Hirose is a foreign exchange broker based in London and is registered dan regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. They have won a number of awards, mainly for their affiliate schemes. Hirose aims to provide its clients with competitive low spreads, simple and easy mobile trading, fast execution, 24-hour customer support, no commission fees, the safety of funds and micro-lots for new traders. Throughout this review, we will be looking at what is on offer to see if they achieve this and so you can decide if they are the right broker for you to use for your trading needs.
Account Types
There are two different accounts available and they are based around the trading platform they will be using, so let’s look at what they ere.
MetaTrader 4 Account: There is no minimum requirement to open this account as stated, it uses the MetaTrader 4 trading platform. It has variable spreads starting from around 1.9 pips and there are no added commissions. The base currency for this account can be in USD, EUR or GBP and the trade sizes start from 0.01 lots. There are 46 different currency pairs available to trade and the leverage on the account goes up to 1:30.
LION Trader Account: There is also no minimum requirement to open this account as stated, it uses the LION Trader trading platform. It has variable spreads starting from around 0.7 pips and there are no added commissions on this account. The base currency for this account can be in EUR, USD or GBP and the trade sizes start from 1 lot. There are 50 different currency pairs available to trade and the leverage on the account goes up to 1:30.
Platforms
There are two different platforms on offer, we will briefly go over their main features.
MetaTrader 4 (MT4): MT4 sn one of the world’s most popular trading platforms, it boasts a whole host of features to make your trading and analysis easier. Some of the features of MT4 with Hirose include no dealing desk and no dealer Intervention, fast execution speed, micro Lots (from 1000 units = 0.01 lots), simple 4 ways to fund your account (min deposit 20USD～), over 50 Built-in Indicators & charting tools available, 46 Currency pairs available, good for scalping & hedging, providing support for over 30 languages. MetaTrader 4 is a great platform for Hiros to offer their clients.
LION Trader: Lion Trader is a Japanese trading platform, some of the benefits it offers when using it with Hirose include 1 click trading, fast execution speed, no hidden cost, more flexibility in smaller trading size 1 lot = 1,000 Units, most competitive low spreads, 50 built-in indicators & free downloadable strategies, 50 Currency pairs available, trailing order (even if you close your platform) and, good for scalping & hedging.
Leverage
The maximum leverage available is 1:30 which is relevant to both accounts, the leverage can be selected when opening up an account and can be changed by contacting the customer service team with your request.
Trade Sizes
Trade sizes on the MetaTrader 4 account start from 0.01 lots and go up in increment of 0.01 lots, the maximum trade size is 30 lots for this account. The trade size on this account is 1 lot = 100,000 units. The LION Trader account has to start trade sizes of 1 lot and a maximum of 3,000 lots, however, the trade size for this account is 1 lot = 1,000 units.
Trading Costs
There is no added commission on these accounts as they both use a spread based system that we will look at later in this review. There are swap charges for holding trades overnight and these can be both positive or negative, they can be viewed within the trading platform of choice.
Assets
There seems to only be currency pairs available to trade at Hirose which is a shame as a lot of people like to trade other instruments, at any rate, these are the instrument available.
EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDJPY, AUDUSD, AUDCHF, AUDJPY, EURAUD, EURGBP, EURJPY, CADJPY, CHFJPY, GBPAUD, GBPCHF, GBPJPY, NZDJPY, USDCAD, USDCHF, AUDCAD, AUDNZD, CADCHF, EURCAD, EURNZD, EURPLN, EURSGD, EURTRY, EURZAR, GBPCAD, GBPNZD, HKDJPY, HUFJPY, MXNJPY, NZDCAD, NZDCHF, NZDUSD, PLNJPY, SGDJPY, TRYJPY, USDHKD, USDHUF, USDMXN, USDPLN, USDSGD, USDTRY, USDZAR, ZARJPY.
There are a few fairs only available on the LION Trader, these are:
EURNOK, EURSEK, NOKJPY, NZDJPY, SEKJPY. When looking through the currencies, we noticed that Gold and Silver are available, they are just included in the currency list. These are not available on the LION Trader.
Spreads
The spreads you get depend on the platform you are using, if we take EURUSD, on the MT4 platform the typical spread is 1.9 pips, for the LION Trader platform it is 0.8 pips. The spreads are variable which means they constantly change, the more volatility in the markets the bigger they get, different instruments also have different types spreads, so while EURUSD maybe around 1.9 pips, something like GBPUSD is typically around 2.9 pips.
