Copy trading is a great way to earn passive income, but it's certainly not without risks. Find out how to maximize your profit with HF Copy.

HF Markets copy trading feature

Most people started trading in hope to generate money, but only a few succeed. Building a trading strategy that actually works is certainly not easy, especially for amateurs with little knowledge about the basics of trading. Thankfully, many brokers now offer copy trading which appears to be a perfect solution to help traders make money effectively. It can be used by anyone, regardless of experience, and is able to reward you generously if you can find the right trader to copy.

In this guide, we'll review HF Markets' Copy Trading platform. We'll talk about the copy trading features offered by the broker, along with the conditions and benefits of using it.

 

Copy Trading at HF Markets

HF Markets is one of the leading global brokers that offer copy trading on a proprietary platform called HF Copy. The service was first introduced in 2018 and it allows you to choose to either be a Follower or a Strategy Provider. Followers are mainly dominated by beginners as they copy different strategies to make passive income. On the other hand, Strategy Providers are mostly experienced traders who are confident enough with their skills and let others copy them.

 

Becoming a Follower

If you are trading as a Follower, you'll need a minimum deposit of $100 unless the Strategy Provider has specified otherwise. The minimum redeposit amount is $50, but there is no administrative fee for joining HF Copy. Instead, you'll need to pay a performance fee to the Strategy provider for every winning trade.

Copy trading at HF Copy is done automatically, so you don't need to stand by all the time. But even so, you will still have full control over your trades. You can monitor each trade and close them at any time you want. You can also adjust the proportion of the trade that you want to copy and add a Rescue Level setting to stop copying a certain trader once a certain amount of loss is reached. Lastly, you can open up to 10 Follower accounts where each account can follow one provider at a time.

To become a Follower, here are the easy steps that you need to follow:

  1. Open a Follower account
  2. Choose a Strategy Provider
  3. Deposit some funds
  4. Set Rescue Level and Volume Allocation Percentage
  5. Monitor your performance

You can choose to unfollow a Strategy Provider at any time through myHF area. If you still have open trades linked to the provider, they will be closed automatically when you stop following them. However, if the market is closed, you won't be able to unfollow so you'll have to wait for it to open again and retry.

 

Becoming a Strategy Provider

If you are trading as a Strategy Provider, you'll need to deposit at least $500 and $100 for redeposit. Apart from that, you'll also need to set a performance fee for each copier up to 50%. You will earn the fees twice a month and the amount will be transferred directly to your account balance.

Each Strategy Provider is allowed to run three different accounts with different settings. Keep in mind that your quality as a provider depends on your track record and experience, which will be displayed on your performance table. The better you perform, the higher your strategy will rank and the more Followers will come.

To become a Strategy Provider, here are the steps that you should follow:

  1. Create a Strategy Provider account
  2. Deposit some funds
  3. Open trades to showcase your skill and attract Followers
  4. Earn Performance Fee for every successful trade

Please keep in mind that not all products offered by HF Markets are available to be traded at HF Copy. Also, some MT4 features like Close By and Multiple Close By are restricted for Strategy Providers.

 

HF Copy Available Account Types

To benefit from the service, both Followers and Signal Providers will have to open a new HF Copy account. Followers can use it to make deposits, choose a Strategy Provider to follow and gain profits from successful trades. Meanwhile, Strategy Providers can promote their strategies, gain Followers and earn performance commissions of up to 50%.

There are three types of HF Copy account types that you can choose in HF Markets. The following table lists all the main features of each type.

📂Account Type  Available Instruments 💰Min. Deposit (Strategy Provider) 💰Min. Deposit (Followers) 💳Min. Topup  Min. Withdrawal
Copy Trade Cent Forex, Gold $25 $10 $5 $5
Copy Trade Premium Gorex, Indices Spot, Gold, Energies Spot $100 $25 $25 $50
Copy Trade Pro Forex, Indices Spot, Gold, Energies Spot $100 $100 $50 $50

Keep in mind that a Follower can only follow one Strategy Provider per account at any given time. So if you want to follow several strategies, you need to open multiple accounts. As a Follower, you can open up to 10 Copy Premium, 5 Copy Cent, and 1 Copy Pro accounts.

Meanwhile, a Strategy Provider can open up to 5 Copy Premium, 3 Copy Cent, and 1 Copy Pro accounts. Also, the maximum number of Followers that can join a Strategy Provider account is limited to 200 users. Once the limit is reached, the account won't be able to accept more Followers.

It is also worth mentioning that in order to follow a strategy, the Follower needs to use the same account type as the Strategy Provider. So for instance, Copy Cent Strategy Provider Accounts can only be followed by Copy Cent Follower Accounts, and so on.

 

HF Copy Platform Review

HF Copy is quite a convenient platform for copy trading. It is accessible via MT4, web platform, and mobile apps for Android and iOS. On Google Play Store, the app has been downloaded over 1 million times, with a rating of 3.9 out of 5.0 and about 6.14k user reviews.

HFM App Play Store

Meanwhile, on the App Store, the HFM app doesn't have a rating yet but it is available to download for free.

HFM App Store

Right off the bat, the interface is very user-friendly and navigating around is pretty straightforward. On Android, the app size is only 19 MB so it's very light and the app performance is faster. To access HF Copy, simply tap on the "Menu" at the bottom left corner and select "HF Copy".

