Who has the upper hand?
HFM VS XM.COM
About HFM
HFM, formerly known as HotForex, was founded in 2010 and is now one of the largest forex brokers in the world. It launched with the aim of empowering traders to pursue opportunities in the financial markets and has attracted over 2.5 million traders. The official website for HFM is www.hfm.com
HFM minimum deposit is: $0
Risk warning: Remember that forex and CFDs available at HFM are leveraged products and can result in the loss of your entire capital. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved.
About XM.com
In contrast, XM was founded in 2009. It has been growing gradually becoming one of the biggest forex brokers by the number of clients. The company now has over 10 million clients from over 190 countries worldwide. The official website for XM is www.XM.com.
XM.com Minimum Deposit: $5
Risk warning: Remember that forex and CFDs available at XM.com are leveraged products and can result in the loss of your entire capital. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved.
HFM is regulated by:
FSCA
Financial Sector Conduct Authority, based in South Africa, licence number 46632.
CMA
Capital Markets Authority, based in Kenya, licence no. 155.
FSC
Financial Services Commission, based in Mauritius, license No. C110008214.
CySEC
Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, based in Cyprus, Licence Number 183/12.
FCA
Financial Conduct Authority, based in the United Kingdom, license number 801701.
XM is regulated by:
FSC
Financial Services Commission, based in Belize, license number 000261/309.
ASIC
Australian Securities and Investments Commission, based in Australia, license number 656 389 927.
DFSA
Dubai Financial Services Authority, based in the Middle East, licence number F003484.
CySEC
Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, based in Cyprus, license no 120/10.
Supported Platforms by HFM
HFM supports the following trading platforms
HFM Platform
Supported Platforms by XM.com
XM.com supports the following trading platforms
Mobile application: XM.com App
01
Platforms
HFM Trading Platforms
HFM offers its traders a variety of powerful platforms. For user-friendliness and a robust toolkit, MetaTrader 4 is a great choice. It offers advanced charting capabilities, a vast library of over 50 technical indicators, and even supports Expert Advisors (EAs).
MetaTrader 5 is the successor of MT4 which comes with a ton of features. It boasts extended order types for greater control, a built-in economic calendar, and Depth of Market capabilities. Moreover, MT5 offers even more timeframes and technical indicators to refine your analysis.
HFM doesn't stop there. They've built their own platform called HFM platform based on the MT5 foundation. It provides real-time market data, seamless account management, and adheres to the highest security standards. All HFM platforms are accessible from anywhere. Investors can trade on their desktop, tablet, phone, or even directly through the web.
XM.com Trading Platforms
XM allows investors to access markets with industry giant platforms, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. These two platforms are renowned for their intuitive interfaces and advanced capabilities.
The platforms cater to both novice and seasoned traders. They allow traders to personalise their trading experience with extensive customisation options, and leverage a powerful arsenal of tools.
These include advanced charting tools, one-click trading, and the ability to use automated strategies with Expert Advisors. But XM doesn't stop there. It also offers its in-house XM Trading Point App, which is a mobile application crafted to meet the specific needs of its user base.
Did you know?
HFM has a super strong presence in Africa with two local regulations and frequent online and offline webinars in popular African cities.
Did you know?
XM holds each business day a number of online webinars that you can attend free of charge.
02
Assets
HFM Trading Assets
HFM has just over 1,000 tradable instruments for its clients. These include CFDs on:
- Forex - On the HFM trader site, clients can access more than 50 currency pairs in the forex market. They include major, minor, and exotic currency pairs. Some of the major pairs include AUDUSD, EURUSD, GBPUSD, NZDUSD, and USDJPY.
- Metals - HFM offers precious metals, such as gold. A client can speculate on metal spot prices without buying the underlying physical asset.
- Commodities - At HFM, traders can trade CFDs on soft and hard commodities with leverage and ultra-fast execution. Some of the commodities available on HFM include cocoa, coffee, copper, cotton, and sugar.
- Stocks - There are a variety of stocks available to trade on the HFM broker site. Clients can trade some of the biggest names in tech and industry, including Apple, Amazon and Meta.
- Indices - HFM offers some of the most popular indices such as US Tech 100, Dow Jones, and others. Other indices include, AUS200, US30, FR40, US500, and JP225.
- Energies - At HFM, traders can explore CFDs on spot oil or oil futures to capitalise on energy market movements.
- ETFs - Exchange Traded Funds are also available on HFM. There are more than 23 ETF CFDs across markets, sectors, currencies and commodities.
