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4.43
/ 5
Accepts Nigerian Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.00 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 1000:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. HF Markets Group regulated by the FSCA, FCA, FSC, CySEC and the DFSA.
75-90% of retail traders lose money trading Forex and CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs and leveraged trading work and if you can afford the high risk of losing your money. We may receive compensation when you click on links to products we review. Please read our advertising disclosure. By using this website you agree to our Terms of Service.
HFM (formerly known as HotForex) is a global CFD broker offering a relatively wide range of trading products including Forex, commodities, indices, shares, bonds, and ETFs – though it recently stopped offering crypto CFDs. Nigerian traders will be trading through the St Vincent and Grenadines licenced subsidiary, as there is currently no local Nigerian regulator.
The HFM Micro Account has lower trading costs than most other brokers’ entry-level accounts with a 5 USD minimum deposit, fast market execution and spreads starting at 1 pip on the EUR/USD. Experienced traders will be interested in HFM’s ZERO Spread Account, with EUR/USD spreads starting at 0.0 pips and a 6 USD commission. All accounts are available as Islamic accounts.
HFM supports both the MT4 and MT5 platforms – but unlike most other brokers does not offer its own web-based platform – and has several excellent trading tools to assist traders further. Unfortunately, access to better trading tools like Autochartist, which other brokers offer as a free service, requires an account balance of 100 USD – well above the required minimum deposit.
HFM does not charge any withdrawal or deposit fees and deposits can be made quickly through local Nigerian banks. It allows hedging, scalping, and copy trading and offers an excellent selection of educational and market analysis materials to get new traders started. HFM has a dedicated Nigerian customer service team and a local toll-free customer service number.
| 🏦 Min. Deposit | USD 0 |
| 🛡️ Regulated By | CySEC, FCA, DFSA, FSC |
| 💵 Trading Cost | USD 10 |
| ⚖️ Max. Leverage | 1000:1 |
| 💹 Copy Trading | Yes |
| 🖥️ Platforms | MT4, MT5 |
| 💱 Instruments | Bonds, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Energies, Stock CFDs, ETFs, Forex, Indices, Metals, Stock DMAs |
With a long history of responsible behaviour and international regulation, we consider HFM to be a safe broker to trade with.
Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Cyprus, HFM is the global brand name of HF Markets Group. Entities within the group are regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa (FSCA), and the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles. See below for HFM listed companies:
Nigerian clients of HFM will be trading with HF Markets (SV) Ltd, which is authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of St Vincent and the Grenadines. Unlike other regulators, such as ASIC in Australia and the FCA in the UK, the FSA St Vincent and Grenadines does not force HFM to restrict leverage or to be members of a client compensation scheme. But all Nigerian client funds are held in segregated accounts with top-tier banks and HFM is subject to frequent audits of its finances and client operations. In addition, all Nigerian clients have negative balance protection, meaning they can never lose more money than is held in their trading account.
HFM has won numerous awards for its services and offerings over the years, recent awards include:
With many years of responsible operation, regulation from some of the strictest authorities in the world, and a long list of awards for customer satisfaction, HFM is considered a reliable and safe Forex broker. While HFM’s Nigerian clients are not as well protected as their clients in the EU and the UK, the FSA provides adequate security including ensuring that HFM segregates client accounts from its own funds and conducting frequent audits.
HFM’s trading fees are slightly higher than average compared to other brokers
HFM is unusual amongst brokers in that it offers five different account types, where most brokers will offer three or less. Trading costs will vary depending on the account type chosen by a trader (for more detail on HFM’s account types, click here).
Despite the variation, overall trading costs are slightly higher than average across all five accounts, though the accounts themselves do offer different benefits in terms of trading strategies and minimum deposit.
HFM’s accounts were assessed to compare the costs to those of other brokers. The costs were evaluated based on the trading fees on one lot (100 000 USD) on the EUR/USD, including the spread and commission:
Trading Cost Formula: Spread x Trade Size + Commission = Cost in Secondary Currency (USD)
As you can see from the table above, in most cases HFM’s trading costs are built into the spread – though the ZERO Spread account does carry a 6 USD commission and tighter spreads. Spreads are variable at HFM, meaning they will get wider or tighter depending on trade volume and market volatility.
While HFM does not publish a table of its overnight financing fees (swap fees), it does have a swap calculator – making it easy to figure out the cost of holding a trade overnight. For instance, the fee for holding 1 lot of EUR/USD overnight in a long position is 6 USD, and 0.6 USD for a short position.
The average cost of trading one lot of EUR/USD at similar Forex brokers tends to be 9 USD or lower. HFM’s trading fees are slightly higher than average compared to other brokers except for its ZERO Spread Account, where the costs are slightly lower than average – though this account requires a 200 USD minimum deposit.
