HF Markets (HFM) Vs. IG - Compare Trustworthiness, Capabilities, Fees and Legitimacy

HF Markets (HFM) is a global broker founded in 2010 under the brand name HotForex that specialises in CFDs trading on currencies, commodities, indices, stocks, ETFs, bonds and futures. Recently they added to their portfolio commission-free real stocks and ETFs.

IG is a global broker established in 1974 that holds 8 reputable financial licenses and provides CFD trading on stocks, commodities, ETFs, indices, cryptocurrencies, bonds, futures, options along with real stocks through their share dealing account.

• Low volume traders looking for a low minimum deposit, low trade size and competitive spreads
• High volume traders looking for a competitive commission-driven environment through their zero spread account
• Traders looking to copy or provide knowledge via their HFCopy account

• Professional traders looking to exploit their customisable platform and broad asset offering
• High volume traders that can offset their commission costs by trading in larger volumes

• CySec (Cyprus)
• FCA (UK)
• DFSA (United Arab Emirates)
• FSCA (South Africa)
• FSA (Seychelles)
• FSA (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
• CMA (Kenya)

• ASIC (Australia)
• FMA (New Zealand)
• NFA (United States)
• DFSA (United Arab Emirates)
• FINMA (Switzerland)
• MAS (Singapore)
• FFAJ (Japan)
• FSCA (South Africa)
• BMA (Bermuda)

• Well-structured account offering with options for all types of traders
• Competitive commissions on their Zero Spread and PAMM accounts
• Copy trading via MT4 / 5 offered through their HF Copy account

• Broad platform offering with high customisability and integrated news feeds
• Comprehensive asset offering with more than 10,000 + CFDs or real stocks and ETFs

• Platform offering is limited to MetaTrader 4 and 5
• Asset offering in CFDs is below industry standards with 1,200 CFDs
• Their proprietary mobile app does not offer trading capabilities

• There are too many small costs such as custody, in-and-out-commissions in some cases, management fees, etc
• Their standard contracts can be too large some times for low volume traders

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• Valid identity document (Passport, ID Card, etc)
• Valid proof of residence document (Bank statement, utility bills)

All documents must be under the account holder's name.

• Valid identity document (Passport, ID Card, etc)
• Valid proof of residence document (Bank statement, utility bills)

All documents must be under the account holder's name.

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Neteller
• Skrill
• Sofort
• FasaPay
• WebMoney
• BitPay
• PayRetailers
• PayRedeem
• Bank Transfer

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Bank Transfer
• Paypal

US, CA, SY, IR.

SY, IR.

Yes, $5 monthly after 6 months of inactivity.

After 24 months of inactivity, IG charges an $18 monthly fee.

Yes depending on account type:

• Micro accounts have no commissions.
• Premium accounts have no commissions
• Zero Spread accounts have a minimum commission that varies between $3 to $4 per lot traded
• PAMM (Premium) accounts have no commission
• PAMM (Premium Plus) accounts have a commission of $8 per lot round turn
• HFCopy accounts have no commissions

Yes, they charge depending on the client’s account base currency and exchange location of the shares being traded. For example, for some clients US shares can have a minimum charge of $10 in-and-out.