What is Direct Market Access (DMA)?

Direct market access (DMA) refers to the ability for investment institutions to make trades and investments — for securities and other asset types — through the order book of an exchange or investment platform they don't normally have access to. This direct access is usually only available to companies, or buy-side firms, that fulfill certain criteria and is realized through third parties such as investment banks, or sell-side firms. DMA is generally fulfilled by making use of algorithmic electronic trading software to fulfill certain order types and investment strategies.