In order to suit the needs of traders of all preferences and levels of experience, HF Markets offers its clients a variety of account types to choose from. You may choose from fixed and floating spreads, commission-free trading (in Micro, Premium, and Fixed accounts) or tighter spreads, involving commission fees. Beginners can sign up for Micro accounts for as little as $5, and micro-lots are available for trade on all accounts.
Apart from the above-mentioned account types, HotForex offers 2 more copy trading ones: an Auto Account, enabling traders to subscribe to free and paid Trading Signals from the MQL5 Community, (built-in to the MT4 trading terminal); and HF Social, which provides trading powered by FxStat.
What is more, swap-free (Islamic) accounts are available with a minimum initial deposit $150, designated for clients who are not willing to earn interest for religious reasons
Trading Accounts
| Account type | Minimum deposit | Minimum trade size | Maximum leverage | Average Spreads |
| Micro | $50 | 0.01 | 1:1000 | 1.2 pip on EUR/USD |
| Premium | $500 | 0.01 | 1:400 | 1.2 on EUR/USD |
| Fixed | $500 | 0.01 | 1:400 | 1.8 pip on EUR/USD |
| Zero | $100 | 0.01 | 1:200 | 0.1 pips on EUR/USD + commission $4 per lot traded (per side) |
| Currenex | $500 | 0.01 | 1:400 | 0.2 pips on EUR/USD + commission $5.00 per lot traded (per side) |
| VIP | $20,000 | 0.01 | 1:300 | 0.2 pips on EUR/USD + commission $6.00 per lot traded round turn |
The Company. Security of Funds
| Company | Country | Regulation |
| HF Markets (Europe) Ltd | Cyprus | CySEC |
| HF Markets (UK) Ltd | UK | FCA |
| HF Markets SA (DIFC) Ltd | UAE | DFSA |
HotForex is a retail forex broker, offering attractive conditions for trading in a wide range of instruments, including Forex, Spot Metals, and CFDs on commodities, indices, and popular shares such as Google, Apple, and Facebook.
HotForex is a brand name of a group of companies, operating in different jurisdictions. The most reliable is HF Markets (Europe) Ltd., a Cypriot Investment Firm (CIF), registered in the European Union and licensed by Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
The broker also holds licenses from UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the South African regulator, as well as from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). The HF Markets group also includes operates two offshore units (HF Markets Ltd., registered in Mauritius, and HF Markets (SV) Ltd., incorporated in St. Vincent & the Grenadines).
Cyprus is currently one of the most attractive forex broker destinations and probably the main reason for this is its well-balanced regulation. Tough regulation with high entry capital requirements and low maximum leverage has reduced competition in the United States and Japan, while light touch regulation affects credibility and safety.
CySEC applies certain rules and requirements to Cyprus Investment Firms, which are not as stringent as those in the US, for instance, however, they provide a certain level of credibility. Cypriot Investment Firms must hold at least €1,000,000 in order to prove their good financial standing. Besides, they are required to keep customer funds in segregated accounts, separated from the company’s operating funds.
As a further guarantee to clients’ funds, all CySEC-regulated companies are members of the Investor Compensation Fund, which is able to pay compensation up to 20,000 EUR, If the company is in default.
Additionally, every CySEC- regulated investment company is also MiFID compliant and therefore entitled to offer cross-border services within the EU under the MiFID Passporting Regime. This also means that they have to meet all requirements for financial services providers set on an EU level, such as providing negative balance protection to their clients, not offering trading incentives that expose their clients to additional risk, and more.
Trading Conditions
Minimum Initial Deposit
In order to open an account with HotForex, traders have to invest a minimum of $5. Such minimum initial amount is comparatively low, however, many Cyprus-based brokers require even less. For instance, FXTM and XM demand just $5 from their clients as a start.
Spreads & Commissions
This broker offers both floating and fixed spreads. Fixed ones are comparatively low, amounting to 1.8 pips on EUR/USD. In comparison, Easy-forex offers fixed spreads amounting to 1.8 pips on VIP accounts only.
As regards floating spreads with HotForex, typical ones on commission-free accounts amount to 1.2 pips on EUR/USD, which is average. According to us, the conditions on the Zero account are the most attractive ones: spreads averaged 0.1 pips on EUR/USD and commission $4 per 1.00 lot traded (per side), so basically trading costs amount to around 0.9 pips, commission included. And you can open a Zero account with just $100.
For purposes of comparison, average variable spreads on Exness’ commission-free accounts amount to 0.9 pips on EUR/USD, while ECN account holders are offered average spreads of 0.4 pips on EUR/USD with a $5 commission per standard lot.
Leverage
The maximum leverage with HotForex is high, reaching 1:1000. Some jurisdictions cap leverage ratios at considerably lower levels (1:50 in the USA, 1:100 in Poland).
The reason for such leverage limitations is that the higher leverage, the higher the risk of losses, which may even exceed initial investments. However, many Cyprus-based brokers offer leverage levels, similar to the ones provided by HotForex (XM – up to 1:888), or even higher – Exness offers leverage up to 1:2000. More FX brokers offering leverage equal to or exceeding 1:500 may be viewed here.
Trading Platforms
This broker supports both MetaQuotes’ platforms: the standard MetaTrader4 (MT4) and the latest MetaTrader 5.
MT4 is an internationally acclaimed trading terminal, offering a full spectrum of trading tools and resources: built-in technical indicators, an advanced charting package, a wide range of Expert Advisors (EAs), and extensive back-testing options for them. Traders can download ready-made or create their own EAs and let the program do all the work, with no human emotions involved.
MetaTrader4 is available to clients of HotForex as desktop, web, and mobile versions. More brokers using the MT4 can be viewed here.
What is more, HotForex provides MT4 MultiTerminal, which offers a practical and convenient way to manage multiple accounts simultaneously from a single interface.
The MT5, on the other hand, was intended as a multi-asset trading platform. In addition to forex, it facilitates trading in exchange-traded stocks. The platform is generally an enhanced version of the MT4, keeping most of the functionalities of its predecessor – the great charting, Expert Advisors, and more.
Besides, free VPS hosting is offered to both new and existing customers who deposit a minimum of $5,000 and maintain this amount for the subsequent months. VPS hosting allows the execution of orders 24 hours, 5 days a week.
In addition, HotForex has developed a copy trading service of its own. It is called HFCopy and enables the broker’s clients to follow other traders and copy their deals.
Promotions
By the time of writing this review, HotForex runs the following promotions:
– 100% SuperCharged Bonus – applies to each deposit of $250 by FIX, Premium, Currenex, and Islamic account holders up to $50,000;
– 30% Rescue Bonus – to a maximum of $7,000 which cannot be withdrawn under any circumstances;
– 100% Credit Bonus – applies on new deposits or internal transfers to trading accounts of at least $100 (available on Micro, Premium, Islamic, FIX, and Currenex account types), which can be withdrawn as soon as trading volume requirements are met.
– Performance-based competitions: demo contest with $3500 pool prize;
– Other ongoing promotions: HTA award and a $1000 cash prize as a showcase to the superb skills that lead to an excellent performance.
Methods of Payment
HotForex supports a wide range of payment methods: credit/debit cards (Visa, Visa Electron, MasterCard, Maestro, American Express), bank wire transfer, and e-wallet payment systems Skrill, Neteller, WebMoney, TrustPay, iDeal, Sofort, Western Union, Przelewy24.
Conclusion
HotForex is an EU award-winning broker that offers a wide range of trading products and account types under competitive conditions. To sum up the above, here are the advantages and drawbacks with regards to this broker.