Opening an account at HFM is a fully digital process and is hassle-free compared to other brokers
All Nigerian traders can open an account at HFM but must meet all the minimum deposit amounts to do so. These are:
Opening a live account at HFM is easy and takes less than 3 minutes. While HFM also offers Corporate Accounts and Joint Accounts we will focus on opening an Individual Account:
HFM offers more account types than most other brokers. Most of the account types are suitable for beginners, and all accounts are available as Islamic accounts.
HFM has four different account types suited to both beginner and experienced traders alike. Beginner traders are inexperienced traders who have never traded or have been trading for less than a year. Beginner traders often do not want to risk trading large sums of money and generally will not be able to trade full-time during the workweek.
Accounts with lower minimum deposits which allow trading in micro-lots are generally more suited to beginner traders. However, spreads on these accounts are often wider than those with higher minimum deposits. Experienced traders tend to prefer accounts with higher minimum deposits and tighter spreads.
An STP broker, HFM offers four market execution accounts, three of which are standard trading accounts. The other account is a specialised copy trading account. Maximum leverage varies according to account, with leverage of 1000:1 available on the Micro Account but limited to 1:500 on most other accounts. Hedging, scalping, and algorithmic trading are unlocked on all accounts – though signal trading is only available on the Auto Account – and all accounts are also available as Islamic accounts.
A good entry-level account for beginner traders, with leverage of up to 1:1000 and a minimum deposit of 5 USD. The variable spreads start from 1 pip on major pairs, which is tight for an account with such a low minimum deposit (most other brokers will have pips as wide as 1.5 pips on their Cent or Micro Accounts), and no commissions are charged. The only downside to this account is that a trader can only hold open 150 simultaneous orders and the lots per trade are limited.
The minimum deposit on this commission-free account is 100 USD, and leverage is up to 1:500. With this account, the lots per trade are up to 300 and the spread starts at 1 pip, which is slightly wider than you would find at similar brokers. The maximum total trade size is 60 standard lots per position and stop out levels are at 50%.
This is a market execution account with spreads starting at 0 pips on the EUR/USD. Note that zero spreads are only available on major currency pairs, and exotic pairs still carry wide spreads. As with all raw spread accounts, you will be charged a commission – in this case, the charge is 3 USD per lot (6USD total round turn) on majors and 4 USD per lot (8 USD total round turn) on minors and exotics.
As with the Premium account, the ZERO Spread account allows traders to keep 60 trade standard lots per position, with leverage of 1:500. ZERO Spread accounts are good for beginner traders and have lower ongoing trading costs but require a minimum deposit of 200 USD.
The HFcopy Account is available to Strategy Providers (SPs) and Followers who have joined HFcopy. SPs can open an HFcopy Account to build their inventory of Followers and trade in exchange for a Performance Fee as high as 50%. Available only on the MT4 platform, the spread starts at 1 pip, and leverage is up to 400:1. Trading instruments offered on this account are limited to Forex, Indices, and Gold. The minimum deposit is 300 USD for SPs and 100 USD for Followers. Accounts are only denominated in USD.
All accounts are available on MT4 and MT5, except for the HFcopy Account, which is only available on MT4. For more on HFM’s Trading Platforms, click here.
Overall, HFM’s trading costs are slightly higher than other similar brokers, though the minimum deposits are in line with other international brokers operating in Australia. The Micro Account is an excellent account for beginner traders; its spreads are tighter, and its costs are lower than the entry-level accounts at other brokers.
All the accounts (except for the HFcopy Account) provide access to the entire range of HFM’s trading assets, including Forex pairs. HFM offers metals, energies, indices, shares, commodities, cryptocurrencies, bonds, and ETFs. For more detail on HFM’s assets, click here.
Unlike most other Forex brokers, HFM charges no fees for deposits and withdrawals, but withdrawal times are slightly higher than average for the industry.
As an FSA-regulated broker, HFM ensures that all Anti-Money Laundering rules and regulations are followed. As such, all non-profit funds are returned to the original deposit source. No matter your deposit method, the withdrawal of all profits must be made by bank transfer to a bank account in your name.
Unlike most international Forex and CFD brokers, HFM offers free online bank funding for clients who have online bank accounts with major African banks. This is a much faster method of depositing and withdrawing funds than a standard bank wire, with deposits reflecting almost instantly and withdrawals received within 2 business days.
Traditional deposits are handled on weekdays, and conditions apply to each of the deposit options.
Traditional withdrawals are processed within 24 hours (weekdays only) of receiving them, and different conditions apply to each payment method.
HFM is unusual amongst brokers in that it generally does not charge any fees for deposits or withdrawals. This is welcome and certainly contributes to customer satisfaction. While deposits and withdrawals are free and deposits are fast, withdrawals do take longer than most other brokers – 2-10 business days for card withdrawals is particularly poor.
