Pepperstone Broker Review

Is Pepperstone Safe?

The Pepperstone brand was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.  Pepperstone is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kenya, the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB), and the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) of Germany. Note that while Pepperstone’s Malaysian clients are regulated by the SCB (Bahamas), their money will be held in segregated bank accounts. Furthermore, Malaysian clients are not afforded negative balance protection.  See below for a list of Pepperstone registered companies:

• Pepperstone is ASIC regulated with licence number 414530. 
• Pepperstone is regulated under registration number 684312 by the FCA.
• Pepperstone Markets Limited is licensed and regulated by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, license number SIA-F217.
• Pepperstone EU Limited is regulated by CySEC, licence number 388/20.
• Pepperstone is regulated by the DFSA under license number
• Pepperstone is regulated by the CMA Kenya under licence number 128.
• Pepperstone is regulated by BaFin, Germany, under licence number

Pepperstone has won many awards in the industry, substantiating its credentials as a safe broker.  These include Best Tailored Professional Trading Conditions (2019) and the Best client Relationship Manager Service Award (2019) from the Professional Trader Awards.  It also won the Best Global forex ECN Broker Award 2019 (Global Forex Awards) and Best Forex Trading Support – Europe 2019 (Global Forex Awards).

Trading Conditions

Pepperstone offers trading on multiple assets, including over 60 Forex pairs as well as indices, commodities, share CFDs, cryptocurrencies, and currency indices.  Boasting excellent trading conditions on two live ECN accounts and an Islamic Swap-Free account, Pepperstone feeds pricing directly to its platforms from multiple liquidity providers – with no dealing desk intervention. The maximum leverage is up to 500:1, minimum deposits start at 200 USD, and minimum transactions start at 0.01 lots. Spreads start at 0.0 pips on its Razor Account, and Pepperstone allows hedging and scalping.  Pepperstone also offers full support for the MT4, MT5, and c-Trader platforms on all accounts.  Accounts can be denominated in the following base currencies: AUD, USD, JPY, GBP, EUR, CAD, CHF, NZD, SGD, and HKD.

Account Types

Scroll for more details

Standard Account

This commission-free entry-level trading account has a minimum deposit of 5 USD Fees are included in the institutional-grade STP spreads, which average at 1.09 pips on the EUR/USD. 

Razor Account

The Razor Account is Pepperstone’s premium account.  As with the Standard Account, the minimum deposit is 5 USD.  Spreads average at 0.09 pips on the EUR/USD, and a commission of 7 USD round turn per lot is charged.  Razor Accounts are best for scalpers and algorithmic traders.

Islamic Account

Similar to the Razor Account with a 5 USD minimum deposit, the Islamic Account is a straight-through-processing and swap-free account.

Demo Account

Pepperstone offers an unlimited demo account allowing prospective traders to practice trading in real-time.  New traders can also explore the full suite of customisable tools and features that the MT4, MT5, and cTrader platforms offer to enhance trading performance. 

Spreads and Commissions

The average spread on the commission-free Standard Account is 1.09 pips on the EUR/USD.  Spreads are tighter on the Razor Account, averaging at 0.09 pips on the EUR/USD, and a commission of 7 USD per round turn is charged.

Deposits and Withdrawals

A well-regulated broker, Pepperstone ensures that all Anti-Money Laundering rules and regulations are followed, and as such, all withdrawals are returned to the deposit source.  Pepperstone offers commission-free deposit and withdrawal options; however, a fee of 20 AUD is charged by Pepperstone’s banking institution for International Telegraphic Transfers; and withdrawals through Skrill or Neteller (if available) cost 1 AUD.   

Transfers in MYR to Pepperstone’s accepted base currencies are charged at the current spot rate, minus a conversion fee of up to 1 percent. Withdrawal requests received after 21:00 (GMT) will be processed the following day. If these are received before 07:00 (AEST) they’ll be processed on the same day.  Withdrawals can take between 3 – 5 days to reach client accounts.  Pepperstone offers the following withdrawal and deposit methods:

• Bank Wire Transfer
• Visa
• Mastercard
• POLi
• Bank transfer
• BPay
• PayPal
• Neteller
• Skrill

Pepperstone does not charge inactivity fees for dormant accounts.

