Pros & cons of Hirose Financial

Hirose Fact sheet

Forex trading involves a high level of risk. The risks increase for traders that are opening accounts with low-trust brokers. Safety and security are of the utmost importance for traders as it directly impacts their financial security. Brokers in the financial industry are responsible for trade execution and they keep traders’ funds while providing access to trading platforms. If a broker is not trustworthy, it can result in increased losses, fraud, or even bankruptcy. 

There are various factors to consider when choosing a broker. First of all, your broker needs to be reputable and well-regulated. Hirose Financial is authorized and regulated by top-tier regulatory bodies, including:

• Japan - the Financial Services Agency ( FSA)
• UK - the Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA)
• Malaysia - the Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority ( LFSA)

It should be mentioned that the FCA in the UK and FSA in Japan are considered to be very strict and highly reputable regulators. For this reason, we can safely say that Hirose Financial is a trustworthy broker.

Policies that Hirose Financial follows

As already mentioned, Hirose Financial is strictly regulated and in accordance with the rules and guidelines of the regulators, the broker offers various additional safety features. Clients of Hirose Financial get segregated bank accounts when they make deposits. This practice ensures that even if the broker is liquidated, traders will be able to withdraw funds from their trading accounts. 

Moreover, Hirose Financial is a member of a client compensation scheme. Traders are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS can cover investment loss up to a maximum of 85,000 British pound sterling in the event of trading problems occurring due to the broker. 

In addition, traders are protected by negative balance protection (NBP). It should be mentioned that the NBP is also offered by most Forex brokers nowadays. When trading margined assets, traders are susceptible to losing more money than what’s on their trading balance. With NBP in place, the FX broker guarantees its clients that their account balance will never go below zero, even in the case of extreme market volatility or unexpected events. If trader losses exceed their balance, the broker will absorb the losses and reset the account balance to zero. 

Hirose Financial offers a good amount of tradable FX pairs. However, the broker doesn’t offer any other instruments, other than FX, gold, and silver. 

Forex trading on Hirose Financial

There are 50 available currency pairs for trading with Hirose Financial. It’s important to note that when picking MetaTrader 4 over the LION Trader platform, the maximum available currency pairs are 46. Traders that are registering at the UK branch of the broker will receive up to 30:1 leverage. 

Traders are allowed to use Expert Advisors (EAs) to automate their trading. It should be mentioned that the broker offers great trading fees and there are no commissions with this broker. Fees on EUR/USD start from 0.8 pips. On USD/JPY spreads start from 0.7 pips, and on EUR/JPY minimum spreads start at 1.2 pips. It should be noted that these are spread markups and in a live trading environment, they can get wider, especially if market conditions are unfavorable. Spreads get larger in low liquidity. To avoid large spreads, most day traders only trade during London and New York trading sessions. 

The broker offers access to trading popular pairs with majors, minors, and exotics in the mix. These include: 

• EUR/USD - Euro vs US dollar
• GBP/USD - British pound sterling vs US dollar
• USD/JPY - US dollar vs Japanese Yen
• AUD/USD - Australian dollar vs US dollar
• AUD/JPY - Australian dollar vs Japanese Yen
• EUR/GBP - Euro vs British pound sterling
• EUR/JPY - Euro vs Japanese Yen
• GBP/AUD - British pound sterling vs Australian dollar
• GBP/CHF - British pound sterling vs Swiss Franc 
• GBP/JPY - British pound sterling vs Japanese Yen
• USD/CAD - US dollar vs Canadian dollar
• USD/CHF - US dollar vs Swiss Franc

Brokers typically offer spread-free and commission-free account types to enable traders with different trading styles to pick the account that best suits their needs. For retail clients of Hirose Financial, there’s only a live trading account type available. In addition, traders can open demo accounts for testing and training.

Pros & cons of Hirose Financial account types

Clients of Hirose Financial can easily open demo accounts from the main page and the account is free to use. Demo trading helps beginner traders get used to trading platforms, develop and test trading strategies, and gain confidence before trading live. Demo trading creates live trading-like conditions, but without the risk of losing money, since trading is done using virtual cash. There are downsides and upsides to demo trading. As already mentioned, demo trading is a great way to train technically, however, it is not as effective for training physiologically. When trading live, traders can experience human emotions such as greed, fear, and the need for revenge trading after losing money. Therefore, it’s best to transition from demo to live trading carefully. 

Hirose Financial Live Account

The live account doesn’t charge traders with commissions and spreads on USD/JPY start from 0.7 pips. On EUR/USD spreads are 0.8 pips. The trading fees are low compared to other brokers, which is why the broker is so popular among FX traders. The maximum available leverage for UK-based clients is 30:1 and the minimum initial deposit is 20 USD. Traders can open accounts in Euro, US Dollar, or British pound sterling. It’s recommended to open an account in a currency that you use regularly, to save fees on currency conversions. 

Getting started on Hirose Financial – Main steps

There are many reasons to open an account with this broker. Mainly, low fees and strict regulations. In case you have decided to open a live trading account, we’ll guide you through it step-by-step. Account opening is fully digital. However, it should be mentioned that the broker’s main page looks a tad outdated. 

