HF Markets South Africa Review

Regulation - 9/10

HFM SA (PTY) Ltd. is regulated & licensed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) with license number 46632.

The FSCA license gives them a legal presence in South Africa & authorizes them to offer you derivative instrument but only act as intermediaries(meaning they cannot trade against you as market makers)

HFM South Africa are not a licensed ODP and this is why they are not authorized to act as market makers or trade against you.

HFM is also Regulated in Kenya

HFM Investments Ltd. (trading as HF Markets) was launched in Kenya in 2021.

HFM Kenya is regulated by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) Kenya as a non-dealing online forex broker with license number 155.

The CMA license gives them a legal presence in Kenya & authorizes them to operate as a non-dealing forex broker(meaning they cannot act as market makers)

HFM is also regulated outside Kenya and so has an international presence & reputation.

HFM is Regulated in the United Kingdom

HFM is in the UK where they have obtained an operational license from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which is the UKs financial market watchdog & considered the best forex broker regulator in the world.

HFM is Regulated in Dubai

In Dubai, HFM is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) & has been assigned license number F004885.

HF Markets South Africa Regulation Summary

Range of Markets - 8/10

1. Forex CFDs

HFM has around 50 forex pairs & this number is low compared to what competition offers. However the good thing is that you get to trade the major pairs like EUR/USD but again the US Dollar Index is not available for trading.

2. Metal CFDs

Only around 2 Metal CFDs are available (Gold & Silver) which shows a lack of diversity. Rival forex brokers offer more Metals for trading.

3. Energy CFDs

UK Oil & US Oil are the only energy CFDs you can trade at HFM. Natural Gas is absent from the list.

4. Soft Commodity CFDs

You can trade up to 5 different soft commodity CFDs which include cocoa, copper, coffee, cotton & sugar; Livestock CFDs are unavailable.

5. Index CFDs

You can trade up to 12 Indices at HFM and this includes Nasdaq, S&P 500, UK 100 etc.

6. Stock CFDs

You can trade CFDs on stocks of up to 93 global companies. HFM also pays dividend if the underlying company is paying.

7. Bond CFDs

You can speculate on the fixed income market because HFM offers 3 bond CFDs (EUR, UK US bonds).

8. ETF CFDs

Trade CFDs on up to 12 ETF CFDs covering various sectors such as finance, energy, consumer staples, etc.

HFM South Africa Account Types - 10/10

1. HFM Demo Account

The Demo account is designed to help you learn all about trading and get the basics before moving to the real trading market.

2. Cent Account (90 ZAR)

The Cent account allows you to trade with cent lots. This account is good if you’re a beginner transitioning from the demo account who wants to invest little funds, test the real trading market, and improve your skills.

This can also be useful to experienced traders who want to test a new instrument or strategy.

3. Zero Spread Account (90 ZAR)

The Zero Spread Account charges zero spread on popular instruments but in return you pay commissions on every trade, so this account is suitable for professional traders who know how to use zero spread to their advantage.

4. Pro Account (1,800 ZAR)

HFM Pro Account is a beginner account that has a lower spread but also has a higher minimum deposit.

5. Pro Plus Account (4,700 ZAR)

The HFM Pro Plus Account is also for beginners and has an even lower spread, but this comes with a higher minimum deposit requirement.

6. Premium Account (90 ZAR)

The Premium Account is a beginner account with a low minimum deposit but higher spread.

7. Top-up Bonus Account (90 ZAR)

The HFM Top-Up Bonus Account is to be opened when you want to get a bonus on your deposits. The bonus is paid into the Top-Up account and not your regular account.

8. PAMM Account

This comprises the Premium and Premium Plus accounts. In the PAMM, you can be a Fund Manager, maximize your portfolio, and manage the funds of investors to bring money for you and your investors.

You can also be an Investor and diversify your portfolio by allowing others to trade with your funds.

Funding & Withdrawals - 10/10

How Much is HF Markets Minimum Deposit in ZAR?

The HFM minimum deposit is $5 or 90 ZAR but some HFM account types that have lower spread require a higher minimum deposit.

