trading platform for the global fixed-income markets. It enables institutional investors and broker-dealers to trade credit instruments, including corporate bonds, government bonds, and municipal bonds. The platform also provides market data and post-trade services.

MarketAxess has a very well-optimized interface for trading bonds and premade trading models that allow traders to choose the ones that best suit their individual trading strategies. It is worth pointing out that MarkeAxess is trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the stock symbol MKTK.

Key features: 

• Easy access to US, European, and Asian sovereign bonds
• An AI-powered algorithmic pricing engine called Composite+ 
• A unified trading interface with customizable price streaming
• Disclosed and anonymous liquidity

Visit MarketAxess

Bond trading FAQs

What are bonds?

A bond is a loan that an investor makes to a borrower, typically a corporation or government. The borrower agrees to pay back the loan, with interest, on a specific date, known as the maturity date. Bonds are considered to be fixed-income securities because they offer a predictable stream of income to the investor.

What are the benefits of investing in bonds?

There are a number of benefits to investing in bonds, including:

• Predictable income stream: Bonds typically pay interest twice a year, so investors can expect a regular stream of income. This can be a good way to supplement retirement income or to cover regular expenses.
• Capital preservation: If an investor holds a bond to maturity, they are guaranteed to receive back their original investment. This makes bonds a relatively low-risk investment option.
• Diversification: Bonds can help to diversify an investment portfolio. This means that if the stock market falls, the value of your bond portfolio may not fall as much.
• Inflation protection: Some types of bonds, such as Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), offer protection against inflation. This means that the value of the bond will increase as inflation rises.

Bonds are usually considered one of the most conservative investments, offering low returns coupled with low risks. For that reason, they are suited for conservative investors, retirees, and investors who are saving for a specific goal.

What are short- and long-term bonds?

Short-term and long-term bonds have different characteristics and risks, and the best type of bond for you will depend on your individual investment goals and risk tolerance.

Short-term bonds typically have maturities of one to five years. They are generally considered to be less risky than long-term bonds because they are less sensitive to changes in interest rates. Short-term bonds also offer lower yields than long-term bonds.

Long-term bonds typically have maturities of 10 years or more. They are more sensitive to changes in interest rates than short-term bonds, which means that their prices can fluctuate more. However, long-term bonds also offer higher yields than short-term bonds.

Here is a table comparing short-term and long-term bonds:

The bottom line: Bonds can be a great portfolio diversifier

Investing in bonds is generally considered one of the safest investment approaches, especially when buying bonds issued by governments. While the potential upside is much lower than investing in stocks, bonds usually provide a steady income stream, which can be attractive to investors who value financial stability over high potential returns.

We believe that the trading platforms listed in our article provide the best bond trading experience possible, both in terms of funds security and trading options. Hopefully, they can be a solid starting point on your bond trading journey. 

If you want to diversify your bond portfolio with stocks to elevate the potential profit upside, consider checking the best stocks to invest in right now. If you want a selection that’s tailored for more conservative investors, we suggest you examine the list of top long-term dividend stocks.