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Providing Trading Services since 1977
Currently we do not support this broker

HYCM

HYCM is the perfect choice for traders looking for an online brokerage with a solid background. The firm has more than 40 years of operational experience in the provision of trading services, boasting a rich heritage that dates as far back as 1977.

This brand has become synonymous with high class in the world of Forex trading. It has an excellent track record of providing superb and trustworthy experience to traders from over 140 countries. HYCM’s outstanding reputation is further consolidated by the multiple global awards it has collected over the years, 15 to be precise.

In 2019, the broker received yet another recognition at the Global Forex Awards, winning in the category of Best Forex Trading Platform in the Middle East. Another benefit of trading with this brokerage house is that it is strictly regulated by several top-tier financial watchdogs.

The company has offices in five of the biggest financial centers in the world, including London, Hong Kong, and Cyprus. It offers customers excellent trading conditions, low spreads that start at 0.2 pips, high liquidity, and average order execution of around twelve milliseconds.

Clients face a choice from more than ten language options and over 300 instruments from 5 asset classes. The brokerage relies on the MetaQuotes Software cutting-edge MT4 and MT5 platforms, offering clients the option to trade on a variety of mobile and desktop devices. There are tons of trading opportunities here including Forex, stocks, indices, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and EFTs.

Regulations

HYCM is a multi-regulated online brokerage house that services customers from more than 140 jurisdictions. The broker is part of the global corporation Henyep Capital Markets Group, which boasts a versatile portfolio of operations across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

The Group specializes in the provision of foreign exchange and CFD trading on commodities, stocks, and indices. Its main offices are based in the central business district of Hong Kong. Henyep is also one of the founding members of the Hong Kong Futures Exchange. In 1981, the company’s chairman became a member of COMEX, the Commodities Exchange of New York.

HYCM complies with the regulatory frameworks of three of the most highly recognized financial jurisdictions in the world. The operations of HYCM’s UK outfit are authorized and supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Its UK license was initially granted back in 1998.

One major benefit that comes with the FCA oversight is that clients have access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This ensures they get their money back if the brokerage files for insolvency.

The firm also offers its services to clients from various European countries thanks to a license issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in 2014. Thanks to this authorization, HYCM has access to major European markets like Germany, Hungary, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Poland.

Another authorization has been granted by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), which has four main functions – regulatory, monetary, cooperative, and advisory. Henyep Capital Markets is also overseen by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

Due to regional trading restrictions, the broker cannot offer its services to clients with permanent residence in the USA, Turkey, Panama, Japan, Iceland, Belgium, Hong Kong, Afghanistan, Canada, and the Bahamas.

Trading Instruments

At HYCM, customers face multiple trading opportunities, having a choice from over 300 instruments, including Forex, precious metals like gold and silver, mined energy sources like crude oil and natural gas, and soft commodities like cotton, sugar, coffee, and cocoa.There is also a broad selection of blue-chip stocks, indices, and ETFs. In 2018, the brokerage enriched its portfolio with two additional cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Cash and Ripple, due to the increased demand on the side of investors.

Forex Trading

Forex traders who decide to give HYCM a chance face more than 40 major, minor, and exotic currency pairs, available for trading via the MetaTrader 4 and the MetaTrader 5 platforms. The Forex market offers extremely high liquidity.

It easily wins the race for the world’s most actively traded market, boasting an average trading volume of over $5 trillion per day. The markets for currency pairs remain open 24/5, from Monday to Friday, giving traders instant access to tons of investment opportunities.

The largest trading volume is concentrated in the most stable and liquid currency pairs, all of which are available at HYCM. Some of these major pairs include EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, and USD/CHF. Minors and exotics like GBP/NZD, CAD/JPY, EUR/AUD, CHF/NOK, EUR/HKD, and NOK/SEK are also available here.

Spreads for Forex trading are flexible and start at as little as 0.2 pips for Raw accounts, with a ceiling on leverage of 200:1. The lot size for the foreign exchange markets is 100,000 units of the respective currency. The margins for Forex are 0.5%.

Soft and Hard Commodities

There are plenty of benefits to investing in the commodity markets. Driven by the principle of supply and demand, commodities give investors a great opportunity to diversify their portfolios. They are often used as a refuge and protection against inflation during tough periods when the world economy is shaken.

HYCM enables its clients to trade with hard spot commodities like gold, silver, palladium, copper, and platinum. Mined energy sources like US crude oil, natural gas, and Brent oil are yet another alternative for commodity traders who choose HYCM.

Agricultural commodities that are grown instead of mined also offer great value to skilled investors. These are known as soft commodities and include goods such as cocoa, coffee, sugar, and cotton, all of which are available for trading at HYCM.

The brokerage offers conventional trading with spot commodities but there is also the option to trade them as contracts for difference (CFDs). There are no commissions for Fixed and Classic accounts but Raw account holders will have to pay an extra fee on top of the built-in spread for some of the commodity markets.

The minimum trading size varies depending on what goods you trade with. The same goes for the leverage which ranges from 2.7 pips to 70 pips. Commodity traders can short sell or long sell at HYCM.

