The microstructure, thermal stability, mechanical and magnetic properties of Fe61Co10Zr5‐xHfxW2Y2B20 (where x = 0 or 3) bulk metallic glasses (BMG) and their crystalline equivalents were investigated. The crystalline materials were smelted on a copper mould using an electric arc; their amorphous equivalents were prepared using the induction suction casting method (ISC). All samples investigated were in the form of plates with dimensions of 10x10x0.5mm. From X‐ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy, it was found that both investigated alloys prepared using this method have an amorphous structure. From magnetic measurements obtained by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), it was shown that all measured samples displayed soft magnetic properties with relatively high saturation of the magnetization. The thermal stability and glass‐forming ability (GFA) for investigated alloys were derived from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves. The measurements of mechanical properties for amorphous alloys were found to be better than those for crystalline alloys with the same atomic composition. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)