Exness Review 2021

Exness is an CFD broker that offers trading on a wide range of currency pairs & other CFDs. Exness was founded in 2008 and is a well-regulated entity.

Exness is a good option for beginners as it accepts a minimum deposit as low as 1$. ย The spreads are slightly lower than many of the peers while the maximum available leverage is very high.

Being a market maker, it matches the clientsโ€™ orders and, in some cases, can also take the opposite position of the clients. It does not pass on the order to banks or other liquidity providers.

We tested Exness’s fees, safety & more for traders in Philippines. Our review is data based, We have covered all the features and conditions that can affect the trading experience of Filipino clients.

Exness Philippines Pros

  • Exness is a regulated CFD broker. They are licensed by FCA, FSCA, and CySEC
  • The spreads at Exness are among the lowest in the market
  • 5 choices of live trading account
  • English Customer support through live chat & is available 24/5.
  • Minimum deposits as low as $1 with Standard accounts.
  • Multiple deposits and withdrawal methods accepted
  • More than 100 currency pairs can be traded

Exness Philippines Cons

  • No local office in the Philippines
  • No local phone number for support, you need to call their international phone number.
  • Live chat is slow to connect
  • No bonus offered
  • Philippine Peso cannot be chosen as the base currency of the account

Exness Philippines – General Information

๐Ÿ‘Œ Our verdict #3 CFD Broker in the Philippines
๐Ÿฆ Broker Name Exness Philippines
๐Ÿ’ต EURUSD Spread (Average) 1 pips (with Standard MT4 Account)
๐Ÿ“… Year Founded 2008
๐ŸŒ Website www.exness.com
๐Ÿ’ฐ Exness Minimum Deposit $1
โš™๏ธ Maximum Leverage 1:2000
โš–๏ธ Regulations CySEC, FSA, FSCA
๐Ÿ›๏ธ Available Trading Instruments 100+ currency pairs, 100+ CFDs on Indices, Cryptos, Metals, etc.
๐Ÿ“ฑ Trading Platforms MT4 & MT5 for desktop, web & mobile

Is Exness Safe for traders in Philippiines?

Forex and CFD markets are unregulated in Philippines. The SEC of Philippines is not responsible for any scams or deceitful activity by the broker, but traders can participate at their own risk. Under such a case, it is essential to choose a broker that is regulated by a foreign top-tier regulatory authority.

Exness is regulated 3 of the highly trustworthy regulatory authorities:

  1. FCA: Exness has acquired a regulatory license from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. Their license number is 730729.
  2. Exness is licensed by FCA

  3. FSCA: Exness is authorized by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa with FSP number 51024.
  4. CySEC: Exness is regulated by Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission & their license number is 178/12.
  5. Exness is licensed by CySEC

Due to multiple top-tier regulations, Exness can be considered safe forex and CFD broker. The company is headquartered in Seychelles. The broker has been offering trading services since 2008 and has served thousands of clients worldwide.

We found a majority of the reviews by the existing clients to be positive. The broker regularly updates its financial statements on its website along with an audit report by Deloitte. This makes Exness more transparent than any other market maker broker in the Philippines.
exness-audit
In general, STP and ECN brokers are considered more reliable as they do not participate in a trade. However, Exness is a well-regulated, transparent, and reliable broker that is considered safe despite being a market maker.

Fees

For a detailed review of all the costs incurred to traders in Philippines, we have divided the fees into trading fees & non-trading charges.

Trading Fees at Exnesss is low

This includes spreads and commission as these are charged only when a trade order is executed. At Exness, trading fees can differ depending on the account type chosen by the trader. Hence, we will be discussing trading fees for each account type.

  1. Standard and Standard Cent Account: The standard and standard cent account at Exness offers similar features with the same fees at no trading commission. The spreads on currency pairs start from 0.3 pips. For EUR/USD, we found the average typical spread to be 1 pip for both the account types.
  2. Raw Spread and Zero Account: We found that the Raw spread and zero account types under the professional accounts section are quite similar in terms of pricing. Both the accounts offer spreads as low as 0 pip. The spreads on many of the currency pairs and CFDs are slightly lower with the Zero spread account. For EUR/USD, the average spread is 0 for Raw spread as well as Zero spread account type.

    Both the accounts have a commission of $3.5 per standard lot per side for a single side of the trade. This means for a round trade (opening and closing the position), 7$ is charged for a whole standard lot with Raw and Zero spread account.