Index and Stock Trading

At HYCM, customers have the opportunity to invest in the performance of some of the world’s largest corporations. Both stock and index trading is available via this brokerage. Clients have immediate access to the global index markets and can speculate on their price movements in either direction, long or short.

Here you will find more than 15 of the most popular indices, with a maximum leverage of 200:1. Some of the most appealing options for equity traders include the US S&P 500, the Dow, the US 30 Index, the UK FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX 30, the Euro Stoxx 50, Nikkei 225, and the Hong Kong 50 Index. Trading indices allows you to spread your volatility across an entire market instead of investing in the performance of a single company.

Another option is to trade with the stocks of larger corporations across Asia, Northern America, and Europe. Leverage for stock markets reaches 20:1, with a margin of just 5%. Some of the leading brands preferred by stock traders at HYCM are Tesla Motors, Microsoft, Twitter, Vipshop Holdings, Google, Amazon, Apple, Bank of America, Chevron, Coca Cola, and eBay.

Cryptocurrency Trading

Clients of HYCM have the chance to capitalize on the performance of various cryptocurrencies, including the most commonly used Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. Last year, the brokerage company further expanded its portfolio with the addition of two more options for cryptocurrency traders, Ripple and Bitcoin Cash.

Other alternatives include Dashcoin, Neo, ZCash, Qtum, Monero, Iota, and BABCoin. You can trade these decentralized digital assets by opening long or short positions, with minimum spreads from 35 pips to 3,500 pips.

The maximum leverage customers can use depends on which country they hail from because of local regulatory restrictions. Customers from the United Kingdom have low leverage of 2:1 for cryptocurrency trading. Under the regulations of CIMA, HYCM offers up to 20:1 in leverage for these markets.

ETF Trading

Customers looking to benefit from investing in mutual funds are provided with a range of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This instrument offers a variety of advantages including the reduction in operating expenses, greater flexibility, better risk management, higher levels of transparency, and more tax efficiency.

With that in mind, the instrument is not without its pitfalls. ETFs are considered suitable for well-versed traders who have learned about all the complexities of this product. However, the advantages ETFs can offer to experienced professionals are far greater than the downsides.

The leverage for the exchange-traded funds markets at HYCM has a ceiling of 20:1. The minimum spreads imposed on ETF trading are dynamic, ranging from 3 pips to 157 pips, depending on you what account you have and what you trade. The lot size for most ETFs is 100 shares.

Trading Platforms

Platforms

PC / MAC

Smartphones

Tablets

MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader 5
Meta Trader Mobile
Web Trader

Instead of developing a proprietary platform, this experienced brokerage has decided to tread a safe route by implementing the leading third-party software designed by the Russian company MetaQuotes. Registrants have a choice from the older version of the platform, MetaTrader 4, or its successor, MetaTrader 5.

MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) was launched in 2005 and quickly established itself as the standard for trading on the foreign exchange markets. By far, this is the most broadly used platform for electronic trading in the world.

It has plenty of opportunities to offer to traders of all levels of experience and skill since it features great tools for advanced technical analysis, various trading systems, and Expert Advisors that allow for automated trading. The live charts are equipped with various targets, support, resistance and stop points.

The platform is easy to install and work with. You can download it on your desktop computer straight from the website of the brokerage. This version of the software is more suitable for retail customers who are looking to trade Forex currency pairs.

The second option is to download the MetaTrader 5 version, which was officially released in 2010. This one gives you instant access to over 300 instruments from 5 asset classes. MetaTrader 5 is the better alternative for professionals.

It was tailored specifically to the needs of those who trade with more complex instruments like equities and contracts for difference. Unlike its predecessor which uses the MQL4 code, MT5 was built on MQL5.

This is a more developed code, which makes MT5 a very powerful and multi-functional platform. Respectively, the MetaTrader 5 software is more suitable for those who want to complete huge amounts of back-testing and are looking to trade with complex derivatives.

This version of the software is equipped with 21 timeframes (as opposed to the 9 time intervals offered by its predecessor), 6 different types of pending orders, and an economic calendar that gives you a look at all important events from the financial industry.

Advanced customers who prefer to use trading strategies are presented with a choice from 38 indicators for technical analysis, over 40 analytical objects, and customizable charts. The platform supports multiple languages to the benefit of the global trader community.

Note that you also have access to the trading platforms without the need for software downloads thanks to the availability of the browser-based WebTrader.

Mobile Apps

As we mentioned on a previous occasion, the MetaQuotes software implemented by HYCM is optimized for use on smartphones and tablets, particularly those that operate on Android and iOS. Customers of the brokerage can take advantage of free downloadable apps for the two popular operating systems.

This gives them the flexibility of opening, managing, and closing their positions on the fly no matter where they are. They are in full control of their trading experience at all times. The mobile apps share the same features with the downloadable desktop software.

You will enjoy real-time quotes for the foreign exchange and stock markets, automated trading, tons of different language options, customizable candlestick, bar, and broken line charts, and lightning-fast order execution.

Educational Tools

Another great thing about HYCM is that it caters to beginner traders with various useful educational tools. There is a dedicated section on the brokerage’s website where you can read and learn about the different aspects of trading Forex.