But with the option for Nigerians to use local online banking services for free, HFM provides better funding options than most other international brokers in the local market.
While HFM has a limited number of base currencies compared to other brokers, it does offer NGN Accounts, which can help Nigerian traders avoid paying conversion fees.
At HFM, you can only choose from two base currencies: USD, EUR and NGN. While this is limited compared to most other international brokers, it is good for Nigerians who will likely have bank accounts denominated in NGN and will have the option of avoiding conversion fees. Conversion fees can make trading expensive, and are usually not presented on the fee report, but affect your profitability.
However, it should be noted that for traders that trade in large volumes (more than 10 lots a month), it is better to open an account denominated in USD, especially for trading on assets such as the EUR/USD. This is because when trading a USD quoted currency pair with an NGN account, there will be a small conversion fee for every trade made.
With both MT4 and MT5 but no proprietary trading platform, HFM’s platform support is average compared to other Forex brokers
HFM offers MT4 – the most popular trading platform in the world – and MT5 – the latest version of the industry standard. As well as the desktop applications, HFM also offers MT4 and MT5 WebTerminal, which are browser-based versions of the platforms, along with mobile and tablet versions of both iterations.
While MT4 and MT5 are excellent trading platforms, many other CFD brokers also offer their own web-based platforms, which tend to be easier for beginner traders. On the other hand, the benefit of HFM offering third-party platforms such as MT4 and MT5 is that traders can take their own customised version of the platform with them should they choose to migrate to another broker.
Developed by MetaQuotes in 2002, MT4 is still the most popular CFD trading platform in the world. Although the platform’s interface is now dated, MT4 is still widely recognised for its fast execution speeds, a wide range of charting tools, algorithmic trading, and customisability. Other features of MT4 include:
HFM also offers support for MT4 MultiTerminal, providing a convenient method of managing multiple accounts simultaneously from a single interface.
Developed in 2010, MT5 is the newer version of its predecessor, MT4. The primary difference between MT4 and MT5 is that MT4 is a Forex-only platform, while MT5 is a multi-asset trading solution. On MT5, you can trade stocks, stock indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, and precious metals.
MT5 is more powerful and faster than MT4, especially when it comes to back-testing functionality for automated trading algorithms. MT5 also has a built-in news feed, market depth indicator, economic calendar, and trades can be made on charts. Additional features of MT5 include:
MT4 and MT5 are available as downloads, browser-based, and on iOS and Android devices. Mobile access is 24/7, and both mobile apps employ the latest SSL encryption technology for security.
HFM mobile trading platforms are average when compared to other brokers
HFM offers support for the MT4 and MT5 mobile trading apps for Android and IOS, including a native iPad app.
The HFM MT4 and MT5 apps allow traders to work from anywhere, with nine timeframes, 30 indicators and interactive currency charts. Functionality to close and modify existing orders, calculate profit/loss in real-time and tick chart trading further empowers traders while on the move.
HFM offers an excellent range of trading tools when compared to other brokers
HFM’s range of trading tools includes Autochartist, a free VPS service and a set of Premium Trading Tools. While all these tools are free, traders must make a substantial deposit before access is provided.
Free for all HFM clients with a minimum deposit of 100 USD, Autochartist is an award-winning automated technical analysis tool that plugs into MT4 and MT5 and scans all available CFD markets for trading opportunities.
Autochartist’s advanced pattern recognition engine identifies the strongest potential trading opportunities and predicts future price movements. Some of Autochartist’s key features are:
HFM clients with a minimum deposit of 5000 USD can also subscribe to a free VPS hosting service provided by external third-party providers. VPS services ensure trades are never disrupted by technological or connectivity issues, such as load-shedding or internet service failure. The VPS service is only available to traders using the MT4 platform.
Free to all HFM clients with a minimum deposit of 200 USD, Premium Trader Tools give traders access to institutional quality technology, including advanced trading tools, user-configurable news and information, and trade analysis. It also includes an array of sophisticated alarms and messaging systems, and live sentiment and correlation tracking. The full list of tools in the package includes:
Other trading tools available at HFM include a range of trading calculators, which can be used to calculate pip value, swap fees, risk percentages and support and resistance levels.
Unlike many brokers, HFM no longer offers cryptocurrencies to trade, but it does have a larger number and wider range of assets to trade than most other CFD brokers
HFM offers over 1000 CFD trading instruments on all trading accounts, except for the HFcopy Account. Besides Forex pairs, HFM offers metals, energies, indices, shares, commodities, cryptocurrencies, bonds, DMA stocks (MT5 only) and ETF trading.
While some traders will be disappointed that HFM no longer offers crypto CFDs in Nigeria, the range and depth of assets available to trade are impressive and much more than is normally seen at other similar brokers.