HFM App 1

If you choose "New Strategy Account", you will be redirected to an account opening page where you can open a new HF Copy account. However, you will need to verify your account first. You can do so directly on the app or email the required documents to [email protected].

If you tap on "Follow a Strategy", you will see the list of more than 1300 experienced Strategy Providers. Some of them have been providing strategies for several months and even years. You can use the search bar to find your favorite Provider or simply sort them based on name, gain, followers, risk score, and account type.

HFM App 2

Next to the Provider's name on the list, there's a green "Follow" button that you can press to copy their strategy. You can also click on the Strategy Provider to see their profile and track records that you might want to consider. This covers their general info, financial statistics, performance fee, and so on.

HFM App 3

Overall, the mobile app platform is suitable for any trader. The design is simple and the actual copy trading process is actually pretty fast. The only disadvantage is that you can only follow one Strategy Provider per account at the same time which means you need to switch between several accounts to monitor several strategies. It's still manageable, but it might be a bit confusing for complete beginners.

 

Advantages of Using HF Copy for Followers

  • Source of passive income. Any trader can earn passive income from automated copy trading if they invest in the right strategy providers. Since the trades are executed automatically, copiers can certainly save a lot of time and trade efficiently.
  • Simple method. Copy trading doesn't require a deep understanding of trading and market analysis. This is why copy trading is mostly suitable for beginners or investors who want to diversify their portfolios without doing the research themselves.
  • Learning opportunities. While the trades are being handled by professionals, you can use your spare time to educate yourself. You can either observe how the experts work or learn how to trade properly by reading articles, joining live webinars, or watching educational videos.
  • Diversification. There are many different strategies that you can choose on the platform. Investing in different strategies can optimize your profit, lower your risks, and diversify your portfolio.
  • High flexibility. Even though you let other traders trade on your behalf, it doesn't mean you lose control over your money. You can still monitor the trades and choose to close any position at any time. If the Provider fails to satisfy your expectation, you can stop following them and even withdraw your funds whenever you like.

 

Advantages of Using HF Copy for Strategy Providers

  • Earn Commission: You can set your own percentage of performance fee. The maximum amount is 50% for every successful trade copied by your followers. This can be a huge opportunity to gain extra income outside of the actual trading activities.
  • Easy Payouts: You can collect the commissions biweekly via MyHF Wallet and withdraw the amount as much as you wish.
  • No Special Requirements: Anyone can be a Strategy Provider regardless of their level of expertise. Simply make an HF Copy account and promote your strategies!
  • Up to 200 Followers per Account: The more Followers you have, the higher the chance to gain big profits.

 

The Risks of Copy Trading

Copy trading can be a great alternative for many traders, but like any other strategy, it has some distinct risks that should not be underestimated, such as:

  • Market Risk. Just because you're copying other traders, doesn't mean you're free from market risks. When the market crashes, your Provider will likely crash as well and you will have to face the same consequences. Remember that even the most skilled traders can lose money too sometimes, so ensure that you have a good risk management system to face stormy days.
  • Liquidity Risk. Similar to regular trading, liquidity is often the cause of losses in copy trading as well. If the Provider decides to exit the trade at a loss, you'll have to follow their lead. And if you're unable to close your position due to low liquidity, then you'll be stuck in a losing trade until the market recover.
  • Lack of Trading Knowledge. If you're a complete beginner, then you might not know much about trading. This can lead you to copy unprofitable traders, which is certainly not great for your portfolio. Therefore, it's important to do your research in order to choose the right providers to copy.
  • Lack of Mutual Interest. Having different interests and goals with your Strategy Provider can be the very reason for losing money quickly. This is why it's important to ensure that you are copying someone you can trust.
  • Past Performances Don't Define the Future. You can only choose Providers based on their track record, but there is actually no guarantee that they will be able to maintain the same level of success in the future. This is one risk that every trader must be aware of, so make sure to manage your risks well and only trade with the money that you can afford to lose.

 

How to Make Money in HF Copy

There are many trading strategies provided on the platform, so you need to pick the ones that seem to be the most profitable to you. At HF Copy, you can do your research by browsing through the Strategy List section, which you can find on the sidebar menu. On the Strategy List page, you'll see a list of providers along with their personal information. Here's an easy example.

Performance table

The performance box displays a bunch of information, such as the Provider's name, the strategy's name, the Provider's country of origin, and more. If you click "View Profile", you'll see even more detailed information about the Provider's profile, including their past performance along with the number of Followers, their trading activity, and how long they've been offering their service.

It's highly recommended to pick providers that are able to maintain consistent profit in their track record rather than the ones that tend to produce sporadic results. This can be a great indicator to see how they might perform in the following months. It is also a great idea to copy traders with a good number of Followers as it might be a sign that the provider is reliable.

But even with all of those criteria, there's still a chance to lose money. At the end of the day, there is no such thing as trading without risks. Therefore, we can conclude that copy trading does indeed offer a great way to generate profits with less effort and time, but you still need to do your research and set a sophisticated risk management system before risking any money on the platform in order to avoid getting losses.

 


HF Markets is a global Forex and Commodities broker that facilitates both retail and institutional clients. Previously known as HotForex in the brokerage industry, HFM has positioned itself as the forex broker of choice for traders worldwide through their various account types and trading tools. Furthermore, HF Markets allow scalpers and traders use Expert Advisors unrestricted.