How Do I Make A Deposit?

1. Local Bank Transfer

This is the quickest way to deposit money into HFM. Online bank transfers are instant and free of charge.

2. Credit/debit cards

Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted. Deposits made with this method usually take around 10 minutes to appear in your HFM wallet.

3. Alternative Payment Methods

You can also deposit through Neteller, Skrill, iPay, Bonga, PesaLink, & Vooma.

How Much is the HFM Welcome Bonus?

HFM gives a 20% Top up Bonus to both new & old clients and this applies to every deposit into the account.

How Much is HFM Minimum Withdrawal?

HFM has a minimum withdrawal limit of 90 ZAR. You can withdraw funds from your MyHF wallet using the same method you used to fund it.

Will I Earn Interests on My Deposits?

No, HFM South Africa does not pay interests on customer funds deposited with it. When you open a HFM account, it is in the legal terms that you have forfeited any accrued interests to HFM.

HFM South Africa uses this accrued interest on your deposit to cover expenses incurred on managing your account for you.

Can I Withdraw During An Ongoing Trade?

Yes, you can withdraw funds from your trading account during an ongoing trade; so far as the amount to be withdrawn, will not make your Margin Level to fall lower than 150% during weekdays or 300% during highly volatile periods.

Account Management - 10/10

What is MyHF Wallet?

MyHF Wallet is an online savings account/wallet, tied to your HF Markets profile.

Any time you make deposits, you can select your HF Wallet as the destination, then when it is time to trade you perform an internal transfer from your HF Wallet, to your trading account.

The HF Wallet helps you manage risk of drawdown because the funds in the wallet are not affected by ongoing trades.

It is only the funds you transfer from your HF Wallet to your trading account, that can be affected by ongoing trades.

Does HFM Have ZAR Base Currency?

Yes, ZAR account base currency is available at HFM South Africa. At the point of registration, you must select ZAR as your wallet currency; you cannot change your wallet currency after your profile has been created.

After registering and creating your HFM Wallet in ZAR base currency, any other trading accounts you open later, will also be assigned ZAR base currency.

Partially Approved Accounts

If you have not submitted all your KYC documents to HFM, your account may be deemed "Partially Approved" & this status will be displayed in your HF Area

You may deposit funds into a partially approved account using traceable means & begin trading. However, you will not be allowed to withdraw until your KYC documents are submitted & verified to be okay by HFM.

Limits on the Number of HFM Accounts You Can Open

You can open & trade with a maximum number of 5 HFM Trading Accounts at any point in time. You can open 5 Individual Accounts, 5 Joint Accounts & 5 Corporate Accounts.

Changing of Leverage on a Trading Account

You can change the leverage on your live HFM account up to 5 times; to do this go to your HF Area, select the trading account & edit the leverage.

To change the leverage after the 5th time, you need too send a mail to the HFM trading desk, & they will change it for you.

Dynamic Leverage

HFM will reduce your leverage to 1:75 if your account balance is up to 300,000 USD or more.

Negative Balance Protection

HFM South Africa offers Negative Balance Protection so that you don't lose more than you deposited.

Even if your HFM account balance goes into negative due to stop loss not being triggered etc., HFM will refund the negative balance and make your account balance zero again.

Margin Call & Stop Out

HFM Margin Call will come when your Margin Level falls to 50% and you will be Stopped Out of all your trades when your Margin Level falls to 20%.

How to Open a HFM Account?

1. Create a HFM wallet by registering with your email. Remember to choose your desired account currency when creating the wallet.
2. After your wallet is created, logon to your Personal Area or HFM mobile app & click on "open live account".

3. Choose your desired account type. Remember that the Premium & Zero Accounts have the lowest minimum deposits of 90 ZAR
4. Select your desired leverage.
5. Upload your SA government ID.

HFM Fees - 6/10

1. Spreads

If you want low spreads at HFM you must be ready to open the account type that has a high minimum deposit.

The Pro Account EUR/USD spread hovers around 0.6 pips but the minimum you can deposit is 1,800 ZAR .

