Is HFM Safe and Legit? Licences and Withdrawal Tests

Short answer

HFM belongs to the HF Markets Group, whose companies hold licences from CySEC (183/12), the UK FCA (801701), South Africa's FSCA (46632), the Seychelles FSA (SD015) and Kenya's CMA (155). Which company you contract with depends on where you live, and protection depends on that company. International accounts have negative balance protection and a 20% stop-out.

Zero-cut: negative balance protection: Balance $1,000, Price gap: $1,300 loss. Without protection: Balance −$300: you owe it. With zero-cut: Reset to $0: the broker covers it. — When a fast market jumps past the stop-out and the balance goes negative, a broker with zero-cut writes off the negative amount instead of asking you to pay it.

The group’s licences

The licences HF Markets Group publishes for its companies:

Regulator	Licence
CySEC (Cyprus)	183/12
FCA (UK)	801701
FSCA (South Africa)	46632
FSA (Seychelles)	SD015
CMA (Kenya)	155

The group’s EU company, HF Markets (Europe) Ltd (CySEC 183/12), serves EU and UK clients under the “HF Markets” brand, which the group says is different from the “HFM” brand used by its other companies. Its terms don’t describe an international HFM account.

Why the company matters

An offshore HFM account (for example with the Seychelles company) doesn’t get the leverage limits, conduct rules or investor compensation of the EU or UK companies, even though they share a group. That’s the central offshore-vs-regulated trade-off: see offshore vs regulated brokers and the Seychelles FSA.

What protects an international account

Negative balance protection: the MetaTrader 5 broker directory lists it for HFM, so a gap can’t leave you owing money beyond your balance.
Stop-out at 20%: positions are closed before equity runs out, which limits but doesn’t prevent large losses.
The contracting company’s licence: for an offshore account this is not a CySEC or FCA licence, so EU and UK compensation schemes don’t cover it. The client agreement names the company and its licence number.

Practical steps

Note the exact company and licence number in your client agreement.
Start with a small deposit and test a withdrawal.
Use our scam check guide to make sure you’re on an official HFM site.

Broker		Licence		Visit broker
XMFeatured	4.9/5Editorial rating	FSC Belize	✓	Visit
HFM	4.1/5	CySEC 183/12, FCA 801701, FSCA 46632, FSA SD015, CMA 155	✓	Visit
Exness	4.2/5	FSA Seychelles SD025, CBCS Curaçao, FSC BVI, FSC Belize, F…	✓	Visit
Vantage	4.3/5	FSCA South Africa 51268	✓	Visit
XS.com	4.1/5	FSA Seychelles SD089	✓	Visit

Alternatives with confirmed offshore terms: XM, Exness, and the safest brokers comparison.

Licence register details

Legal entity	Regulator	Licence no.
HF Markets (Europe) Ltd	CySEC	183/12

Is it safe? at other brokers

Frequently asked questions

Is HFM regulated?

The HF Markets Group lists licences from CySEC (183/12), the FCA (801701), FSCA (46632), the Seychelles FSA (SD015) and Kenya's CMA (155). Your protection depends on which group company holds your account.

Are HFM and HF Markets the same?

They're brands of the same group. HF Markets (Europe) Ltd's site says its brand name 'HF Markets' is different from the 'HFM' brand used by other group companies.

Does an HFM account get EU or UK protection?

Only if it's held with the EU (CySEC) or UK (FCA) company. An offshore HFM account, for example with the Seychelles company, doesn't carry EU or UK investor compensation.