Hantec Markets Broker Review

Founded in 1990, Hantec Markets is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Financial Services Commission (FSC) Mauritius, and the Jordan Securities Commission (JSC) of Jordan. It is also publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Although clients from Uganda will be trading through the Mauritius-based subsidiary which has less regulatory supervision than Hantec Markets’ company based in the UK, it segregates its client funds from company funds and provides all traders with negative balance protection (up to a maximum of 10,000 USD). On this basis, we consider Hantec Markets a safe broker for Ugandan clients to trade with.

Opening an account at Hantec Markets is a fully digital process, and accounts are ready for trading within a matter of hours.

Ugandan traders are eligible to open a trading account at Hantec Markets but will have to follow the fully digital four-step application process. Hantec Markets offers both Individual and Corporate accounts, but we will outline the process for opening an individual account:

How to open an account at Hantec Markets:

1. Hantec Markets’ intake form requires clients to fill in their email address, name, telephone number, and country of residence.
2. The second step is to fill in your account details, including preferred base currency (although USD is the only base currency available for Ugandan traders) and level of leverage (up to 500:1). Traders will also have to complete their personal details, employment or financial status, investment experience, and acknowledge that they have read the terms and conditions.
3. Once the application form has been successfully submitted, traders will have to verify their account by email.
4. Clients will then have to confirm their identification. Hantec Markets will need an ID document, a copy of your bank statement, and proof of address. The easiest way to provide these documents is to take a photo of them with a mobile phone:
5. A photo ID (passport, driver’s license, or national ID card) and; 

6. 1. A bank statement

   2. Proof of address (a bank or utility statement with your full name and address dated in the last three months)

   3. Important: Before uploading, please ensure the document is clear and all details can be easily read. Your proof of identity must be valid and contain your photo, full name, and date of birth. When uploading Drivers Licences, National ID Cards, or other double-sided identity documents, please ensure both sides are included.

   4. Once these documents have been received and approved, you will be able to fund your account and start trading.

We suggest you read Hantec Markets’ risk disclosure, customer agreement, and terms of business before you start trading.  

Compared to other similar brokers, Hantec Markets’ account opening process is fast, generally hassle-free, and fully digital. 

While Hantec Markets does offer a selection of CFDs to trade, it only provides support for the MT4 trading platform which is historically and primarily a platform for trading Forex. This shows in Hantec Markets’ relatively limited range of financial instruments, however, it allows trading on share CFDs.

Hantec Markets has a simple account structure with trading costs that are significantly lower than the industry average. However, although Hantec Markets states that its revenue is derived from the spread, it is not transparent about how the spreads are derived, and it does not publish its average spreads on its site. That said, the minimum spreads is low, 0 pips (EUR/USD).

The trading costs are built into the spread, which is variable and gets wider or tighter depending on trade volume and market volatility. 

The cost of trading one lot of EUR/USD is 2 USD, which is extremely low compared to other similar brokers, but it must be reiterated that traders will only see these spreads during times of high liquidity. 

Swap Fees

Hantec Markets charges swap fees or fees for positions that are held overnight.  The funding amount is either added to or subtracted from your account. In a welcome show of transparency, Hantec Markets publishes all swap fees associated with each instrument on its website.  In the case of forex instruments, the amount charged depends on both the positions taken (i.e. long or short) and the rate differentials between the two currencies traded. 

With a single registration, Hantec Markets clients can open both a real and a demo account, and trading is only offered on the MT4 platform.

Hantec Markets offers one live commission-free account with a high minimum deposit, making it suitable for serious beginners and more experienced traders. Additionally, it offers extremely tight spreads (of 0 pips pips on the EUR/USD) and charges no commission for Forex trading. 

Hantec Markets allows hedging and copy trading, but prohibits scalping.

Retail Account

A market maker, Hantec Markets’ retail account is commission-free and has spreads that start at 0 pips on the EUR/USD, which is extremely tight compared to most other brokers. Maximum leverage (under FSC regulations) is up to 500:1, and it has a reasonable minimum deposit requirement – 100 USD. Trading is only offered on the MT4 platform, which is limited compared to most other brokers and the number of instruments available to trade is limited too, with 43 currency pairs, 13 indices, 6 metals, 8 commodities, and 5 cryptocurrencies.

Demo Accounts

Prospective traders can open a Hantec Markets demo account for the MT4 platform, loaded with virtual funds. Demo accounts are a great way to familiarise oneself with markets and practice trading strategies, however, Hantec Markets’ demo account expires after 30 days.

In line with Anti-Money Laundering rules, Hantec Markets does not process payments to third-party accounts. All withdrawal requests from a trading account will be funded to a bank account or source in the trader’s name.   

Hantec Markets offers a range of account funding and deposit methods, including bank wire transfers, debit cards/credit cards (Visa and Maestro), Skrill, Neteller, and China Unionpay. Accounts can only be funded in USD, EUR, GBP, and NGN, and currency conversion fees will apply to all deposits and withdrawals in other currencies. However, it does not publish the currency conversion fees on its website.

