About HotForex.com
Based out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, HotForex was founded in 2010, making it a relatively new trading platform. It is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) out of the United Kingdom and has a CySec license. Interestingly, this makes HotForex one of the only brokers with multiple regulatory statuses anywhere in the world.
All client funds are stored in a tier-1 bank. HotForex uses a segregated bank account. It is considered a safe broker and has a Trust Score of 83 out of 99 from ForexBrokers.com, which is considered “average risk”.
HotForex has also received a number of awards from recognized institutions in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa. Most of these awards are for its customer-oriented structure. In fact, HotForex has excellent customer service. For this reason, it has garnered immense success from across the globe and continues to be a broker that retains its customers.
HotForex offers the following services:
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All in all, HotForex is an excellent choice for trading. It enables trades with a variety of different account types and structures. It also has a diverse portfolio of trading instruments, including Forex, Indices, Energies, Metals, Shares, CFDs, and ETFs.
Top Features of HotForex
HotForex is broken into seven different accounts, each with its own specifications and requirements. While this may sound like a lot, which can be a little confusing for many traders. However, this means there’s an account for all types of trades.
European Clients
European clients are offered the same accounts as other users, but may need larger deposits. Also, the leverage for each is generally smaller, although the spreads are comparable. Here are the different kinds of accounts for EU clients:
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As you can see, HotForex has something for everyone. Even for European clients, deposits are not overly large. They range from $50 for a Micro account to $20,000 for a VIP account, with various options in between.
Spreads are also highly competitive, and even the 1 pip is acceptable for a standard account. Leverage is a bit lower for European clients than it is for non-European, ranging from 1:200 to 1:4000.
No matter what, all accounts enable a trader to access the full range of trading instruments. As far as trading terminals are concerned, MetaTrader is the most popular.
Non-European Clients
For all other clients across the world, you have access to the same types of accounts, but with slightly different, and generally beneficial, stats. You can also get an account that EU customers cannot: the PAMM account. Here are the basics of the different accounts:
Non-EU clients are afforded smaller minimum deposits and more leverage. Most account spreads are about the same, and even 1 pip is okay.
Like EU clients, non-EU ones get the same range of trading instruments and the same tools. Plus, non-EU clients can open a PAMM account with a $250 dollar deposit and apply for bonuses. PAMM accounts have a spread of 1 pip and a maximum leverage of 1:300.
Additional Features
As we mentioned earlier, most HotForex traders use the MetaTrader suite to manage their transactions. Many prefer to do things this way as it makes the entire process much easier to handle. What’s more, the desktop version includes Experts through the MQL5 signals community, which are useful automated trading systems.
HotForex also offers some Premium Trader Tools, developed by FX Blue Labs. This package will give you twelve tools that will give you such things as pivot points, Renko bars, and order history. The package also includes a Trade Terminal for alerts, advance order execution, and news.
On top of that, you can sign up for a demo account before you commit to anything, which will allow you to experience the true market without risk. Starting with one of these is a good way to familiarize yourself with the system and practice transactions.
You can also get the MT4 mobile app for Android, iOS, and Windows. MT4 is a good way to trade using HotForex on the go. There’s also the MT4 WebTrader for desktops and the MT4 MultiTerminal if you manage more than one account. The MT4 MultiTerminal is also useful if you handle investor accounts or are planning to have a PAMM account.
HotForex Prices
Prices for HotForex vary depending on your account. Generally, however, they are competitive with the average market for quality brokers. Like most brokers, HotForex takes its commission from the spread.
For example, a Zero account has lower trading costs, but margin requirements are twice as high as a Premium account. Typical spreads are 0.3 pips for EUR/USD on the Zero account and will likely incur 0.6 pips per trade commission costs, while the Premium account clocks in at 1.2 pips.
Another popular option is the Fixed account, with a minimum deposit of $500 for non-European clients and a fixed spread. This makes the commission per trade a much more reliable figure and easier to calculate your Return On Investment (ROI).
Bonuses
On top of competitive prices, HotForex also offers a sign-on bonus. There are not very many Forex brokers that still give out bonuses, so this is a particularly attractive reason to go with HotForex, especially since it is a 100% bonus to your first deposit.
Basically, to help get you started, HotForex will match your initial deposit, effectively doubling the equity in your trading account. This can be quite useful when building your portfolio and for leveraging your trades.
