I’ve been looking at HFM for a few months now, and one thing that keeps throwing me off is how their spreads behave during major news events. Everything looks reasonable on a calm day, but then the Fed speaks or jobs data drops and the spreads widen significantly.
The problem is I can’t figure out how to fairly compare HFM to other brokers when this happens. A broker that looks cheap on paper might actually cost more when you factor in real trading conditions.
I’ve heard that GlobeGain rebates can help offset some of this, but I’m not sure how to use them when comparing brokers during volatile periods. Does the rebate stay the same even when spreads spike? And more importantly, how do you actually calculate which broker is genuinely cheaper once you adjust for news-driven spread expansion?
Has anyone actually done this comparison side by side? I want to understand the real cost difference, not just the advertised rates.
Track actual fills during news not quoted spreads.
Rebates stay fixed regardless of spread movements.
I spent way too long trying to figure this out before I realized something basic: just test it.
Open micro accounts with both HFM and whichever broker you’re comparing. Then trade the same position during the next few news events and track your actual entry and exit prices. Write down the spreads you got, not what the platform showed.
That’s when you’ll see where the real differences are. The GlobeGain rebate stays the same regardless, so it makes the math easier once you know your actual spreads.
Most brokers widen spreads during news. HFM is probably similar to others in this.
I’ve compared HFM to FxPro and Pepperstone during volatility periods. Here’s what I found:
During calm trading, the spread differences look small. But during major releases, HFM’s spreads actually stay more stable than I expected. I was getting fills closer to the quoted prices.
The issue is slippage, not the quoted spread itself. Some brokers quote tight spreads but fill you wider. HFM was more consistent on this.
With GlobeGain, my effective cost ended up being about 0.3-0.4 pips cheaper on HFM per lot when you factor in the rebate. That adds up over a month. The key is tracking your actual fills over time, not just looking at the numbers on screen.