  3. Pro Account: Pro account is the most cost-effective out of all the account types at Exness as no commission is charged on trading CFDs and currency pairs with spreads as low as 0.1 pip. The average spread on EUR/USD is 0.6 pips with no commission.

Non-Trading Fees at Exness

Exness does not charge any commission for account opening, maintenance, deposits, and withdrawals. Unlike many forex brokers, it does not charge any inactivity fees.

We couldnโ€™t find any extra non-trading charges at Exness as traders are not charged any fees if they do not participate in trading.

On comparing the trading and non-trading fees at Exness with other brokers, we found it to be very cost-effective. The spreads on the pro account are among the best in the market with no trading commission.

Exness’s Support

The support team at Exness is fair, not the best as per our research. We tried to reach out to the support staff at Exness for a better review of their customer support.

  1. Live chat is available 24/7 but connection is quite slow: The best part of the live chat at Exness is that it is available 24/7. This means traders can reach out to the executives whenever they wish to. The connectivity can take more than 5 minutes at times, but each query’s response time is 30 seconds on average. The connectivity takes longer during the peak trading hours.
  2. Exness Live chat support

  3. Email support is slow to respond: Traders in Philippines can also reach out to the support executives at Exness by sending an email at [email protected]. But their support team was slow in responding to our queries during our research.
  4. No Local Phone in the Philippines: Exness don’t have a local office in Philippines and entirely operates online. They do not have any local phone number for customer support in Philippines. The international helpline number 000-800-100-437 can be dialed to connect with the phone support staff. The con is that International calling charges would apply to you.

Overall, upon comparison with peers, we found the Exness’s support to be decent (not the best, certainly not the worst also). Live chat support is fair, but the unavailability of phone support is the main drawback.

Trading Platform

Exness offers the most popular and most preferred Metatrader trading platform that is available for all types of devices. The Metatrader 4 can be chosen with all the 5 account types while the Metatrader 5 is available for all accounts except the Standard Cent account.
trading platform features

The MT4 and MT5 are user-friendly platforms that can be customized on various devices. They offer multiple indicators and research tools. We liked the user-friendly interface and quick execution of trades on both platforms.

Account Types

Traders in the Philippines can choose from a total of 5 account types at Exness. Each account type has been briefly reviewed to allow suitable selection and convenient trading experience of traders.

  1. Standard Account: This is the basic commission-free account type in which standard lots are traded. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of as low as 1$ depending on the method of transaction. There is no upper limit on leverage and all the trading instrument available can be traded with this account. Traders can open any number of positions simultaneously with the standard account.
  2. Standard Cent Account: Most of the features like minimum deposit, fees, leverage, etc for the Cent account is the same as the Standard account. The major difference is that it allows trading through cents. The minimum price fluctuation is 0.1 cents. It is also the only account that is supported with MT4 only trading platform. All the other account types can be opened with MT4 as well as the MT5 trading platform. Traders can only trade with Forex and CFDs on Metals with the Cent account.
  3. Raw Spread Account: The Raw Spread account allows trading with a lower spread with a commission. The account requires a minimum initial deposit of 500$. All the instruments are available to trade with a maximum leverage of 1:2000.
  4. Zero Spread Account: This account allows spread free trading on more than 95% of the available instruments. It involves a commission and maximum leverage of 1:2000. The minimum deposit requirement for the Zero Spread account is 500$.
  5. Pro Account: This is the most cost-effective account as it does not involve any commission and includes a low spread. The orders are executed instantly with max leverage of 1:2000. The minimum deposit requirement of the Pro account is also 500$.

Each account type has differing features and can be suitable for different types of traders. The Cent account is ideal for beginners while the standard account is ideal for lesser experienced traders. For high volume traders, the Raw spread and Zero Spread account can be more fruitful. The Pro account offers the best features and can be ideal for new as well as experienced traders due to low spreads and no commission.

Compared to other forex and CFD brokers available in Philippines, we found Exness to be much better than peers in the account offering section as it has different account types that would fit the requirements of traders.

Trading Instruments

Details of all the available trading instruments at Exness are described below:

  • Forex: A total of 107 currency pairs are available to trade in Philippines at Exness. This includes the 7 major pairs, 25 minor pairs, and 75 exotic currency pairs. These pairs can be traded with any of the account types.

