Pepperstone is an Australian forex broker, fully-regulated by ASIC and the FCA and known for fast ECN execution of trades, and broad trading platform support. Award-winning 24-hour support anchors their customer support services, where a personalised service for individual customers is available via a number of methods.
Started in 2010, Pepperstone won the fastest-growing company award (2014) in Australia, from BRW Magazine and in the same year, Pepperstone emerged as the 2014 Winner of the Governor of Victoria Export Awards cementing their reputation as a powerful newcomer on the scene with appreciated trading conditions.
Pepperstone has been regulated by ASIC (license 414530) since 2013, and the FCA (license 684312) since 2015, largely recognised as two of the strictest regulatory agencies in the world. Under this regulation, Pepperstone must adhere by processes that ensure client funds are safe and guarantee that no money laundering is taking place.
Pepperstone has also recently won Best Forex ECN broker (UK Forex Awards 2018), highlighting the wider industry’s recognition of the quality of this broker.
As an ECN broker, Pepperstone clients execute their trades on the market without any broker intervention and free of conflict.
Due to this business model, robust regulation and industry recognition for their quality, we believe Pepperstone is safe for traders.
Trading Conditions
Two distinct but straightforward account options, three leading trading platforms and transparent fees on deposits and withdrawals, it makes sense that Pepperstone won the award for Best Forex Trading Conditions at the UK Forex Awards in 2018.
Account Types
Pepperstone offers MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader on all accounts. Alongside a standard demo account, two live accounts options are available. Swap-free Islamic accounts are also available on request.
Creating a demo account is easy, but be aware that this account will automatically close after 30 days, at which point you can open another should you need.
Standard Account
There are no commissions attached to this account. Spreads start at 1.0 pips. Pepperstone’s Standard account comes with negative balance protection, so traders never end up owing to the brokerage.
Razor Account
The Razor account claims to come with some of the tightest spreads in the world. Pepperstone’s Razor account is the more popular among traders and the choice of the two accounts. With this account and a minimum deposit of $200, you get even tighter spreads from deeper liquidy centres, while being allowed EAs, hedging, and scalping.
Islamic Account
Very similar in setup to the Razor account with a $200 minimum deposit this account is a straight-through-processing and swap-free account.
Spreads and Commissions
Rated #1 for both spreads and commissions by Australia FX Report 2017, this ECN broker has industry appreciation for their fairness to their clients.
Spreads are wider on the standard account, where no additional commission is charged on trades, but spreads can be as low as 0.1 pips when trading the USD/EUR with the Razor account. The spreads can even go to 0 when there is more liquidity in the market and access to capital industry averages. Commission on the Razor account is small and in line with the other brokers.
Deposit and Withdrawal
There are no deposits on for deposits at Pepperstone for transfers made from Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, Poli, China Union Pay, Bank Transfer, BPay, Skrill, Neteller.
Withdrawals that are received before 21:00 GMT are processed the same day as they were received, and funds can only be returned to a bank account in the same name as the one used for the deposit. Pepperstone does not charge an administration fee to process the withdrawal request, but the payment provider may place a charge.
Should you have deposited via Credit/Debit Card then only up to the amount that was initially deposited can be returned via credit card, and the extra will returned by another method. There are no fees for withdrawing via Visa and Mastercard.
Any bank charges issued to Pepperstone for bank transfer of funds will be passed on to the client. Usual fees for in this instance are approximately €20 for international accounts and are free for Australian domestic transfers. For amounts above the initial deposit made from Paypal will incur a 3% fee which is charged by Paypal, and Skrill will charge $1 per transfer.
Pepperstone for Beginners
Pepperstone has structured education for beginner traders and helpful tips for newcomers trying to understand how trading fits into their lives. While the education section is not as detailed as with other brokers, it is one of the better education sections offered by ECN brokers. Award-winning 24/7 hour customer service is available to help answer questions, should you need assistance with either technical or account-based queries.
Educational material
An education section called Learn to Trade Forex helps traders with unlying technical concepts, while a section called Trading Guides supports traders with issues that they will confront every day; how to keep a trading journal, developing a trading plan, managing risk, and what questions to ask of your broker. A trading glossary and an FAQ section are on hand for beginner traders.
Weekly webinars pick up where the structured education stops, with more detailed strategy sessions led by expert traders.
Analysis material
Pepperstone supplies basic analysis material in the form of an economic calendar and market review which is an unstructured news feed of current event analysis.
Customer Support
Customer support is available 24/7 via phone, email and live chat which won Pepperstone the award for Best Forex Trading Support in 2018 (UK Forex Awards).
Trading Platforms
Pepperstone offers traders MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader; each of which offers Expert Advisors, automated trading support, strategy backtesting, customizable charting, indicators and copy trading functionality.
All platform choices are free to use, but only MetaTrader 4 and cTrader have web versions of the platform, which have full functionality and may be preferred to the downloaded MetaTrader 4 software. Note that only MetaTrader 4 & 5 have Mac versions of the software for download.
Traders who want more EAs to use, and don’t mind the old interface, should consider using one of the MetaTrader products, but cTrader is usually a favourite for beginner traders as it requires less setup and offers more advanced order types.
All trading platforms offered are considered some of the best available, and considering that Pepperstone offers 24/7 support for them, software should not be a limitation for clients.
The speed of the transactions is due to Pepperstone having a direct fibre optic link to Equinox, just 18 km from Wall Street.
Mobile Trading Apps
MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader all have mobile and tablet versions. These versions have all the trading capability of the desktop and browser-based versions, so traders have access to the high-speed execution and ordering monitoring while away from their desks.
Evaluation Method
We value transparency and openness in the way we review the partners. To bring transparency to the forefront, we have published our review process that includes a detailed breakdown of the Pepperstone offering. Central to that process is the evaluation of the reliability of the broker, the platform offering of the broker and the trading conditions offered to clients, which are summarised in this review. Each one of these is graded, and an overall score is calculated and assigned to the broker.
Pepperstone Risk Statement
Trading Forex is risky, and each broker is required to detail how risky the trading of Forex CFDs is to clients. Pepperstone would like you to know that: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 78% of Pepperstone Limited’s retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Conclusion
Pepperstone is a solid Forex trading company that provides top customer service, with great technology and with trading conditions that are hard to beat. If you want an Australian ASIC-regulated broker, Pepperstone is a strong competitor.
Trading Forex and CFDs is not suitable for all investors and comes with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75-90% of retail investors lose money trading these products. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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