The Pro Plus Account average EUR/USD spread is 0.2 pips but the minimum deposit is 4,700 ZAR.

The more affordable accounts are the Premium & Zero Accounts which have a lower minimum deposit of 90 ZAR but higher spreads from 1.6 pips & above.

2. Commission

HFM does not have commission-free accounts. All HFM accounts charge commissions on specific instruments & allow you to trade some instruments without paying commissions.

So, what HFM instruments require commission payment?

3. Rollover Fees

HFM offers swap-free conditions on all its accounts except the bonus account. The following trading instruments have zero swaps:

AUD/NZD, AUD/USD, EUR/CHF, EUR/USD, GBP/JPY, GBP/USD, NZD/USD, USD/CAD, USD/CHF, USD/JPY, USOIL, AUD/CHF, AUDJ/PY, EUR/AUD, EUR/CAD, EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, EUR/NZD, GBP/CHF, GBP/NZD, NZD/JPY, NZD/CAD, XAU/USD, and UKOIL.

4. Inactivity Fee

HFM charges a $5 monthly fee after 90 days of inactivity and after 1 year of inactivity, the charge increases to $10 monthly.

Is HFM A Market Maker in South Africa?

No, HFM (SA) PTY LTD is not a Market Maker in South Africa because the FSCA has not authorized them to operate as an Over-the-counter Derivative Provider (ODP).

HFM Trading Tools - 8/10

1. Trading Calculator Tools

HFM South Africa offers the following trading calculators:

An Example of How the HFM Position Size Calculator Works

The HFM position size calculator helps you to:

2. Autochartist Tool

HFM South Africa offers free access to the Autochartist market scanner tool, but to qualify for Autochartist, your account balance must be at least $100..

Autochartist scans your the charts to detect chart patterns for the instruments in your HFM watchlist.

After detecting a chart pattern, Autochartist notifies you by sending an email containing an image & explanation for the chart pattern.

To maintain access to Autochartist, you need to trade at least once a month, & the trade should last at least 3 minutes long.

Autochartist is also available on HFM demo accounts for a one-off 30 day trial period.

To stop the Autochartist service, you need to send a mail to HFM support, but an easier way to stop Autochartist is to unsubscribe from receiving Autochartist emails.

HFM copy trading Strategy Providers will get access to the Autochartist tool for free.

3. Premium Trader Tools for MT4/5

All HFM South Africa traders can download the Premium Trader Toolkit from the HFM website, & integrate the different plugins to their MT4/5 to enhance its performance.

The HFM Premium Trader Toolkit contains the following tools:

4. HFM Copy Trading

1. HF Copy Strategy Provider Conditions

To become a Follower or Strategy Provider (SP) you must open a Cent, Premium or Pro Copy Account with a predefined leverage of 1:500 from your MyHF Area.

A Strategy Provider can open a maximum of 9 copy trading accounts as follows:

Each copy account opened by an SP can have a maximum of 200 followers copying his trades.<.p>

The minimum deposit for a Strategy Provider to open a Premium & Pro Copy Account is $100 for the first deposit & $50 for subsequent deposits.

The minimum deposit for a Strategy Provider to open a Cent Copy Account is 2,500 US Cents for the first deposit & 500 US Cents for subsequent deposits.

A Strategy Provider can place Buy/Sell Limit, Buy/Sell Stop, Take Profit, & Stop Loss orders on the HFM MT4/5 platform but the "Close By" order type is forbidden.

2. HF Copy Follower Conditions

The HFM minimum deposit for copy trading for a Premium Copy Follower Account is $25 for the first deposit & $10 for subsequent deposits.

The HFM minimum deposit for copy trading for a Pro Copy Follower Account is $100 for the first deposit & $50 for subsequent deposits.

The HFM minimum deposit for copy trading for a Cent Copy Follower Account is 1,000 cents for the first deposit & 500 cents for subsequent deposits.