  • CFDs: A total of 100 CFDs are available to trade at Exness. This includes 81 CFDs of Stocks and indices, 7 CFDs of Cryptocurrencies, and 12 CFDs of metals and energies. The CFDs of stocks, indices, and cryptocurrencies cannot be traded with the Cent account. All the other CFDs are available to trade with any of the account types.

    • exness trading tools
      The total currency pairs available to trade at Exness is higher than many of the CFD brokers that accept clients from the Philippines. More instruments mean higher choices for traders.

      Research and Education

      Exness does organize seminars for educational and promotional purposes but we couldnโ€™t find sufficient research and education tools compared to other brokers.

      The Web TV feature on their official websites provides research and analysis reports that are published regularly but it only covers a limited subject matter. The research and education segment of Exness has a lot of margin for improvement.

      Deposits and Withdrawals

      Multiple methods for deposit and withdrawal are available at Exness in Philippines. Traders can transact through online bank transfer and internet banking from local banks at no extra commission.

      Multiple e-wallets can also be used to deposit and withdraw like SticPay, Neteller, Skrill, etc. In cryptocurrency, only Tether (USDT) is supported for deposit as well as withdrawal. The time taken for deposit as well as withdrawal depends on the method chosen but is instant for a majority of the methods.

      Compared to other brokers in Philippines, we liked the lower cap on minimum deposit which goes as low as 1$. The speed of transaction is also better than many of the brokers but the non-availability of crypto deposits like BTC, ETH, etc. can be a drawdown.

      Exness Bonus

      We could not find any promotional bonus offering for traders in Philippines when we are writing this review. There is no deposit bonus, loyalty bonus, or referral bonus for any type of trader at Exness.
      exness chat

      Do We Recommend Exness Philippines?

      Yes, Exness is a well-regulated broker that is providing consistent services all over the world for more than 12 years. Exness offers low spread accounts with no hidden commission on trades with their Standard account type.

      The support and research & education can be further improved to assist the traders but Exness is still a better option than many of the forex brokers that accept traders in the Philippines.

XM Philippines Review 2021

XM claims to serve more than 3.5 million clients in 196 countries. It is a market maker forex broker. This means that it matches the suitable orders of clients and sometimes also takes the opposite position of trade.ย 

XM was launched in 2009 and is currently a leading market maker broker in Asia for CFD trading in terms of their average monthly trading volume. They have regulatory licenses from FCA, ASIC, and CySEC. They offer a wide range of trading instruments and excellent customer support to assist the traders at any point in time.

Their official website is available in the Filipino language. But they don’t have any local office address in the Philippines, and there is no local phone support for Philippines listed on their website.

XM has organized various educational seminars in Manila and Davao. The SEC of Philippines advises citizens against trading in forex and CFDs although interested individuals still trade on a mass scale.

We have tried to make this review unbiased & based on data.

XM Philippines Pros

  • XM broker is licensed by ASIC, and CySEC
  • Spreads as low as 0.6 pips on currency pairs
  • Multiple base account currencies available
  • Minimum deposit as low as $5
  • More than 1200 trading instruments available
  • Wide range of research and education tools available
  • Helpful support service through live chat

XM Philippines Cons

  • XM does not have any local registered office in the Philippines. It works as on offshore broker.
  • Unavailability of local phone number in Philippines. But you can request a callback from your account manager.
  • Local bank deposit in Philippines and cryptocurrency deposits are not supported

XM Philippines – A quick look

๐Ÿ‘Œ Our verdict on XM #2 Forex Broker in Philippines
๐Ÿฆ Broker Name XM Philippines
๐Ÿ’ต Typical EURUSD Spread 1.7 pips (with Micro MT4 Account)
๐Ÿ“… Year Founded 2009
๐ŸŒ Website www.xm.com
๐Ÿ’ฐ Minimum Deposit 5$
โš™๏ธ Maximum Leverage 1:888
โš–๏ธ Regulations CySEC, FSA, ASIC
๐Ÿ›๏ธ Trading Instruments 57 currency pairs, 1200+ CFDs on Stocks, Indices, Cryptos, Metals, etc
๐Ÿ“ฑ Trading Platforms MT4 & MT5 for desktop, web & mobile

Is XM Safe for Philippines Traders?

