Have you come across Hedgex Fund online? With so little information available, you may want to know more about this India-based forex investment firm before sending it any money.
Hedgex Fund presents itself as a disruptive forex investment firm, offering MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platforms for forex, CFD and equity trading.
Is Hedgex Fund safe? Which licences does it hold, and how does it operate? In this review, we look at the facts and explain the rules that apply to forex trading in India.
Is Hedgex Fund a scam?
Hedgex Fund doesn’t appear to be safe. This forex investment firm operates without authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) or any other financial regulator we checked.
A lack of regulation doesn’t prove that a firm is a scam, but it means there is no supervisor checking how your money is handled, and no compensation scheme if something goes wrong.
Legitimate brokers hold licences from reputable regulators, which impose strict rules on how they treat clients and their money.
The company’s website also lacks basic information, and several links meant to provide more details were not working when we checked.
Who regulates forex trading in India?
In India, forex trading is regulated mainly by the RBI under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA). Resident Indians can only trade forex through RBI-authorised persons and on authorised electronic trading platforms, and only in permitted products, such as currency derivatives on recognised Indian exchanges. SEBI regulates those exchanges, as well as stockbrokers, investment advisers and portfolio managers.
After our research, we concluded that Hedgex Fund is not authorised by SEBI or the RBI. The RBI also warns that trading on unauthorised forex platforms, or sending money abroad for leveraged forex trading, can lead to penalties under FEMA. It publishes an Alert List of unauthorised forex platforms and notes that a platform missing from the list is not necessarily authorised.
User reviews
Hedgex Fund had only seven reviews on Trustpilot when we checked, which is too few to draw firm conclusions. Rather than focus on the negative reviews, we looked at the promotional tone of the positive ones.
These reviews are very similar to each other, which casts doubt on their authenticity.
Several of them promise returns based on the amount you deposit. Guaranteed or fixed returns from forex trading are a classic warning sign, because no legitimate trading firm can promise them.
The team
We checked the company’s LinkedIn presence and found only one employee who lists Hedgex Fund as an employer. The parent company named on the website has no social media profile.
This is surprising for a firm that claims more than 15 years of history, since 2008, and a team of experienced investment bankers. The lack of verifiable information about its people is a significant red flag.
Other warning signs
The features section of Hedgex Fund’s website revealed two more issues:
- None of the “Learn More” links worked when we checked.
- The platform promises steady and exponential returns. Regulated firms are not allowed to make claims like these, because trading always involves the risk of losses.
Hedgex Fund claims to offer personalised support by phone, email, live chat and SMS. However, its contact details were hard to find, and the firm relies heavily on social media to interact with clients, which is common among unregulated schemes.
What to do if you have invested with Hedgex Fund
If you have already sent money to Hedgex Fund or a similar platform, act quickly:
- Stop sending money: don’t pay “fees” or “taxes” to unlock a withdrawal. This is a common tactic of fraudulent platforms.
- Keep evidence: save payment receipts, screenshots, chats and emails.
- Contact your bank: report the transactions to your bank’s fraud team as soon as possible.
- Report it: you can file a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) or call the 1930 helpline, and report unregulated entities to the RBI through its Sachet portal.
- Beware of recovery scams: be careful with anyone who promises to recover your money for an upfront fee.
Hedgex Fund alternatives
If you want to invest, choose a regulated broker. Keep in mind that, for Indian residents, leveraged forex and CFD trading with offshore brokers is not permitted under FEMA. If you want to trade currencies, you can use currency derivatives on Indian exchanges through a SEBI-registered broker.
Bottom line
Hedgex Fund is an India-based forex investment firm that isn’t authorised by the RBI, SEBI or any reputable foreign regulator, which raises serious concerns about its legality and transparency.
Our research found several red flags: very little verifiable information about the company, broken links on its website, promotional content on YouTube and Trustpilot, and promises of steady, exponential returns.
Given these shortcomings, we don’t think Hedgex Fund is a safe choice. Indian investors who want to invest in global stocks and ETFs can consider Interactive Brokers, and those who want to trade in Indian markets, including currency derivatives, can use a SEBI-registered broker such as Zerodha. Before you invest with any platform, check the RBI Alert List and SEBI’s list of registered intermediaries.