- Bonds - The broker also offers access to CFDs on bonds issued by leading economies with industry-standard trading conditions. Examples of bonds available include the Euro Bund, the UK Gilt, and the US 10-year Treasury Note.
XM's Trading Assets
XM has over 1,000 tradable instruments for its clients. These include CFDs on:
- Forex - XM.com offers more than 50 different currency pairs. Some of the major pairs to trade include AUDUSD, EURAUD, EURUSD, GBPUSD, and USDJPY. There are a plethora of other pairs including other majors, minors, and exotics.
- Stocks - XTB clients can trade over 1,300 different stocks. The stocks include stocks from the US, the UK, Canada, Brazil and many more stock exchanges.
- Precious Metals - Investors can also speculate on the prices of Gold and Silver on the XM trading site.
- Energies - XM clients can invest in energy CFDs such as oil and natural gas.
- Equity Indices - There are 20 different cash indices and 11 futures indices on XM for investors to trade. Some examples include the UK100 and US100.
- Thematic Indices - There are 6 thematic indices available for trading on XM. Thematic Indices can include a wide range of themes, including technology, healthcare, renewable energy, e-commerce, and more. Some of the indices under this asset group include Artificial Intelligence Giants US Index, Crypto 10 Index, Electric Vehicles UST Index, NFT and Blockchain Giants Index.
- Cryptocurrencies - Clients on XM can trade CFDs on a variety of crypto assets against some popular world currencies 24/7. Some of the popular crypto such as Bitcoin is available alongside Cardano, XRP, Ethereum, Solana, and Litecoin.
- Turbo stocks - There are seven different Turbo stocks that can be accessed on the XM trading site. They have a daily expiration, meaning that all positions will be closed automatically at the end of the trading day. Some of the examples include: adidas_turbo, BP_turbo Amazon_turbo, Apple_turbo, Facebook_turbo, Microsoft_turbo, Google_turbo.
- Shares - Finally, XM allows its clients to trade shares from the US, UK, and Germany. There are more than 99 shares which include Apple_sh, Alibaba_sh, Tesla_sh, Netflix_sh and many others.
*The availability of instruments may differ depending on your country of residence. Especially crypto trading is not available everywhere.
03
Fees
HFM Fees and Leverage
Spreads are floating on HFM with the premium account featuring spreads from 1.2 pips for major currency pairs. The cent account also features spreads from 1.2 pips with no commission. Here are examples of the spreads on this broker's Premium account.
EURUSD - Average spread of 1.4 pips.
GBPUSD - Average spread of 1.6 pips.
USDCAD - Average spread of 1.9 pips.
CADJPY - Average spread of 2.2 pips.
Further, HFM offers a maximum leverage of up to 1:2000*. This can be an attractive feature for traders looking to maximise their potential profits with a smaller investment. However, it can also cause traders to suffer massive losses if used recklessly.
*Maximum leverage can differ depending on the country residency of a trader. In EEA countries it is capped at 1:30.
XM.com Fees and Leverage
XM offers lower spreads than most competitors in the market, a major advantage for its traders. The broker offers different 3 accounts, each with different spreads. The standard account has spreads that start from as low as 1.7 pips for major pairs.
EURUSD - Average spread of 1.7 pips.
GBPUSD - Average spread of 2.1 pips.
USDCAD - Average spread of 2.2 pips.
CADJPY - Average spread of 3.4 pips.
The maximum leverage on XM can go up to 1:1000*. Margin requirements do not change during the week, nor do they widen overnight or at weekends.
*Maximum leverage can differ depending on the country residency of a trader. In EEA countries it is capped at 1:30.
HFM Available Deposit & Withdrawal Methods
HFM supports the following deposits and withdrawal methods
XM.com Available Deposit & Withdrawal Methods
FXTM supports the following deposits and withdrawal methods
Mobile Money
04
Final words
Conclusion
Both HFM and XM.com are popular brokers in the online trading industry. They match up well in many aspects but each has its own strengths and offerings. The two companies are under the regulation of several regulators in the market. HFM is regulated by more regulators compared to XM.com. Just to mention HFM is regulated in South Africa by the FSCA, alongside other organizations around the world. However, XM.com has the upper hand when we consider history in the market having launched in 2009. This means it is a year older than HFM.
In terms of market instruments, both brokers feature just over 1,000 different assets. However, XM offers more diversity compared to HFM. However, HFM offers slightly lower spreads which is attractive to many traders. When looking at the numbers of clients, XM.com has the upper hand with over 10 million clients compared to HFM’s 2.5 million. As seen in the many aspects, there is not much of a difference between the brokers. Ultimately, the choice between HFM and XM.com depends on individual trading needs and priorities.