XM is not regulated by government or financial regulatory authority in the Philippines. Their regulation with multiple top-tier regulatory authorities makes them low-risk CFD broker for traders based in the Philippines. If XM indulges in any malpractice or scams, the activity can be reported to the regulatory authorities that have granted license to XM broker.

XM is regulated by the following regulatory authorities:

  1. XM is regulated by ASIC: XM is also regulated by the top-tier Australian Securities and Exchange Commission (ASIC) of Australia & their license number is 443670.
  2. xm-asic

  3. XM is licensed by CySEC: XM is regulated by Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission based in Cyprus under license number 120/10.
  4. xm cysec

XM broker is owned by Trading Point Holdings Limited which is headquartered in Cyprus. XM is headquartered in Belize, Central America, and has offices in various cities of the world.

xm-owner

In terms of cons, XM is a market maker broker and can take opposite side of the trading orders made by the traders. XM does not have a parent banking firm nor does it hold any banking license. XM is also not listed on any stock exchange.

The funds are kept in segregated bank accounts to ensure safety.

According to our review, XM can be considered low risk for traders in Philippines due to their multiple regulatory licenses. It is a trustworthy broker that has served a large number of traders worldwide for more than a decade.

XM’s Fees

The trading fee charged at XM is quite simple as it does not charge any commission for executing forex or CFD trades on any of the account types. The commission is only charged with the shares CFD account. For a better explanation of charges incurred to traders in Philippines at XM, we have subdivided the fee structure.

XM’s fees for Trading

The cost incurred to traders while executing trade orders is called trading fees. At XM spread is the only trading fee as no commission is charged on any of the available account types.

Fees at XM

At XM, there are mainly 2 types of accounts based on spreads. These 2 accounts are further divided into standard and micro accounts depending on the lot sizes.

  1. Normal Spread Accounts: The Standard and Micro account types with normal spread are slightly costly as the spreads start from 1 pip. For EUR/USD, we found the average typical spread to be 1.7 pips for both the variant of normal spread accounts.
  2. Ultra-Low Account: The Ultra-Low account can be opened with a slightly higher minimum deposit in which the spreads are much lower starting from 0.6 pips. For EUR/USD, we found the average typical spread to be 0.7 for the standard as well as a micro variant of Ultra-Low Account.

Non-Trading Fees

The charges that are incurred to traders without opening a position are grouped under non-trading fees. As there is no fee for account opening, maintenance, deposit, and withdrawal, the non-trading fees at XM are fairly impressive.

The only Non-trading fee is the inactivity fees which are incurred only if no trades are executed for 6 consecutive months. An inactivity fee of 5$ is charged each month until the balance reaches 0 in case of inactivity of more than 6 months. Inactive accounts with 0 balance are automatically closed after 6 months of inactivity.

Overall, the trading fees with the ultra-low account are very cost-effective and among the best in Philippines. Low spreads with no commission involved make the Ultra-Low account most attractive. The spreads on the normal spread Standard and Micro account are slightly higher compared to most of the regulated forex brokers in Philippines.

Trading Platform

XM supports the Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5 trading platform for all types of devices for any of the account types chosen. MT4 and MT5 are the most popular and widely chosen trading platform that includes various indicators and charting tools. The cTrader trading platform is unavailable at XM.
xm platform

Customer Support

The customer support service at XM is excellent, and we tested their live chat and email support. We tried reaching out to the support staff at different times and had a great experience as the support staff were friendly & quick to answer our questions.

  1. English Live Chat is available 24/5: The live chat is available at the official website of XM for 24/5. The chat window is not available on weekends and the query raised through live chat on weekends are automatically converted into tickets that are resolved through email. The average response time was 15 seconds while it took an average of 2 minutes to connect with the executives.
  2. xm chat

  3. Email responses are fast: Traders in the Philippines can also reach out to the support staff at XM through email viaย  [email protected]. They generally take 2-4 hours to revert on email but can be sooner or later depending on the business hour.
  4. No Local Phone Support: XM does not offer a local phone number to Filipino clients as there are no offices in the Philippines. Traders can however call on their international number +501 223-6696, but this might incur international calling charges.

Overall, XM’s support service is much better than many of the other forex brokers in the Philippines.

Account Type

A total of 5 live trading accounts and 1 demo account are offered by XM in Philippines. We have comprehensively reviewed the features of each account type to assist the traders in choosing the best one for themselves.
xm acc type
Traders in Philippines must note that the Philippines Peso (PHP) is not available at XM as the base currency of the account.

