Hotforex Nigeria Review 2021

HotForex is the brand name of the HF Markets Group. HotForex offers a diverse range of financial trading instruments including Forex and CFDs on Cryptocurrencies, Metals, Shares, and many more. HotForex is licensed by top-tier regulators like FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority, South Africa), FCA (Financial Conduct Authority, UK), and CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, Europe).

HotForex is an NDD (Non-Dealing Desk) broker, offering a 100% STP (Straight-Through Processing) market execution model. This means that they do not manipulate prices or interfere in trades initiated by their users. In other words, they do not bet against their users and the trade orders are processed at real market prices through market liquidity providers.

HF Markets offers 6 types of accounts- Micro, Premium, Zero Spread, Auto, PAMM (Premium), and HFcopy account. Minimum deposits at Hotforex is $5 for Micro Accounts which goes up to $500 for HFcopy account. All accounts are commission-free except for Zero Spread accounts (even then the commission starts as low as $0.03 per standard lot).

Let’s take a look at all of Hotforex’s pros & cons.

Hotforex Nigeria – A quick look

Is Hotforex Nigeria Safe?

HotForex is licensed by a number of regulators, so we consider it to be a safe broker.

1. 1. HF Markets (UK) Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority or FCA ( reference number 801701).

   

   2. HF Markets (Europe) Ltd is regulated by Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) (license number 183/12).

   

   3. HF Markets SA (PTY) Ltd is authorized and regulated as a Financial Service Provider (FSP) from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa(license number 46632).
   4. HF Markets (DIFC) Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)(license number F004885).
   5. HF Markets (Seychelles) Ltd is regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA)(license number SD015).
   6. HF Markets( SV) Ltd registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadine( registration number 22747 IBC 2015).

   Apart from being under the supervision of 6 regulatory bodies, HotForex has also adopted a number of measures to keep their clients safe. The measures undertaken include:

   1. Insurance for client’s funds: HotForex protects its clients from errors, omissions, frauds, and various other risks with a Civil Liability Insurance program worth up to €5,000,000.
   2. Accounts with Major Banks: HotForex claims to only deal with major international banks. This ensures the liquidity and safety of funds.
   3. Segregation of Funds: HotForex keeps the funds received from clients and funds used by the company in separate bank accounts. This means that the clients’ funds can not be used to pay back the creditors, even if the company defaults.
   4. Negative Balance Protection: Even if a client runs into losses due to market volatility and malfunction in margin calls or stop-loss orders, their account balances will not go below zero.

   Hotforex Nigeria Fees

   The fees at Hotforex are low compared to other popular brokers like FXTM. Here is a breakdown of fees at Hotforex:

   1. Low Spread – HotForex offers commission-free trading on all their accounts, except for their Zero Spread account. Their only charge is variable spread and has no other additional fees involved. HotForex does not offer fixed spreads.The table below summarizes the highest and lowest spreads across all the products they offer.

      (The following Values are based on records from www.hotforex.com, as of 6th May, 2021)

      Product	Lowest Spread (pips)
      Forex (Major Pairs)	1.2 (EURUSD – Euro/US Dollar)
      Forex (Minor Pairs)	1.5

      

   2. Commissions with Zero Account – As mentioned earlier, all accounts but Zero Spread accounts are commission-free. The commission on the Zero Spread account is as low as $3 per Standard lot and the spread starts from 0.0 pips on forex.
   3. Zero Deposit and Withdrawal Fees – HotForex does not charge on deposits and withdrawals, irrespective of the medium used. They do however have a minimum amount for deposits and withdrawals. The minimum amount and the time taken to reflect a deposit in your account are based on the medium used to transfer funds. For example, funds transferred to your account using wire transfer take 2-7 business days. Also, the minimum amount for deposits and withdrawals using wire transfer is $100. If the amount deposited is more than $100 then the bank might charge a commission for the transfer, although HotForex will refund the transaction fee to the user. The user needs to send HotForex a copy of the receipt, in order to get a refund for the charges.
   4. Inactivity Charges – HotForex classifies all accounts in which there have been no transactions ( trading/deposits/withdrawals) for a period of 6 months as dormant accounts.Dormant accounts are charged $5 per month as a maintenance fee. The fee is debited from the main balance of the account, till the balance reaches zero. All dormant accounts that have a zero balance are closed.

   HotForex’s fees are on par with the market standards, if not lower. They offer lower spreads on most currency pairs than their competition. The base currencies available for Nigerian traders are NGN( Nigerian Naira) and USD( US Dollar).

   For example, HotForex offers a spread of 1.2 pips on the EUR/USD pair. FXTM and XM offer a spread of 1.5 pips and 1.6 pips on the same, respectively.

   Also, low inactivity fees, no charges on deposits and withdrawals, no additional fees, and commission-free trading accounts put HotForex a step above some of its competitors, when it comes to charges and commissions.

   Hotforex Trading Account Types

   The account opening process at OctaFX is simple and user-friendly as the users only need to enter basic details and provide contact and address proofs. On a working day, the KYC and account opening process can be completed within 24-48 hours.

   Hotforex Live Accounts

   HotForex offers 6 types of accounts to its users. They are:

   1. Micro Accounts: Meant for new traders or those wanting to trade in small amounts. The main feature of micro accounts is the low minimum deposit requirement.

