Peppperstone is a highly respected forex broker that was established in 2010. They are an Australian based ECN broker and are regulated by (ASIC) – Australian Securities and Investment Commission and the United Kingdom’s (FCA) – Financial Conduct Authority. Their main office is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, and they also maintain subsidiary offices in various other major centers including London, Bangkok, Dallas and Shanghai.
Peppperstone is an award winning broker with a No Dealing Desk, Pure ECN model. Their cutting edge technology coupled with pricing from 22 Tier 1 banks ensures that traders will receive the fastest execution at the most competitive pricing available.
The automated low latency trade execution ensures trades are settled immediately with no delay, or re-quotes. Pepperstone caters to both retail traders just starting out to large hedge funds who demand the highest standards.
Regulation
Pepperstone is authorized to do business in many different countries around the world. The two main regulatory bodies that are responsible for oversight of Pepperstone’s operations is the Australia Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Pepperstone Group Limited holds the Australian Financial Service License # 414530 and Pepperstone Limited holds the FCA Registration Number # 684312. Being regulated by both ASIC and FCA ensures that Pepperstone meets some of the highest standards in the forex brokerage industry.
Safety
Since Pepperstone’s inception in 2010, they have entered into more than 60 different countries around the globe, making them a truly global powerhouse. Their core offering of lower spreads, and fast execution coupled with premium customer support, has earned Pepperstone a solid reputation in the industry. They have been recognized through a number awards including “Best Australian Broker”, “Best ECN Broker”, “Top Retail FX Provider” and more.
As a heavily regulated broker, they must maintain the highest standards and compliance requirements. The ASIC and FCA require brokers to meet strict capital requirements and have well established internal policies and procedures for accounting and management. Traders at Pepperstone can rest assured that their funds are held safely and securely in segregated accounts at Tier 1 banks. In addition, the company also holds policies for Professional Indemnity Insurance with Lloyds of London. And since Pepperstone’s UK subsidiary falls under the scope of FSCS, which is the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, it affords protection for account holders up to £ 50,000.
Trading Platforms
There are two primary choices of trading platforms that Pepperstone supports. The first is the industry standard Metatrader platform and the second is the ECN based cTrader platform.
Metatrader – The widely used MT4 platform comes equipped with advanced charting features, and a host of technical studies. Metatrader also supports strategy backtesting and automated trading capabilities thru its Expert Advisors (EA). Metatrader is available in both Windows and Mac desktop versions and is accessible via the Metatrader Mobile App.
In addition to the standard MT4 features, Pepperstone offers their traders Smart Trader Tools for Mt4, which is a feature rich set of 14 smart trading tools. The Smart Trader Tools for Mt4 include:
- Alarm Manager – Set up alerts for trade related triggers.
- Connect – Quick access to the most important features in your portal.
- Correlation Matrix – Determine market exposure and correlation risk.
- Excel Real Time Data (RTD) – Monitor and Analyze data directly in Excel.
- Market Manager – View price data, and manage open and pending orders.
- Mini Terminal – Trade Terminal functionality for a single market.
- Sentiment Trader – Market Sentiment rating for a specific market.
- Session Map – Quickly scan session times and session related events.
- Stealth Orders – Mask your pending orders from other market participants.
- Trade Simulator – Detailed trade analytics on tested strategies.
- Tick Chart Trader – Tick based chart display with One-Click functionality.
- Trader Terminal – Feature rich application for speedy execution.
- Indicators – Proprietary Indicators to enhance your decision process.
cTrader – A professional grade ECN Trading platform designed for optimal trade execution. Clean layout and interface for detailed chart analysis. cTrader comes with advanced trade management capabilities for setting stop and profit targets. You can also set adjustable session times and view Level II pricing. Within the cTrader platform, Pepperstone has developed cAlgo which allows traders to design indicators and algorithmic trading systems. There are many advantages to the cTrader platform, however, it is only available on Windows based operating systems.