  • Standard Account: This is the basic account type with a minimum deposit of $5 equivalent. The standard account can be opened with a base currency of USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CHF, โ€ŽAUD, HUF, PLN, RUB, SGD, and ZAR. The maximum leverage is 1:888 if the trading amount is between 5$ to 20,000$. As per the name, only standard lots can be traded with the Standard account.

  • Micro Account: There is no major difference between the Micro and Standard accounts except for the lot size. Only micro-lots i.e. 1 lot = 1000 units, can be traded with the micro account. The minimum deposit, base currencies, leverage, spreads, and all the other features are the same as the Standard account.

  • Ultra-Low Account: The ultra-low accounts are available in standard as well as micro variants differing based on lot size. The ultra-low account allows trading at a much lower spread without any commission. This account requires a minimum deposit of 50$ equivalent and can be opened with EUR, USD, GBP, AUD, ZAR, and SGD as a base currency. The max leverage is 1:888 for trade value of 50$ – 20,000$ equivalent.

  • Shares Account: This account is specifically structured for trading on shares. Traders cannot trade forex and CFDs with the shares account. It doesnโ€™t offer leverage and the minimum deposit requirement is 10,000$. This account can only be opened with USD as a base currency.

  • The variations in the account types allow all types of traders to have a convenient trading experience. We liked the Ultra-Low Standard account due to low spreads and no commission.

    Trading Instruments

    Following trading, instruments are available to trade at XM with the Standard, Micro, and Ultra-Low accounts.

    • Forex: A total of 57 currency pairs can be traded 5 days a week at XM with a maximum leverage of 1:888.

    • Stock CFDs: A total of 1291 CFDs on stocks are available to trade at XM with any of the account types. Stocks of various American and European markets are available to trade at XM through CFDs. Traders must note confuse shares with stock CFDs as shares are traded separately at XM with a different account.

    • Other CFDs: Apart from stock CFDs, 29 more CFDs are available to trade via any account type. Among these, 8 CFDs are commodities, 14 for indices, 2 for precious metals, and 5 CFDs are of energies.

    • Shares: XM also allows Filipino traders to trade on shares without CFDs. A total of 100 stocks are available to trade from the markets of the UK, USA, and Germany. 0.1% of the trading amount is charged as a commission with a minimum commission of 5$.

    If we count all the instruments, the number is significantly high in comparison with other forex and CFD brokers. However, if we separate the number of stock CFDs from the total, the number of the instrument are decent.ย 

    Research and Education

    We found XM to be very impressive in the segment of research and education. It offers a variety of tools to educate the traders and assist them in making better trading decisions through multiple research and analysis tools.

    • Educational Tools: XM regularly provides learning materials on their official website. The XM Live and Live Education keeps the traders updated with the latest events concerning the forex and CFD capital markets. They also organize various webinars and seminars to educate the traders and promote the capital markets.

    • Research and Analysis: XM publishes market overview and news concerning the forex market to assist in the prediction of price movement. The XM research provides analysis reports, technical summaries, MQL5 calls, and various other features to enhance the profit-making opportunities of the traders.

    Deposits and Withdrawals

    The lowest cap on deposits & withdrawals is $5 for all the available methods but also depends on the account type chosen. There is no commission involved from the broker’s side on any of the available transaction methods. The third-party e-wallets can charge a commission on their side if liable.

    Traders in Philippines cannot deposit through local bank transfer but can deposit/withdraw through bank wire transfer, credit/debit cards, and e-wallets.

    Compared to other regulated peers in Philippines, we give it an average rating as XM do not accept cryptocurrency nor do they offer local bank deposits in the Philippines.

    XM Philippines Bonus

    XM has a decent bonus offering for promotional activity. At the time of this review, they are offering a welcome bonus of 15% up to 500$. This bonus is non-withdrawable but the profits booked with this amount can be withdrawn.
    xm bonus

    They also have an ongoing loyalty program in which they provide special seasonal bonuses to some of the high-volume traders exclusively. Traders can also earn up to 35$ for each successful referrals. The referral bonus amount can be withdrawn anytime. Any fees charged via credit card, e-wallet, and wire transfer of more than 200$ are instantly refunded back to the traders’ wallet.ย 

    Do we Recommend XM?

