HFM Review

Company background

HFM, operating as HF Markets Group, was founded in 2010 under the HotForex brand. The company rebranded to HFM in May 2022 to reflect its evolution from a primarily forex-focused broker into a broader multi-asset offering. HFM is headquartered in Cyprus and serves over 3.5 million clients globally through regulated entities in the UK, Cyprus, South Africa, Dubai, Kenya and Seychelles. The broker offers more than 1,000 instruments including forex pairs, stock CFDs, indices, commodities, bonds, ETFs and cryptocurrencies.

Fees and pricing

HFM does not charge deposit fees on most payment methods, though wire transfers under $100 may attract third-party bank charges. Withdrawals are free on standard methods; BitPay crypto withdrawals carry a 1% fee. An inactivity fee of $5 per month applies after six months without trading activity, rising to $10 per month after twelve months. The broker offers four main live account types: the Premium account provides commission-free trading with spreads from 1.0 pip; the Zero account offers 0.0 pip raw spreads with a commission of $3 per lot per side ($6 round turn) for forex majors; the Pro account delivers spreads from 0.5 pips without commission; and the Cent account targets smaller position sizes with spreads from 1.2 pips.

Equity CFD trades carry a 0.10% commission on relevant accounts. Overnight swap rates apply to all leveraged positions held past the daily rollover. Islamic swap-free account variants are available across account types for clients who require them.

Regulation and safety

HFM operates through six regulated entities. HF Markets (UK) Ltd is authorised by the FCA under reference number 801701. HF Markets (Europe) Ltd holds a CySEC licence numbered 183/12, which also carries passporting rights across the EU. HF Markets SA (Pty) Ltd is licensed by the FSCA in South Africa (FSP 46632). HF Markets (DIFC) Ltd holds a DFSA licence (F004885). HFM Investments Ltd is regulated by the CMA in Kenya under licence 155. HF Markets (Seychelles) Ltd is licensed by the FSA Seychelles (SD015). Client funds are held in segregated bank accounts separate from company operating capital. Negative balance protection is applied, preventing clients from losing more than their deposited funds.

Platform experience

HFM supports MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 on desktop, web and mobile, as well as its own HFM WebTrader and the HFM App for iOS and Android. MT4 and MT5 provide charting tools, automated trading via Expert Advisors, and access to the full instrument range. The HFM App offers order management, account monitoring and market news. A free demo account is available to all registered users, pre-loaded with virtual funds for practising strategies without risking capital. HFM also operates a copy trading platform that allows users to follow and replicate the trades of selected strategy providers.

Pros and cons

HFM's main strengths are its multi-jurisdictional regulatory coverage including tier-1 FCA and CySEC licences, no deposit or withdrawal fees on standard methods, zero minimum deposit on most accounts, and a broad instrument range across forex, CFDs, crypto and more. The Zero account provides institutional-grade raw spreads for active traders. Key drawbacks include the inactivity fee that begins after six months, the commission charged on Zero account trades, the absence of cTrader and TradingView integrations, and the restriction that US clients cannot open accounts.