Trading Instruments
Pepperstone offers 100+ trading interments, with a primary specialization in Forex and CFDs (Contracts for Difference). There are over 70 currency pairs available to trade, everything from the majors, to the minors and exotic pairs. With access to the interbank market for razor thin dealing spreads starting at 0 pips, forex traders will find Pepperstone to an excellent choice.
In addition, precious metals traders will have access to trading Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium. For CFD trading, Pepperstone offers a selection of 13 major stock indices. Energy traders can trade West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil, Brent Crude Oil, And Natural Gas. Commodities traders can trade Coffee, Cotton, Orange Juice, Sugar, Cocoa. Traders also have an opportunity to trade Bitcoin, which is increasing becoming one of the most popular Cryptocurrency assets to trade.
Account Types
Pepperstone offers a demo account for those looking to test drive the platform. And for Live accounts, Pepperstone offers two primary account types – Razor Account and the Standard Account. The Razor Account is a true ECN based broker account with Interbank pricing and a commission charged to the trader. The Standard Account is STP based and incorporates commissions in the dealing spread.
Razor Account
- True ECN account
- Raw Interbank Pricing
- Lighting Fast Execution
- Spreads Staring from 0 pips
- Minimum Trade Size is .01 Lot
- AUD $ 3.5 / 100k traded commission
- Leverage up to 500: 1
- $ 200 Minimum Account Opening
Standard Account
- STP ( Straight Thru Processing ) account
- Interbank Pricing
- Lighting Fast Execution
- Spreads Starting from 1 pip
- Minimum Trade Size is .01 Lot
- No Commission on Trades
- Leverage up to 500:1
- $ 200 Minimum Account Opening
For high volume traders or institutional investors Pepperstone also makes available a third account type called ActiveTrades, which provides additional discounts based on trading volumes and offers other customized solutions to traders.
Learn more about opening an account with Pepperstone – Go Here
Commissions and Spreads
As an ECN broker, Pepperstone offers extremely tight dealing spreads. The actual trading cost will depend on the type of account chosen. Pepperstone offers two primary account types – Razor Account and the Standard Account. The Razor Account is a true ECN based broker account with Interbank pricing and a commission charged to the trader.
For the Razor Account, spreads start from 0 pips and the commission charged is $ 3.5 / 100 k traded. The Standard Account is STP ( Straight Thru Processing ) based and incorporates commissions in the dealing spread. The Razor Account is the more popular choice among traders, as it typically offers a lower All-In trading cost.
Customer Support
Pepperstone has five main offices located throughout the world – in Melbourne, Shanghai, London, Dallas, and Bangkok. Thru these offices, Pepperstone provides client support services 24 hours a day 5 days a week via phone, live chat, and email. In addition, for general inquires, traders can refer to the website’s knowledge base and FAQ section for answers to their questions. For more active traders, Pepperstone offers dedicated account managers that are available to offer more one on one personalized attention.
Bonus and Promotions
As a highly regulated brokerage firm and due to certain regulatory restrictions, Pepperstone does not offer monetary deposit bonuses that are common with some other brokers. Their major strength is in offering a rock bottom ECN pricing structure with extremely low latency execution. Pepperstone, has however recently partnered with Australian major airline – Quantas Airlines – to offer a Quantas Frequent Flyer Promotion to earn travel points on deposits and trades made. With this program, you are can earn 10 points per 1 lot traded on FX pairs, upto a maximum of 10,000 points per calendar month.
Click Here for more details on Pepperstone’s Bonus and Promotions.
Mobile Trading
Traders that need to access their trading platform on the go will be glad to hear that Pepperstone has mobile trading solutions for them. Mobile Trading options are available via the Metatrader 4 app or the cTrader app. Both are compatible for use with iPhones, Tablets, and Android devices. Many features that are available on desktop are also accessible in mobile. Some of these features include advanced charting, one tap execution, and real time price feeds. And with Pepperstone’s renown execution capability, traders can enjoy lighting fast fills on their trades, even from their mobile devices.