    Yes, XM is a well-regulated forex broker that is cost-effective and offers a wide variety of research and educational tools. The spreads with the ultra-low account are attractive and the basket of numerous trading instruments is a major advantage of choosing XM.

    The unavailability of PHP based trading account, local phone number for customer support can be an obstacle of choosing XM in Philippines. Although, it is a much better option compared to many of the regulated market maker forex brokers in Philippines.

Hotforex Philippines Review 2021

Hotforex is a regulated CFD broker that offers STP trading platform at a low cost. It is internationally renowned forex broker that claims to have opened more than 2.5 million accounts since incorporation in 2010.

Hotforex has offices in numerous countries all over the world but does not have a local office in the Philippines. Their official website and trading platform are available in the Filipino language for better assistance to local retail clients in the Philippines. However, local phone support is not available in the Philippines.

Hotforex is not regulated by SEC of the Philippines. They are regulated with foreign top-tier regulations like FCA, CySEC & FSCA.

We have comprehensively reviewed Hotforex specifically for traders in the Philippines. We compare how well they do in terms of fees, safety, platform & other factors compared to other brokers that accept traders from Philippines.

Hotforex Philippines Pros

  • Hotforex is a low risk CFD broker as they are regulated by FCA, FSCA, and CySEC
  • Spreads as low as 1 pip on currency pairs with Micro & Premium accounts.
  • It offers 6 different account types
  • Minimum deposit is as low as $5
  • Attractive bonus offerings
  • It offers various research and educational tools
  • 1000+ trading instrument available

Hotforex Philippines Cons

  • No local phone support in the Philippines
  • Hotforex does not have a local office in the Philippines
  • It does not offer Philippine Peso (PHP) as the base currency of the account

Hotforex Philippines – A quick look

๐Ÿ‘Œ Hotforex Verdict #1 Forex Broker in Philippines
๐Ÿฆ Broker Name Hotforex Philippines
๐Ÿ’ต EURUSD Spread (Average with Standard account)) 1.2 pips (with Micro MT4 Account)
๐Ÿ“… Year of Foundation 2010
๐ŸŒ Hotforex’s Website www.hotforex.com
๐Ÿ’ฐ Minimum Deposit $5
โš™๏ธ Hotforex Leverage 1:1000 (Maximum with Micro & Premium accounts)
โš–๏ธ Regulation Hotforex is regulated by CySEC, FSA, FSCA
๐Ÿ›๏ธ Available Instruments 53 currency pairs, 1000+ CFDs on Indices, Cryptos, Metals, etc
๐Ÿ“ฑ Platforms MT4 & MT5 for desktop, web & mobile

Is Hotforex Safe for traders in the Philippines?

Yes, Hotforex is considered safe for traders based in Philippines.

Hotforex is not regulated by the SEC, so this makes them risky for traders. But the broker is regulated by 4 foreign Tier-1 & Tier-2 regulatory authorities, so there is a low risk of scam by Hotforex. If there is any bad practice done by Hotforex, this can be reported to the concerned foreign regulatory authority that has granted the license to Hotforex.

Hotforex is not regulated by any regulatory authority in Philippines but it is regulated by following top-tier international financial regulators.

  1. Hotforex is licensed with Tier-1 regulator FCA: The reference number is 801701 for HF Markets (UK) Ltd.
  2. Hotforex fca

  3. Hotforex is licensed by CySEC: The license number for HF Markets (Europe) Ltd is 183/12.
  4. Hotforex Cysec

Regulation from multiple regulatory authorities makes Hotforex low risk broker for traders in Philippines. We also checked the reviews of existing clients of HF in Philippines and found most of them to be positive. We couldnโ€™t find any significant scam or reported breach of regulatory compliance against the broker.

Hotforex is privately owned by HF Markets Group and is a registered international business company headquartered in St. Vincent & the Grenadines (registration number: 22747 IBC 2015). It does not have a parent bank or banking license, and is not publicly listed.

Overall, Hotforex is considered a safe CFD broker for depositing funds due to their multiple top-tier regulatory licenses and a reputed track record.

Fees

The fee structure at Hotforex is slightly complicated as they offer 5 different account types.

Almost every account type has different spreads and commissions. We have extensively reviewed all the costs incurred to the traders in Philippines and divided them into trading and non-trading fees.