The articles cover a broad range of subjects, from trading psychology and basic terms to capital management, strategies, and advanced technical analysis. There are entire books on trading new customers can read at no cost. Free educational videos on MT4 are available for those who are not yet familiar with this software.

Additionally, HYCM regularly hosts free webinars although clients also have the option to attend venue-based seminars where they can meet and seek advice from professional traders.

Payment Methods

This brokerage company provides a decent choice of payment methods customers can fund their live HYCM accounts with. These options include widespread cards by the brands Visa and Mastercard along with bank wire transfers.

If you are unwilling to expose your bank account or card credentials to risk, you have the chance to process anonymous payments with various e-wallets like Neteller and Skrill, formerly known as Moneybookers. The brokerage does not charge extra commissions on deposits conducted with any of the supported methods. With that said, you might incur additional fees on behalf of your bank.

As for time-efficiency, we suggest you use cards or e-wallets if you insist on quickly topping up your account. The minimum deposit for these solutions is lower at $20 while that for bank wire transfers is $250. Bank transfers are significantly less time-efficient as they take between 1 and 7 business days.

Meanwhile, withdrawals are processed within 1 business day but might require between 3 and 7 days to finally reach you. Accounts can be set up in base currencies like the USD and the EUR. The money of customers is kept in segregated accounts in line with the requirements of the broker’s regulators.

BrandMinimumFeesProcessing Time
$100No FeesUp to1 hour
$20No FeesUp to1 hour
$20No FeesUp to1 hour
$20No FeesUp to1 hour
$250No Fees1-7 business days
BrandMinimumFeesProcessing Time
$20No Fees1 business day
$20No Fees1 business day
$20No Fees1 business day
$20No Fees1 business day
$300No Fees1 business day

Account Types

Customers new to HYCM can start by opening a free demo account to practice with. The registration process is hassle-free. You only need to fill in some of your details and go through a brief questionnaire so that HYCM can determine your level of knowledge and trading experience.

The demo account is funded with $50,000 in practice credits that remain active for two weeks. You have a choice from setting up one in MT4 or MT5, with the option to use the WebTrader as well. It functions in the same manner as the live account, the only difference being you can trade in a risk-free environment. More experienced traders are facing a choice from three live account types.

Fixed Spread Accounts

The Fixed account requires a minimum deposit of $100 and is the better option for retail customers who trade with smaller volumes. This one does not trading automation and has no Expert Advisors. It has a minimum trading volume requirement of 0.01 lots.

Customers who choose this option are charged with no commissions on the brokerage’s side. There is no need to because the costs for the trades are built into the spreads. These are fixed and start at 1.8 pips. The account has a no-swap version, which makes it a great choice for Islamic customers who cannot pay or receive interest because of their religious beliefs.

Classic Accounts

Another alternative at HYCM is to register for the Classic account type. Here we would like to add that this brokerage does not restrict its customers to a single live account. You can operate several accounts simultaneously. However, the broker advises against this practice because it would be more difficult for you to efficiently handle your trading activities.

The minimum deposit is again $100. There are no commissions and you will also enjoy more flexible, lower spreads floating from 1.2 pips. Another benefit of opening a Classic account is that you can trade automatically with the Expert Adviser robots.

They will enable you to perform prompt technical analysis of price movements data to better manage your trading activities. Similarly to the fixed account, this one offers the option of swap-free trading to Muslim customers.

Raw Accounts

Finally, there is the Raw account type which is recommended for skilled customers who intend to trade larger volumes. They will benefit from the best buy and ask prices because Raw accounts come with the lowest spreads that start at as little as 0.2 pips. Of course, the exact spread would depend on what markets you are trading.

However, it is worth mentioning that in addition to the built-in spread, Raw account holders will have to pay a commission of $4 for Forex trading. You need to fund the account with $200 or more before you can start your experience. As with the previous two account options, you can set this one up to run either on the MT4 or the MT5 platform.

Customer Support

As a highly experienced brokerage with a track record that spans more than 40 years, HYCM delivers a highly professional support service to its clients. Customers can rely on immediate one-on-one support via the live chat facility.

It is stated in the chatbox that the support agents respond within five minutes on average. However, they were significantly quicker in our experience. The support service is available at all times. Different emails are also provided depending on what queries you have:

  • Use accounts@hycm.com for registration-related questions
  • info@hycm.com is intended for general inquiries
  • Complaints can be sent to complaints@hycm.com
  • General support is provided at support@hycm.com

Clients can also receive assistance over the telephone by dialing +357 25 24 5751. Before you contact them, we suggest you browse through the help and educational centers where you will a range of topics from the basics of Forex trading to advanced strategies.

Conclusion

With 40 years of experience in the provision of trading services, HYCM has earned itself a solid reputation for quality, transparency, and excellence. The broker is well-known for its strict regulatory compliance and has earned the stamps of approval of several top-tier watchdogs. There are tons of trading instruments here and at very low spreads, too. Traders cannot go wrong if they choose one such leading and trustworthy brokerage house.