Automated Trading
Pepperstone supports automated trading though MT4’s Expert Advisors (EAs) and also supports algorithmic trade execution via its API. With their API technology, you an access Pepperstone’s raw liquidity feed with 22 major liquidity providers and have the ability to see depth of market, along with access to other unique features.
Deposits and Withdrawals
The minimum deposit to open an account at Pepperstone is $ 200. Your trading account can be funded in various ways including:
- Bank Wire Transfers
- Major Credit Cards
- PayPal
- BPay
- China Union Pay
- FasaPay
- Neteller
- QiWi
- POLi
- Webmoney
- Skrill
Withdrawals can be requested via the Secure Client Area. Funds are transferred via bank wire transfer and may take 3-5 days to post to your account. Note that if you funded your account with a credit card, and request a withdrawal within 60 days, then the withdrawal must to processed as a refund back to the same credit card.
Unique Features
Pepperstone is regulated thru both UK’s FCA and Australia’s ASIC and has an impeccable reputation in the trading community. Pepperstone prides itself on offering direct Interbank pricing via their ECN model, lighting fast execution, and over 100 trading instruments within its product line, including 70 currency pairs. They offer a No Dealing Desk model which virtually eliminates any conflict of interest that may arise between the client and broker.
For Metatrader users, Pepperstone offers Smarter Trader Tools – a set of 14 proprietary trading tools to help enhance their trading edge. In addition, Pepperstone traders get access to weekly analysis from Kathy Lien and Boris Schossberg, two highly regarded authorities in the forex industry.
Pros and Cons
Pros – Reasons to trade with Pepperstone
- ASIC and FCA Regulated
- Extremely Tight Dealing Spreads
- ECN Broker with 22 Liquidity Providers
- Fast Trade Execution
- Positive Slippage
- Multiple Trading Platforms
- Negative Balance Protection
- Excellent Client Support
- 70+ Currency Pairs Available
Cons – Some downside with Pepperstone
- Limited Bonus Promotions
- Social Trading Not Available
FAQs
Is Pepperstone a regulated broker?
Yes, Pepperstone is regulated by UK’s FCA and Australia’s ASIC .
How safe is Pepperstone?
Pepperstone has been in business for over 7 years and has an impeccable reputation. Traders at Pepperstone can rest assured that their funds are held safely in segregated accounts at Tier 1 banks.
What trading platforms does Pepperstone offer?
Pepperstone offers two main trading platforms – Metatrader 4, and cTrader.
What Trading Instruments are available at Pepperstone?
You can trade over 70 currency pairs, precious metals and energies, major commodities, CFDs, Bitcoin, and Stock Indices.
What is the Commission / Spread structure at Pepperstone?
Pepperstone has two different pricing models – Raw ECN pricing with commissions and STP pricing with no commissions.
How many account types does Pepperstone have?
You can choose a Demo account or Live Account. For Live Accounts, there are 2 primary account types – Razor which is a True ECN based model, and Standard which is a STP based model.
How is customer support at Pepperstone ?
Customer support is available 24/5 via phone, live chat and email. Pepperstone offers multi lingual support.
What bonus does Pepperstone offer?
Pepperstone has partnered with Quantas Airlines to offer a Frequent Flyer Promotion to earn travel points on deposits and trades made.
Does Pepperstone offer Mobile trading?
Yes, Mobile trading is available via the Metatrader 4 app, and cTrader app.
What options are there for Automated trading at Pepperstone?
Automated trading is made available via Metatrader (MT4) and Pepperstone’s API.
What are some unique features at Pepperstone?
Pepperstone offers Smarter Trader Tools for MT4 – a set of 14 proprietary trading tools to enhance a trader’s edge in the market.
What’s the minimum deposit to open a Live account at Pepperstone?
The minimum deposit to open a Live account is $ 200.
What is Pepperstone’s max leverage?
Max leverage at Pepperstone is 500:1