HYCM Review

HYCM is a global forex and CFD broker regulated by many financial authorities globally, including the top-tier FCA. HYCM has low forex and CFD trading fees. It offers a wide selection of quality educational tools. The account opening is easy and fully digital. On the flip side, HYCM’s product portfolio is limited to forex and CFDs. Popular asset classes, such as real stocks, are missing. The broker uses MetaTrader trading platforms that have a slightly outdated design. Additionally, HYCM charges a $10 inactivity fee per month after 90 days of inactivity.

HYCM main highlights

Country of regulation	UK, Cyprus, Dubai, Cayman Islands
Trading fees class	Low
Inactivity fee charged	Yes
Withdrawal fee amount	$0
Minimum deposit	$100
Time to open an account	1 day
Deposit with bank card	Available
With electronic wallet	Available
Number of base currencies	6
Demo account provided	Yes
Products offered	Forex, CFD, Crypto

HYCM Fees, Commissions, Margin Rates and Account Minimums

HYCM’s primary trading products are forex currencies, gold and oil, which means that commission works a bit differently than most brokers that trade primarily in stocks. Instead of charging a flat-rate fee, forex brokers typically charge a spread between the bid price and the ask price of a currency.

When you invest in the forex market, you’ll typically see 2 prices listed: a bid price and an “ask” price. The bid price is the highest price that a buyer will pay for any unit of currency, while the ask price is the lowest price a currency holder will accept for a unit of the currency being bought. The difference between these prices is the spread, which goes directly to your broker in exchange for servicing your trade.

HYCM offers 3 levels of spreads. The right account for you will vary depending on when you trade, your base currency and whether or not you use an electronic advisor (EA) to assist your trades.

• Fixed spreads: Fix spread accounts have a set spread range and no commissions. Fixed spreads are set by the broker and are unlikely to change as market conditions fluctuate. Spreads on fixed accounts start from 1.5 pips.
• Variable spreads: Variable spreads have a varying spread range and no commissions. Spreads on variable accounts begin at 1.2 pips but may change more frequently.
• Raw spreads: Raw spread accounts pay the pure difference between the bid and the ask price plus $4 per round. Spreads on raw accounts start from 0.1 pips but may change very quickly throughout the day.

HYCM also allows you to use leverage to trade. Leverage is a type of margin trading that allows you to compound your buying power in order to take more profits from your trades. Traders can access up to 500:1 leverage (not available for the EU or UK) through HYCM depending on where you live and which currency pair you’re trading.

Account minimums with HYCM may vary depending on your base currency and the type of account you open. You should have at least $100 to $200 ready before you open an account.  

HYCM Offerings

HYCM offers 5 products: stocks, indices, forex, commodities and cryptocurrencies. Note that your access to each product may vary depending on where you live. 

HYCM Stocks and Index Funds 

HYCM currently allows traders to buy and sell individual shares of 60 of the world’s leading companies, including Coca Cola, Tesla, Amazon.com, Alibaba and more. You can also invest in 28 indexes. Leverage trading of up to 200:1 is available for index trading. Margin trading for stock purchases is available with rates beginning at 5%. 

HYCM Forex

HYCM’s primary product is forex currency trading. Choose from 69 individual currency pairs and take advantage of up to 200:1 leverage on many pairs. Margin rates begin at 0.50%, and you can choose to trade in 1 of 5 base currencies, no matter where you live and which currency your bank account uses. HYCM offers a variety of account types that allow you to customize your fee schedule to fit your unique trading style. Special swap-free accounts are available for Islamic traders who need an account that doesn’t accrue interest.  

HYCM Cryptocurrencies

HYCM offers traders access to 5 of the world’s most popular cryptocurrencies, and you can convert cryptocurrencies directly to fiat currency through HYCM’s platform. HYCM also offers leverage of up to 20:1 when trading cryptocurrencies. Please note that access to cryptocurrencies may vary depending on your location.

HYCM Commodities

Invest in precious metals and soft commodities like sugar and cotton using HYCM’s contract for difference (CFD) system. This system allows you to invest in these commodities and take advantage of price movements without actually owning the underlying commodity.  

Disclaimer: (CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money)

Education

HYCM offers a number of unique educational tools and calculators you can use to enhance your trading. Let’s take a look at a few of our favorite features below.

• Economic calendar: If you’re a forex trader who primarily trades using a fundamental analysis-based strategy, you know having a finger on the pulse of international events is crucial. HYCM offers 1 of the most comprehensive international calendars we’ve seen, allowing you to sort by daily, weekly or monthly upcoming events. Each event also includes an estimated level of volatility for the base currency connected to the event, which allows you to plan your trades ahead of time. You can also filter news by country, date, the authority releasing the report and more.
• Forex education center: If you’re a new trader, you’ll love HYCM’s forex education center, which includes a variety of free ebooks, videos and workshops you can use to enhance your trading. Some popular video lessons include “Trading Psychology,” “Types of Orders,” “Basic Technical Analysis” and more. There’s even a full course of videos explaining how to get started with the MetaTrader platform of your choice and how to use MetaTrader’s most popular features. All video lessons and tutorials are completely free, and you don’t need to already have an HYCM account to use them.
• Webinars and online workshops: If you prefer to do your learning in a live environment, consider signing up for 1 of HYCM’s online webinars. Webinars are hosted on a weekly basis and include topics like the week ahead, planning your forex strategy in advance, live analyses of what is moving the value of the world’s currencies and more. Past webinars are also available on HYCM’s website, so you can watch them later if you aren’t able to make the session while it’s airing.