Deposits are free on all funding methods and are processed within 24 hours, which is around the industry average. However, it takes 2 – 5 days on average for Hantec Markets to process withdrawals, which is longer than most other brokers, but no fees are charged.

Withdrawals can be submitted using any of the deposit methods, however, please note you will only be able to withdraw using a method you have previously used to deposit. For example, if you have only deposited via bank transfer, you will only be able to withdraw via bank transfer.

Hantec Markets only offers accounts denominated in USD, which is very limited compared to most other brokers.  Most other brokers allow trading accounts to be denominated in up to 5 – 10 currencies.  

Hantec Markets only allows trading accounts to be denominated in USD, which is hugely limiting for traders, and especially for traders from Uganda who will likely have bank accounts denominated in UGX.  This means that traders will have to pay conversion fees on all deposits and withdrawals.  Conversion fees can make trading expensive, and affect profitability. 

Additionally, some traders may want to have multiple accounts with different base currencies to avoid paying conversion fees.  However, because Hantec Markets accounts are only denominated in USD, this is not possible.  

In this case, it is better to open an account at a digital bank.  Digital banks offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates as well as free or cheap international bank transfers.

As Hantec Markets only offers MT4, the mobile trading experience is limited compared to other brokers.

Hantec Markets offers MT4 on a mobile trading platform. It is available for both Android and iOS. Although there is slightly limited functionality compared to the desktop version of the platform, with reduced timeframes and fewer charting options, traders will still have access to analytics with technical indicators, graphical objects, and a full set of trading orders.

Hantec Markets only supports the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform, but MT4 gives you the ability to manage multiple trading accounts from one interface. MT4 is available on both Windows and Mac.

Developed by MetaQuotes in 2002, MT4 is still considered one of the best CFD trading platforms in the world. The benefit of Hantec Markets offering a third-party platform such as MT4 is that traders can use the platform should they choose to migrate to another broker. Although the platform feels somewhat outdated, it is still widely recognised for its execution speeds, excellent charting tools, algorithmic trading, and customisability. Other features of MT4 include:

• Supports the creation, modification, and utilisation of automated trading strategies.
• Supports MQL4 programming language.
• Algorithmic trading, which allows any trading strategy to be formalised and implemented as an Expert Advisor. 
• Allows traders to develop their own custom indicators.
• Superior charting tools in nine timeframes
• 24 graphical objects
• 30 built-in indicators
• Four pending order types, including buy stop, sell stop, buy limit, and sell limit.

Hantec Markets’ suite of trading tools includes access to Trading Central and MAM accounts. 

Trading Central

Trading Central is provided free of charge to all Hantec Markets’ clients, provided they fund their accounts with a minimum of 100 USD and trade a minimum of 0.01 lots (1000 USD).

A third-party tool, Trading Central’s professional analysts use the most advanced technical analysis tools in the industry to gather comprehensive and in-depth information. Their decisions are based on building price corridors and resistance levels, digital and graphical indicators for various classes, as well as recognizing candlestick patterns. This tool essentially supports traders without the technical know-how in making trading decisions. Trading Central is considered one of the best trading tools in the industry, and Hantec Markets does well to offer this tool to its clients.

MAM Accounts

Hantec Markets offers an account management service to its clients which allows account managers to trade on their behalf. In order to perform this service, bespoke technology or software is required, also known as MAM. The MAM software communicates all allocation settings directly with the Hantec Markets MetaTrader 4 server.

MAM stands for Multi-Account Manager which permits a range of customisable ways to sub-allocate trades. This means investors can be part of a set of sub-accounts that are traded together by a money manager or trader who has permission from clients to trade on their accounts. Account Managers take a portion of the profits generated by the trades. 

Managed accounts are great for beginner traders who have limited experience with trading.

Hantec Markets research and market analysis are only available in video format, and are seldom updated.

Aside from a functional Economic Calendar, Hantec Markets only offers technical and fundamental analysis in video format, that is infrequently updated. That said, it offers the services of Trading Central, which provides technical and fundamental analysis of the financial markets from top experts that is updated by the hour. 

Trader education at Hantec Markets is detailed and offers materials for traders of all experience levels, but it only offers a small selection of articles under different category headings. Highlights of the education available include:

• Macroeconomics
• Managing your risk
• Strategy and Planning

However, Hantec Markets does offer an extensive webinar series, held three to four times a week, presented by industry experts. Webinars are run at three different times each day, and visitors are free to attend but must register before doing so. An archive of previous webinars is also available on the website.

While Hantec Markets’ education section is limited compared to other large international brokers, it offers extensive webinar training sessions, which are useful for both beginners and experienced traders.

Customer support is available 5 days a week during business hours via email, live chat, and telephone. Support is offered in five different languages, including English, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic.

For the purposes of this review, we found the live chat support polite and knowledgeable about Hantec Markets’ services.