To receive the bonus, all you have to do is sign up for HotForex, verify your account and make a deposit, then select your deposit bonus. You can choose to have it deposited as cash or use it as a credit bonus.
Taking Deposits
Fortunately, HotForex works with a variety of e-wallets, payment processors, and other tools that you can use when managing your account. In addition to credit card payments and bank transfers, it can also process services such as Neteller and Skrill.
Although it may be easy to overlook the deposit and withdrawal process when choosing a trading services broker, it’s actually very important for the process to be as smooth as possible. With this in mind, HotForex enables traders to make instant deposits and withdrawals. However, in some instances, withdrawals can take a little longer than deposits so always make sure you understand this before proceeding.
Also important to note is that accepting bonuses may require certain trading conditions. Be sure to satisfy these conditions before making a withdrawal.
Executing Trades
Although margin requirements and commissions do vary depending on the account you are using and the instruments you are trading, HotForex keeps these rates clear and accessible on its website. You can also expect more transparency over the price you pay when executing a trade, not to mention tighter spreads.
HotForex also has lower entry requirements compared to most ECN brokers. What’s more, they’re risk management features help you to assess your trades. These include price alerts, limit orders, negative balance protection, and stop losses (with trailing stops).
Customer Support
HotForex has many different customer support channels, including active phone numbers, live chat, a web contact form, and email. They can also help you in any of the following languages:
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This is an extensive list of languages and more than many trading platforms offer. On top of that, HotForex is a customer-oriented company that strives to maintain excellent relationships with its customers.
For phone support, the average connection time is less than one minute, and HotForex has a triple AAA support rating on BrokerNotes. The welfare of their customers is their top priority and work tirelessly to keep traders secure against broker issues and to ensure their safety, even in high-risk financial markets.
Research and Resource Materials
HotForex has its own research platform called HF Copy. It is a social and copy trading platform for both investors and strategy providers. Nonetheless, it hasn’t been around for very long and has a limited trading history and available providers, but you can expect it to be an increasingly valuable tool as it continues to develop.
Other information can be found in the vast library of content from both in-house staff and third-party providers. These resources include in-depth analysis and all sorts of different tools for effective trading.
For forex news, HotForex teams up with FXStreet, and for trading signals Autochartist uses automated pattern recognition.
Criticisms of HotForex
Overall, HotForex is a solid forex trading services broker. Nevertheless, there are a few things to keep in mind. For one, they only offer a limited selection of tradable assets compared to some other brokers, and there are other limitations as well.
For example, cryptocurrency CFDs are not tradable on the weekends. Also, the various account options can be confusing, leading to a steeper learning curve for newbies.
Another possible downside to HotForex’s services is that its proprietary app, HF App, containing various trading tools, research, and calculators, does not allow direct trading. For that, you’ll need to employ a MetaTrader app, such as MT4 or MT5 for Android or iOS.
Lastly, although HotForex is generally compliant with average market values, its commissions are not particularly low compared to some other brokers. There are, of course, some with higher rates as well, seating HotForex in the middle of the pack. Even with pricing that is a little better than the industry standard, HotForex still cannot compete with low-cost leaders such as Forex.com and CMC markets.
Final Toughts
HotForex has achieved immense success among global retail traders. For this reason, it is a forex trading services broker you can trust. Trust is important these days, especially with the number of scams to watch out for.
HotForex offers social trading, copy trading, and trading of crypto currencies as CFDs. It has many different accounts to choose from and something for everyone, including European and Non-European traders.
HotForex also offers Premium Trader Tools, such as pivot points, Renko bars, and order history. Its Trade Terminal provides news and alerts. In addition, it has its own proprietary app for mobile use for researching and staying ahead of the trading curve, as well as compatibility with MT4 and MT5 for Android and iOS.
Its prices are comparable to the market average and its minimum deposits and spreads can be very good depending on the account you choose. What’s more, HotForex offers a 100% sign-up bonus on your first deposit, essentially doubling your equity right out of the gate.
Executing trades is easy and customer support is top-notch. HotForex has its own research platform and provides access to a wealth of third-party resources, with in-depth analysis and a variety of useful tools for effective trading.
All in all, HotForex is an excellent choice for both the novice and the experienced trader. It boasts the best customer service in forex trading in the market.