Step 1: Open an account

The first step is to open the broker’s main web page and press the “Open a Live account” button in red. You will be transferred to the registration and account opening guide. Find and press the “OPEN AN ACCOUNT” button in green and white to start the registration process. You will be required to provide the broker with detailed information about yourself. Simply follow the steps and fill in the data. 

Step 2: Time to verify your account

Once you register as a trader, you are required to verify your account. It should be mentioned that verified account holders can withdraw funds from their accounts. The broker asks you to send a photocopy or scanned version of a non-expired, government-issued ID, and one proof of residency document. 

For proof of identity, you can use one of the following documents:

• Government-issued passport
• Photo driving license (Both sides)
• Photo national identity card (Both sides)

As for the proof of residence, it is required to use a document with your name on it, your current home address and issue date clearly shown. The documents need to be issued within the last 6 months. You can use utility bills or bank statements for this purpose also.

Step 3: Make your deposit and start trading

Once your account is verified, the broker will create a unique account username and password and send them to you via email. Then you can start funding your account. The minimum initial deposit is 20 USD and the broker offers various funding options, including bank transfer, credit/debit card, and Neteller. Deposits made by credit cards are instant while Neteller deposits may take up to 15 minutes. Bank transfers on the other hand may take 2 or 3 business days to complete. 

Trading fees are low with Hirose Financial, there are no commissions and spreads on EUR/USD start from 0.8 pips. On USD/JPY spreads are even lower, starting from 0.7 pips. In addition, there are no inactivity fees or fees on deposits and withdrawals from the broker’s end. However, some intermediary banks might charge you service fees when withdrawals are making use of bank transfers when funding your account.

It should be noted that the 0.8 pips spread on EUR/USD is on the LION Trader platform. When using MetaTrader 4, spreads are higher. The LION Trader software uses Japanese technology and 15 liquidity providers to aggregate the best prices and offer them to traders. 

Comparing Hirose Financial fees with other brokers

To better understand how low the trading fees of Hirose Financial truly are, let’s compare them to the fees of industry leaders. 

Hirose Financial fees compared to Interactive Brokers fees

*Inactivity fee was eliminated by IB in 2021, it used to be $20/m

Hirose Financial fees compared to CM Trading fees

Hirose Financial fees compared to plus500 fees

Hirose Financial fees compared to XM fees

Hirose Financial fees compared to AvaTrade fees

Hirose Financial fees compared to Capital.com fees

Hirose Financial offers its clients the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and LION Trader platforms. MT4 is a widely used and super popular FX trading platform, while LION Trader is less frequently used. 

MetaTrader 4 was built for trading currencies in 2005. The platform is highly functional and reliable. However, trading fees on this platform are higher than on LION Trader. In addition, there are 46 available currencies along with gold and silver CFDs on MT4, while the LION Trader platform offers 50 currency pairs.

LION Trader offers: 

• 1 Click Trading
• Fast Execution Speed
• No Hidden Cost
• More flexibility in smaller trading size 1 Lot = 1,000 Units
• Most competitive low spread
• 50 Built-in Indicators & Free Downloadable Strategies
• 50 Currency pairs available
• Trailing Order (even if you close your platform)
• Good for scalping and hedging

To better understand the differences between the two platforms, let’s do a comparison. 

In addition to computer platforms, the broker offers mobile and web trading solutions to its clients. There are mobile versions of both MetaTrader 4 and LION Trader apps available for Android and iOS devices. The mobile apps come with live charts and indicators. In addition, traders can place various order types. The mobile apps help traders keep track of market movements from anywhere in the world. Overall, the mobile applications with this broker get good ratings from us. 

A good education is essential for every beginner if they plan to become a professional trader, while professional traders need tools and resources for research. Hirose Financial offers a wide range of educational material to its clients. However, webinars, seminars, and video guides are lacking. For this reason, we rate the education section as average. 

The broker offers:

• A quick guide to the basics of the FX market and trading FX
• A guide to using trading platforms
• Articles and guides on components of a trade and how to calculate your profit and loss.
• Definitions of the most commonly used terminology in the Forex markets.
• Technical indicators for technical analysis and economic indicators

Great customer support is essential for FX traders as it helps them navigate the complexities of the financial markets. Hirose Financial offers customer support through a variety of channels, including phone calls, emails, and live chat. The customer support agents are very professional and friendly. The online chat is responsive and traders do not have to wait in line for a long time before receiving assistance. The live chat option is easily accessible from the broker’s main page. Overall, we can safely say that Hirose Financial offers great customer support. 

To sum everything up, Hirose Financial is a well-regulated broker in the UK, Japan, and Malaysia, and therefore can be trusted. The main page looks a bit outdated, however, the broker offers low trading fees through the use of the LION Trader platform, while fees on MetaTrader 4 are higher. There are no commissions or inactivity fees and spreads on USD/JPY start from as low as 0.7 pips. On the EUR/USD pair spreads are 0.8 pips. The broker offers good customer service and average educational material. This broker is best for those looking to trade FX pairs. There are no indices, CFDs on stocks, or cryptocurrencies available.