Hotforex has an average trading fees

Hotforex Spread is average

The trading includes spreads and commission as they are charged only when a trade order gets executed on the trading platform. Hotforex offers 5 different account types and the trading fees for all the account types are described below:

  1. Micro: The Micro account is the most basic account type with a minimum initial deposit requirement. The spreads start from 1 pip on currency pairs with no commission involved. For EUR/USD, the average floating spread is 1.3 pips.
  2. Premium: The fees, as well as a commission with the premium account, are the same as the Micro account.
  3. Auto: The trading charges with the auto account are also the same as the micro account.
  4. Zero Spread: As per the name, the zero spread account offers forex and CFD trading with spreads as low as 0 pip. A commission of 3$ is charged for each side of the trade on 1 lot. For a round trade of a standard lot of EUR/USD, a total of 7$ would be charged that includes 3$ commission for each side of a trade and spread of 1 pip.
  5. HFcopy: This account type is specifically designed for copy trading. The spreads are similar to the micro account with no trading commission involved. The followers need to pay a performance fee while withdrawing. The performance fee is set by the strategy provider and can range from 0 to 50%.

Non-Trading Fees is also average

At Hotforex, no fee is charged for account opening and maintenance.

Although, they have an inactivity fee of $5/month if no trades are placed for 6 consecutive months. Inactive accounts with 0 balance are automatically closed after 6 months of inactivity.

The deposits and withdrawals for most of the available methods do not include any commission. The third-party payment gateways can charge the traders on their side but HF does not charge any transaction fees.

All in all, Hotforex has attractive spread. The spreads and commission are not the lowest but are better than many other forex brokers that accept traders in the Philippines.

Trading Platform

A complete suite of Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5 is offered at Hotforex with the Micro, Premium, and Zero spread account. Traders can choose between the most widely used Metatrader 4 and the advanced customizable Metatrader 5 trading platform. The Auto, PAMM, and Copy account are only available with the Metatrader 4 platform.

hf-trading-platforms

Both the trading platforms are available in windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices. The web trading terminal can be accessed through any of the devices to place trade orders.

A majority of CFD brokers in Philippines offer MT4 and MT5 trading platforms on various devices. The availability of an MT5 trading platform with a micro account is an advantage at Hotforex and most brokers only offer MT4 with the basic account.

But Hotforex does not offer cTrader. If you want to use cTrader trading platform, then it is a downside in the section of trading platforms.

Customer Support

The customer support service at Hotforex is fairly impressive as the support executives are resourceful and diligent. We tried connecting with the support staff through different methods and the following was our experience with them:

  • English Live Chat support is very good & available 24 hours during week: The live chat at Hotforex can be accessed by any registered trader or even new clients at any time of the day on 5 working days. We tried to connect with them multiple times and got a helpful reply within few seconds. The average time to connect was 30 seconds while the average response time was 10 seconds. Most of the queries can be resolved through a live chat window at Hotforex’s official website.

  • Email response time is fair (not the fastest): The email support is decent at Hotforex , and we got a response in 2-3 hours to revert if a query is raised on the same working day. The email support can be accessed by filling out the contact form on their website in case if you are unable to resolve the query through live chat.

  • hf-contact

  • Phone Support: There is no local phone support for traders in Philippines as Hotforex does not have a local office in Philippines. Traders can however contact support staff through their international number +44-2030978571, but it will incur international calling charges. A call back can also be requested.

Overall, support service is impressive at Hotforex and far better than most of the regulated CFD brokers in Philippines.

Account Types

Traders in Philippines can choose to trade from 6 trading account types depending on the suitability. Every account type at HF Markets comes with different features, conditions, and fees. It is essential to learn about each account type before choosing any at HF in Philippines. We have reviewed every account type in detail to assist the traders in choosing the most suitable account for themselves.