   2. Premium Accounts: Premium accounts are the go-to for experienced traders. The accounts offer a lot of flexibility in positing sizing, starting from 0.01 lots and going up to 60 lots at an increment of 0.01 lots.

   3. Zero Spread Account: Scalpers, high-volume traders, and those trading with Expert Advisors( EAs) will find zero spread account to be useful. It offers tight spreads in exchange for some commission.

   4. Auto Account: Auto accounts offer free and paid trading signals, built-in to the MT4 trading platforms, making them especially suitable for new investors.

   5. PAMM (Premium) Account: HotForex PAMM program allows investors to become a fund manager or invest with a fund manager.

   6. HFcopy Account: Available to both Strategy Providers( SPs) and Followers who have joined HFcopy. After opening an account, followers can choose to copy the trading strategy of their selected SP in exchange for a fee( called Performance Feel and can be as high as 50%).

   Hotforex Demo Account

   HotForex offers a demo account to its traders. The demo account simulates trading in actual market conditions and helps the trader get accustomed to the various tools they can use. Using a demo account also helps traders to put their trading strategies to test. They can also analyze the effectiveness of different strategies.

   HotForex users can start with a demo account and easily transfer it to a real account just by depositing money.

   Advantages of the demo accounts provided by HotForex include:

   • Unlimited usage
   • Access to MT4 & MT5 terminals and web trading
   • Up to $100,000 virtual opening balance

   Instruments available at Hotforex Nigeria

   HotForex offers a wide range of trading instruments, including forex, stocks, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and bonds.

   The table below shows the number of options offered by HotForex and two of its competitors- FXTM and XM.

   Product	Hotforex	FXTM	XM Broker
   Currency Pairs	49	57	57
   Stock CFDs	934	166	1144
   Indices CFDs	23	11	28
   Commodities CFDs	5	6	8
   Cryptos CFDs	12	4	None

   Overall, HotForex offers plenty of options when it comes to trading instruments, especially when it comes to stocks and cryptocurrencies.

   Hotforex Research & Education

   Apart from the choice of platforms and apps, HotForex users can also download 12 tools. HotForex has developed these in participation with FX Blue Labs and the tools are called “Premium Trader Tools”.

   Some of the tools are
   1. Trade Terminal; It’s an analysis and execution platform. It offers features like setting stop-loss orders, pop-up calculators, open-position markers, the ability to create templates for quicker order entries, and more.

   2. Mini Terminal: This is an extension of the Trade Terminal and is meant for those who want to concentrate on a specific market.

   3. Connect: Connect is a customizable news feed and an economic calendar. It can also be used to create alerts about any news or articles released on your subject of interest.

   4. Sentiment Trader: Shows sentiment information of an instrument against prices, to help make trading decisions.

   5. Session Map: It gives an overview of the market and your account status.

   6. Alarm Manager: Traders can use the alarm manager to trigger certain actions( like sending notifications, closing open positions, and placing new orders) based on market changes or events.

   HotForex also offers other tools to their traders, such as:

   • Position Size Calculator
   • Risk and Reward Calculator
   • Autochartist Tool
   • Economic Calendar
   • SMS Service

   HotForex also has a page dedicated to articles on market analysis and news about market developments.

   Lastly, they have a separate section for educating their traders. The education section has videos on trading and market analysis. Traders can attend webinars held by forex experts and they can also take the e-course on forex trading.

   Hotforex Trading Platform & App

   HotForex offers MT4 and MT5 trading for web trading and mobile trading. There are separate apps for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices based on both MT4 and MT5 platforms.

   Users also get access to the MT4 MultiTerminal, using which they can access multiple trading accounts simultaneously.

   Hotforex Nigeria Support

   
   

   Phone(Toll-Free)	Nigeria +234 7063705519 Global Support +44-2033185978
   E-mail	[email protected] (Customer Support) [email protected] (Execution Desk)*
   Trading Hours	Opening: Sunday at 00:00:51 (Server time) Closing: Friday at 23:59:59 (Server time)

   *Available from 7:00 to 23:59 Server Time Monday to Friday.

   Note: Server time is subject to Daylight Savings Time(DST)

   HotForex is very responsive when it comes to customer support. Their Live Chat feature was responsive and it is available 5 days a week( weekdays) for 24 hours.

   We also tried their support e-mail a few times and got a response within a few minutes. You can also fill up a form on their ” Contact Us” page and request a call back at the desired time.

   Overall, their customer support is great.

   Do We Recommend Hotforex Nigeria?

   Yes, we do recommend Hotforex for traders looking to trade with a low-cost Forex & CFD broker in Nigeria.

   Hotforex is an NDD broker licensed by multiple regulators and financial authorities. Plus, they have spread only commission-free trading accounts (except for Zero Account) and a transparent fee structure.

   There are no charges on deposits and withdrawals. There is even a Deposit bonus available. Moreover, Hotforex offers a whole range of tools and applications to facilitate trading. Prompt and helpful customer support is a great pro too.

   But, although low, the inactivity fees may be inconvenient to some traders. Still, overall we find Hotforex to be a reputed forex broker that you can choose.