Minimum Deposit
There is no minimum deposit required in order to open up an account, instead, the minimum is based on the minimum allowed by a payment provider, which in this case is $20.
Deposit Methods & Costs
There are 4 different methods available to deposit with, we have outlined them below along with the minimum deposit amounts for each.
- Credit / Debit Card – Min 50 USD, 50 EUR, 50 GBP
- Skrill – Min 20 USD, 20 EUR, 20 GBP
- Neteller – Min 20 USD, 20 EUR, 20 GBP
- Bank Wire Transfer – Min 50 USD, 50 EUR, 50 GBP
The fee section for all methods simply states “Subject to the Deposit Fee Waiver Campaign.”. We are not fully clear on what this means, but be sure to check with your own bank to see if they add any transfer fees of their own.
Withdrawal Methods & Costs
The same methods are available to withdraw with, however, there are now some added fees that we have detailed below.
Credit / Debit Card:
Fees: Free
Minimum Withdrawal Amount: 20 GBP, 20 USD, 20 EUR
Skrill:
Fees: Free
Minimum Withdrawal Amount: 20 GBP, 20 USD, 20 EUR
Neteller:
Fees: Free
Minimum Withdrawal Amount: 20 GBP, 20 USD, 20 EUR
Maximum Withdrawal Limit: 5,000USD per transaction
Local Wire Transfer:
For GBP, £6.00 per transaction
For EUR, £8.50 per transaction
For USD, £8.50 per transaction
Minimum Withdrawal Amount: 20 GBP, 20 USD, 20 EUR
International Wire Transfer:
For EUR, £5.00
For USD, £8.50 per transaction
For GBP, £8.50 per transaction
Minimum Withdrawal Amount: 50GBP, 50 USD, 50 EUR
Withdrawal Processing & Wait Time
Withdrawal requests should be processed within 1 business day, how long it takes after that depends on the method used but should be fully processed within 1 to 5 business days. It should be noted that funds will not be debited from your trading account at the time you have made a withdrawal request. We will process your withdrawal request daily at 01:00 (GMT) on weekdays and it is at this point in time that funds will be debited from your trading account.
Bonuses & Promotions
It does not seem like there are any bonuses or promotions active at the time of writing this review, this doesn’t mean that there won’t ever be any, so if you are interested in bonuses, make sure to check with the customer service team to see if there are any coming up that you could take part in.
Educational & Trading Tools
There seems to be quite a lot when it comes to education, the first aspect is a guide for beginners, this has various sections detailing the very basics of trading such as what leverage is, or how to place orders. There are also trading manuals which detail how each of the trading platforms works just in case you get stuck. There is then an FAQ about various aspects of trading and how to work things like pips out. The glossary is up next which simpy, details the meaning of lots of trading-related terms, handy if you come across something you do not understand.
The next page is information about technical analysis, this isn’t analysis done for you, instead, it simply tells you what technical analysis is, and how it can be performed, there are some examples of different patterns too. The final section is about economic indicators, it tells you what they are and what they do, handy if you are just starting out.
Customer Service
The customer service team is available Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm UK time. You can contact them using the online contact form, there is also a live chat available. If you wish to you can also contact them via email, or phone and there is even the ability to screen share in skype.
Address: 25 Finsbury Circus, London EC2M 7EE
Email: [email protected]
TEL Free: 0800 860 0923
TEL Local: 0203 687 0348
TEL International: +44 (0)20 3687 0348
Demo Account
You are able to open up a demo account for their of the trading platforms, you do not sign up directly with the site. Instead, you need to download or open the trading platform and sign up for a demo account that way, trading conditions will be the same as the accounts are. There is no information on expiration times so we hope they will remain indefinitely. Demo accounts allow potential clients to test out the trading conditions while also allowing experienced traders a chance to test new strategies without risking any capital.
Countries Accepted
The following statement is available on the site: “The information on this site is not directed at residents of the United States or any particular country outside the UK and is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation. Hirose UK is unable to accept applications for live accounts from residents of Japan.” If you are still not sure of your eligibility, we would recommend contacting the customer service team prior to signing up.
Conclusion
Hirose makes it simple, your account is based around the platform of choice. It is easy to get involved as there is no minimum required to open either of the accounts. In terms of trading conditions, the spreads are ok as there is no added commission, however, the leverage being maxed out at 1:30 could limit some of the profit potentials. Deposit and withdrawal methods are okay, but there are added fees for withdrawing with bank wire so it may be good to avoid that method if possible. Hirose seems like they could have the potential to be a decent broker, but the decision to try them is up to you.