A Follower can open up to 25 Follower Copy Accounts as follows:

A Follower can follow just one SP per account, so if a follower opens 10 copy premium accounts, he can follow 10 SPs. A Follower can also choose to follow the same SP with different accounts.

A Follower must pay a Performance Fee to the SP only after the SP has made a profit. If the SP makes a loss the performance fee will not be paid by the follower.

What is HF Copy Ratio?

Copy Ratio means the proportion of your account balance that is set aside for trading when the Strategy Provider opens a trade.

If your HFM copy trading account balance is $600 & you set your volume allocation to 40% then your copy ratio will depend on how much the SP account balance is.

If the SPs account balance is $1,200 then your copy ratio will be ($600/$1,200) x (40/100) = 0.2

This implies that when the SP you are copying opens a trade for say 0.4 lot size, what will be replicated in your follower copy account is (0.4 x 0.2) = 0.08 lot size.

5. Advanced Insights Tool

The HFM Advanced Insights tool gives you a deeper view of market conditions at a glance, using pictorial and graphical displays for easy understanding.

Your Advanced Insight dashboard will display information like sentiment index, fear index, incoming economic data releases, & a detailed market events timeline.

To qualify for Advanced Insight you need to have an account balance of at least $100.

To maintain access to Advanced Insights you need to open at least one trade a month & the trade should last at least 3 minutes long.

HFM copy trading Strategy Providers will get access to the Advanced Insights tool for free.

6. Virtual Private Server (VPS) Tool

HFM offers VPS hosting so your Expert Advisors & automated trading programs can remain connected to the internet 24/7 without any interruption.

You can get the HFM VPS service for free if your net deposit within the last 30 days is up to $400 (Bronze Plan).

You can also pay $25 a month for the VPS Bronze Plan with 30GB storage, or $50 a month for the Silver Plan with 50GB storage, or $80 a month for 75 GB storage.

7. Economic Calendar

HFM offers an Economic Calendar which is rather easy to use because of the filtering capability. You can choose to view events for today, tomorrow,, next week etc.

You can also filter events by country, central banks, politics, consumption, energy etc.

With the HFM economic calendar, you can track the exact dates when important economic data such as Non Farm Payroll, PCE, CPI etc. will be released.

8. Earnings Calendar

HFM has an Earnings Calendar that shows you when companies whose Share CFDs you can trade will release their earnings.

The HFM Earnings Calendar shows the following important information:

HFM Trading Platforms - 6/10

1. HFM Mobile App

HFM has a mobile app for android and apple operating systems. The app has basic features such as 3 technical indicators, 2 chart types, push notification, news etc. However, charts on the app lack line drawing tools.

2. HFM MT4 & MT5

HFM has MT4 & MT5 platforms & download is possible from the HFM website.

HFM offers MetaTrader support tools through its free downloadable Premium Trader Toolkit which adds features such as live sentiment, session map, alarm manager, market manager, excel RTD, etc. to your MT4/5.

Customer Support - 8/10

1. Live Chat

HFM South Africa has a live chat feature accessible 24/5 from the HFM mobile app, or from your MyHF Area.

During a live chat, you communicate with a live agent who will answer your queries and you typically get a response in around 1 minute.

2. Personal Account Manager

When you register with HFM and create your profile, you will be assigned a Personal Account Manager who will contact you via phone or email. You can always reach your account manager any time you have issues.

3. Telephone Trading

If you cannot access the HFM trading platforms, you can place a trade via telephone call. Note that these calls may be recorded and are binding.

4. Email Support

HFM South Africa has a dedicated email for complaints which is open 24/5 on weekdays. You can send your requests such as account deletion request etc. to the email which will be displayed in your HF Area.

5. Education & Seminars

HFM South Africa provides online educational videos which are useful to beginners. HFM also holds Webinars & Physical seminars in Kenya where they train you on how to trade.

Final Verdict - 8.5/10

HFM South Africa is one of our best forex brokers for beginners because of the range of accounts & customer support/education.

Beginners may not be able to access most of the advanced HFM features (not that they need to) because these features are mostly tied to you maintaining a certain account balance.