HFM has a competent in-house research team and has partnered with several third-party analysis companies to provide more useful market analysis than is available at most other brokers.
HFM’s research and market analysis is divided into three main sections, each providing a specialised benefit for traders looking for market insight and trading opportunities.
Forex News – In partnership with FXSTREET, a respected market news aggregator and publisher, HFM provides a constant stream of news that impacts the markets. While the main focus is on geopolitical events and macroeconomic movements, there is some reporting on technical analysis – mainly from large banks and other financial institutions. With new stories every few minutes, 24/5, this is an excellent resource for traders using all types of strategies.
HFAnalysis – This is the hub for HFM’s own market research content. The focus is a market news blog, split between fundamental analysis and technical analysis and trader education. From here, traders can also access monthly and quarterly outlooks, video analysis, special reports, and intraday charts. From here, traders can also access the HFM podcast, generally published mid-week. This is a detailed look at recent market movements and a look ahead to potential market-impacting events. Overall, the analysis provided by HFM’s experts is detailed and accurate and is on par with the in-house research provided by other large international Forex brokers.
Advanced Insights – This plugin for MT4 and MT5 provides sentiment and volatility analysis from an insight engine that applies big data AI to millions of news articles and live trading positions. The plugin also provides a timeline of the upcoming events and presents detailed infographics on HFM’s full range of assets. While this tool is free, traders must have deposited at least 100 USD and closed trades worth 10 lots or more in the previous two months.
Trading calculators and economic calendars are also available for reference outside of a trading platform.
Between the analytical tools and the sheer scale of market research on offer – in audio, text, and video format – from both in-house and third-party experts, HFM’s market analysis is considerably more useful than most other brokers – though is about equal when compared with other international brokers with large research and analysis budgets.
Much like the market analysis at HFM, the educational content available is multi-format, competent and more useful for beginners than that available at most other brokers
Traders who open a demo or live account will get access to the HFM e-Course. This course is well-structured and includes the basics of Forex theory and Forex trading, reading, and interpreting charts, trading strategies, trading psychology, and technical analysis.
Video tutorials are available without registration; these cover introductory concepts, Metatrader tutorials, trading strategies, and lessons in economic theory.
Webinars on current events, advanced trading strategies, and risk and money management are run every few days. These webinars do not require an account at HFM, but you will need to register
Overall, the quality of the educational content is very high, and HFM obviously does its best to educate beginner traders. More experienced traders will also find the information and material on offer useful, especially the webinars and video analysis on more advanced topics. This is unusual in the industry, as while most brokers try to educate beginners, traders with more experience are often underserved.
HFM offers an unlimited demo account, allowing prospective traders to test trading strategies under real market conditions. Demo accounts are loaded with 100,000 USD in virtual currency and have access to both the MT4 and MT5 platforms.
HFM offers multiple bonuses, trading contests, and promotions for all traders. At the time of writing, the following bonuses are available:
For all the current HFM Bonus information, please refer to its website.
HFM customer support is better than most other brokers
Award-winning customer service and a client-focused approach to business mean that beginner traders at HFM can rely on excellent support.
Support is available 24/5 in over 27 languages via email, live chat, and telephone. Toll-free local phone numbers and local email addresses give clients access to quality customer service in their language.
HFM’s goal is to provide the best customer service to clients by maintaining a client-focused culture. This approach to supporting clients won them the Best Global Forex Trading Education Provider 2018 (Global Brands Magazine).
We value transparency and openness in the way we review the partners. To bring transparency to the forefront, we have published our review process that includes a detailed breakdown of the HFM offering. Central to that process is the evaluation of the reliability of the broker, the platform offering of the broker and the trading conditions offered to clients, which are summarised in this review. Each one of these is graded, and an overall score is calculated and assigned to the broker.
Trading Forex is risky, and each broker is required to detail how risky the trading of Forex CFDs is to clients. HFM would like you to know that: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72.90% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with HFM. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
An STP broker offering multi-asset trading, HFM is a good broker for both beginner and experienced traders alike. HFM offers a relatively low-cost Micro Account and support for both MetaTrader platforms, though many other international brokers also offer their own trading platforms – which are often easier for beginners to use. In addition, HFM has a bespoke copy trading account, excellent customer support and world-class educational content and market analysis.
The range of assets available to trade is relatively large compared to other brokers, though HFM has withdrawn cryptocurrency CFDs from its product line-up. Overall trading costs are slightly higher than average, but there are many benefits to trading with this broker – explaining its large international customer base.
Find out how HFM stacks up against other brokers.
Accepts Nigerian Clients. Average spread EUR/USD 1.00 pips on trading account with lowest minimum deposit. Max leverage 1000:1. Islamic account available. MT4 & MT5 platforms supported. HF Markets Group regulated by the FSCA, FCA, FSC, CySEC and the DFSA.
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