Table of Contents
This is Pepperstone broker review; let’s start with the basics. Pepperstone forex brokerage was established in 2010 in Australia. It is an online FX and CFDs broker headquartered at Melbourne, Australia. It also has several offices in major financial hubs such as Bangkok, Dallas, London and Shanghai. Pepperstone was setup with a mission to provide traders with excellent trading experience, which was brought to fruition by a team of experienced financial experts. Through the use of advanced sophisticated technology, the broker is able to deliver high speed executions at low spreads as compared to the other forex brokers in the industry. The broker has a robust customer support, which ensures each trader gets exceptional quality of service irrespective of their level.
Pepperstone Regulations
As far as regulations go, Pepperstone is regulated by several prestigious agencies across various jurisdictions. As the broker is Australia based, its main regulatory body remains ASIC (Australian Securities and Investment Commission. In the UK it is regulated by Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Pepperstone operates under the parent company, Pepperstone Group Limited which is registered with the ASIC under the license no #414530. In the UK the broker operates as Pepperstone Limited and is registered with FCA under the authorisation number 684312; the office is headquartered at London.
The traders at Pepperstone enjoy the peace of mind that comes from trading with a heavily regulated broker. As a rule, Pepperstone is mandated to maintain separate accounts for company and client’s funds in tier 1 banks, which is National Australia Bank and Barclays. The UK clients benefit from coverage under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme Protection of a maximum amount of 50,000 pounds in the event of the broker facing insolvency.
Pepperstone Reliability
Since its inception in 2010, the broker has expanded its reach in more than 65 markets in different countries in order to make trading accessible to retail traders. Pepperstone has earned its badge of trust by offering fast execution speeds, economical spreads and robust customer support. It is one of the finest brokers in the forex industry at the present, which is evidenced by the numerous recognitions and accolades bestowed upon Pepperstone over the years.
Listed below are few of the recognitions that Pepperstone has been awarded with:
- Nominated as ‘BEST ECN BROKER IN ASIA’ by forex.com.cn in 2012
- Won ‘THE TOP 100 FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES IN AUSTRALIA’ by BRW Fast Starters in 2013
- Won ‘THE TOP 100 AUSTRALIA’S INNOVATION WITH THE RAZOR ACCOUNT’ by Anthill Magazine Smart 100 in 2013
- Won “#1 RISING STAR” at Technology Fast 50 awards by Deloitte in 2013
- Nominated as “#1 CUSTOMER SERVICE AND #1 OVERALL CLIENT SATISFACTION” by Investment Trends – Australia FX report in 2015
Pepperstone have stayed true to their core values in providing trading with the best service possible. The broker operates with transparency and integrity and is recognised by the traders are a reliable broker for it. They oblige by all the regulatory requirements and make sure that the quality of their services is always high and above industry average.
Pepperstone Trading Platforms
Three types of trading accounts namely – MetaTrader4, cTrader and MAM/PAMM are offered at Pepperstone.
MetaTrader 4
MT4 is popular in the industry as it is a tried and tested platform that comes equipped with more than fifty technical indicators and comprehensive charting packages. This allows the traders to analyse the markets in depth. It also features automated trading through their EAs (Expert Advisors) functionality.
cTrader
cTrader Limited has developed the cTrader platform to cater to the clients who wish to trade with raw spreads. It supports ECN trading and grants access to the spot markets with the rates of interbank. Other notable features of cTrader include its algorithmic trading support and in-depth market view.
MAM/PAMM
For institutional traders who manage several accounts, Pepperstone has offered Multi Account Manager (MAM) or Percent Allocation Management Module (PAMM) platforms to trade with. Both the platforms enable traders to manager several accounts at once and come with advanced functionalities such as automated trading support, multiple master account support, complex trade order execution, several mode allocations and much more.
Mobile Trading
MT4 and cTrader platforms are also available in the mobile application format for traders on the move. These can be downloaded free of charge from IOS or Andriod devices. The app comes equipped with some of the main features of the desktop version some of them being, advanced charting packages, multi-screen trading functionality, single –click execution and real time price feed display. All of this, from the screen of a mobile phone.
Trade Types/Instruments
The traders at Pepperstone are spoilt for choice; they have multiple instrument options to trade in; they can trade in CDFs and spot forex which includes more than 70 different types of asset types. The popular ones are metals, commodities etc. Also, 13 varieties of indices are available to trade in at Pepperstone.
Account Types
4 different accounts types and 1 demo account are available at Pepperstone to cater to different trading needs. The following are the account available at Pepperstone
- Edge Standard Account (No minimum deposit)
- Edge Razor Account (Minimum deposit – 200 AUD)
- Edge Swap Free Account (Minimum deposit – 200 AUD)
- Edge Active Trader Account
- Pepperstone Demo Account (This allows traders to test the platforms at Pepperstone without any real money investment)
Commissions & Spreads
The trading account type determines the commissions and spreads which would be applicable. On the trades made on the Razor trading account, the commission charged is 3.6$ for the maximum lot size of 100k units traded, which is over and above the ECN spreads which the traders is levied with on his trades. The trades can expect a minimum spread of as low as 0 pip. The table below displays the typical spreads traders can expect at Pepperstone.
Deposits & Withdrawals Options
Pepperstone supports several modes of fund transfers, following is the list of the mediums you can deposit money in your trading account with:
- All major Credit Cards
- Via B2B
- Via Bank Wire Transfer
- Via BPay
- Via China Union Pay
- Via FasaPay
- E-wallet NETELLER
E-wallet QiWi - E-wallet PayPal
- E- wallet POLi
- E-wallet Skrill
As far as withdrawals are concerned, they can be done via credit cards or bank wires. Please note, the bank account name must match the name on the trading account for the withdrawal to be processed. It takes 3 to 5 business days for a successful withdrawal.
Bonus & Promotions
Pepperstone offers no promotion or bonuses to lure in clients, instead they choose to rely solely on their reputation and quality of services to acquire and retain a loyal customer base.
Customer Support
Customer support at Pepperstone is available on a 24/5 basis and can be contact via email, live chat and calls. Localized support is available in London, Dallas, Shanghai and Bangkok. Moreover the broker’s website can be translated into 15 different languages to cater to its non-English speaking customer base.
Conclusion
Pepperstone is one of the leading forex brokers in the markets with their tight spreads and speedy executions. A robust customer support only makes it that much stronger in its footing. We think it is an ideal choice when it comes to online trading for novice as well as experienced brokers.