  1. Micro Account: This is the first account type with a minimum deposit of $5. The account gives access to all the available trading instruments with variable spreads starting from 1 pip (higher than other account types). The Micro account also offers the highest max leverage of up to 1:1000. This account is ideal for small volume traders as the maximum lot size that can be traded are 7.
  2. Premium Account: This account requires a minimum deposit of 100$ but the fee structure is very similar to the Micro account. It allows trading on a maximum of 60 standard lots and traders can open up to 300 positions simultaneously. The maximum available leverage on a Premium account is 1:500.
  3. Auto: This account allows traders to trade on free as well as paid calls made by the MQL5 trading community. This MT4 only account can be opened with a minimum deposit of 200$ and maximum leverage of 1:500. The fee structure is the same as the micro account.
  4. Zero Spread Account: This account type at HF allows trading on various instruments with spreads as low as 0 pips. There is a commission of $3/standard lot for each side of the trade i.e. $6/lot total for majors ($7/lot for minors) with a maximum leverage of up to 1:500. This account is suited for traders that trade higher number of lots every month. The minimum deposit requirement is 200$ with the Zero account.
  5. PAMM Account: This account type at HF allows copying the trading calls by the ‘fund manager’. HF allows traders to choose from the fee structure of Premium and Premium Plus. The Premium Plus account has spreads as low as 0.3 pips and a commission of 5$ for each side of the trade of standard lot. The minimum deposit requirement is 250$ with a maximum leverage of up to 1:300.
  6. HFcopy Account Type: Copy trade account is designed for copy-trading at Hotforex. Traders can choose to become a strategy provider (minimum deposit 500$) or a follower (minimum deposit 100$). The spreads are the same as the Micro account type with a maximum leverage of 1:400. The followers also need to pay the performance fee that is set by each strategy provider that ranges from 0 to 50% of the gains.

Traders must note that all the account types can be opened with USD, EUR, or NGN as the base currency. Hotforex does not support the Philippine peso or any other currency as the base currency of the account.

The variation in the trading account is advantageous to the traders as they have the freedom to choose the most suitable account. Most forex brokers do not provide this many types of account and for the same reason, we have given Hotforex excellent ratings in the segment of account types offered.

Trading Instruments

Any of the chosen account types allow clients to trade on all of the following trading instruments at Hotforex.

  • Forex: A total of 53 currency pairs are available to trade at Hotforex including 15 major and 38 minor currency pairs.

  • CFDs: A wide range of CFDs can also be traded with any of the chosen account types. The table below describes the specific number of CFDs for each instrument segment. A total of 1044 CFDs are available at Hotforex.

Hotforex offers a wider range of trading instruments than other CFD brokers. A wider range of instruments gives more opportunities to traders to choose the most ideal and efficient capital market.

Withdrawal and Deposit

Hotforex allows clients to deposit and withdraw through multiple methods without additional commission. Traders can transact through bank wire transfer, credit/debit cards, e-wallets like Skrill, Neteller, and selected cryptocurrencies.

deposit methods hf

The minimum deposit amount for most of the available methods is $5 but depends on the account type chosen by the trader. There might be additional charges incurred if a third-party transaction method incurs it. No transaction fee is charged by Hotforex for any of the methods.

We tried to deposit and withdraw through multiple methods at Hotforex. In most cases, the transaction completes instantly. The bank wire transfer can take up to 2 to 7 business days while all the other methods reflect the transaction amount almost instantly.

Research and Education

Hotforex has basic research material on their website for traders in terms of research and analysis tools. They regularly publish educational videos, exclusive analysis, how-to videos, and organize webinars to educate and train every kind of trader.

hf-research

Hotforex also offers various research and analysis tools on their website as well as their mobile application. The research and analysis tools include VPS Hosting, Autochartist, Advanced Insights, Auto Trading-MQL5, etc.

Compared to other regulated forex brokers in Philippines, we found Hotforex to be very helpful in assisting the traders with enhancing their abilities. They make efforts to train beginners and enhance the skills of experienced traders through various tools on their website.

Hotforex Bonus

Hotforex constantly provides new and attractive bonus offerings to traders for promotion and increased participation. At the time of the review, they offer a 100% Super Charged bonus in which they offer a 100% bonus on the initial deposit of more than 250$. It is a non-withdrawable bonus.

hf-bonus

We also found the 100% credit bonus in which traders receive a bonus on deposit amount but need to execute trade orders with a lot of size of 50% of the deposited amount. For eg, to withdraw a credit bonus of 100$, the trader needs to execute trade orders of size 100*50% = 50 standard lot.

Do we Recommend Hotforex?

Yes, Hotforex is a well-regulated forex & CFD broker with low spreads and multiple account types offering a wide range of trading instruments. The research and analysis tools are helpful while the support staff is helpful and diligent.

Unavailability of local phone support or local office in Philippines is a drawdown according to us for traders in Philippines. But we do recommend Hotforex as they are a reputed broker & accept clients from Philippines.