What we measure
Order fill consistency relative to the quoted price, typical slippage under normal market conditions, and whether the broker publishes execution statistics or policy (such as best-execution commitments) that can be independently checked.
Why execution quality is hard to fake
A tight advertised spread means little if orders routinely fill at a worse price than quoted. We treat published execution policy and account-type structure (e.g., ECN vs. market-maker models) as a proxy for how seriously a broker treats fill quality.
Why it carries 20% weight
Execution affects every trade the same way cost does, but is harder to verify independently than a published spread - weighted meaningfully, just slightly below spreads and regulation where evidence is more directly checkable.
How this feeds the rank score
Brokers with clearer, more favorable execution structures and policies score higher on this factor, combined with the other 4 at their published weights for the overall rank.