Pepperstone Withdrawal Form

Pepperstone for Beginners

Pepperstone has an array of educational materials, in addition to webinars to help beginner traders. It also offers up-to-date market analysis materials an Economic Calendar.  Unfortunately, Pepperstone’s website is not fully translated into Malay, and neither are its market analysis and educational materials.

Educational Material

Pepperstone offers various educational resources, including free trading guides, articles on how to trade Forex and CFDs, various courses and videos.  Its guides cater to beginner and intermediate traders.  It also hosts regular webinars, and archives of previous webinars are available for free on its website.

Trading guides cover topics such as ‘the Psychology of Placing Your First Trade’, Forex Trading Basics and how Forex trading works, and introductions to various trading strategies.  It also offers MetaTrader4 and Forex trading courses. 

Webinars are only available in English, and as mentioned, all previous webinars are available in an archive. The webinar subjects vary from trading strategies to technical and fundamental analyses.  Note that to access the live webinars, one has to register a Pepperstone account.

Analysis Material

The in-house Pepperstone research team runs a regular blog covering both fundamental and technical analyses. The research provides information on market-moving events outside of conventional news sources.  The research team also provides a ‘Daily Fix’, a day-to-day analysis of events affecting the markets. 

Customer Support

Customer support is available in 5 different languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, and Thai, via email, telephone, and live chat. Note that support for the MT4 and MT5 platforms is available in Malay.

Trading Platforms

Pepperstone supports MetaTrader4 (MT4), MetaTrader5 (MT5), C-Trader, and the associated web and mobile applications. 

MetaTrader4

The MT4 trading platform is the most widely used Forex trading platform and can also be used to trade other instruments like commodities, cryptocurrency, stock index, and stock CFDs.  Features of the MT4 platform include:

• Customisation of the platform to a trader’s style.
• Building and running EAs using MetaQuotes Language 4 (MQL4).
• Access to 28 indicators and EAs.
• 85 pre-installed indicators available on the desktop app for greater insight into market trends.
• Access to 50 technical tools, multiple chart types, and 9 timeframes.

MetaTrader 5

The MT5 trading platform is being adopted by more Forex brokers all the time; it has a more modern interface, allows for an unlimited number of charts to be used, shows Depth of Market, and has a built-in Economic Calendar. It also has a larger number of pending order types than MT4 and features an embedded chat system. Additionally, the MQL5 scripting language is more efficient than its precursor, and MT5 has more advanced charting tools than MT4.  Other features of MT5 include:

• Optimised processing speeds.
• Ability to hedge positions.
• 21 timeframes.
• 38 inbuilt indicators.
• Compatibility with Pepperstone’s Autochartist and Smart Trader tools packages.

Pepperstone provides a selection of user guides and videos on how to set up the various platforms.

C-Trader

CTrader is an intuitive and easy-to-use platform with advanced trading capabilities, such as fast entry and execution and coding customisation.  It also provides plenty of education and analysis materials to help traders make better decisions. Key features of the CTrader platform include:

• Detailed trade analysis features.
• Large range of indicators.
• The ability to add multiple take-profit orders.
• Comprehensive educational videos are available within the platform.

Unfortunately, support for the CTrader platform is not available in Malay. Still, Pepperstone provides a range of helpful videos to help traders make the most of the c-Trader platform.

Trading Tools

Smart Trader Tools for MetaTrader4/5

Traders benefit from 28 tools, expert advisors, and various indicators.  Smart trader tools help traders manage risk, control all trades from a single terminal and master the ability to trade non-correlated currency pairs.  The full set of tools includes sophisticated alarms and broadcast facilities, with up-to-date market data and functions integrated within the MetaTrader interfaces. 

Autochartist

A powerful scanner that removes the market noise and helps traders focus on trading opportunities that matter.  It highlights the currency pairs, data intervals, and technical indicators that signify key market events.  The market scanner provides statistically significant market movements and identifies important price levels that are catalysts for market movements.

API Trading

Pepperstone supports trading via its Application Programming Interface (API).  This technology is ideal for those using trading systems or developing their own custom-built system.  It allows an increased ability to see the depth of market and access to multiple liquidity providers.

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’s 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: Trading CFDs and FX is risky. It isn’t suitable for everyone, and you could lose substantially more than your initial investment. You don’t own or have rights in the underlying assets. Past performance is no indication of future performance, and tax laws are subject to change. The information on this website is general in nature and doesn’t take into account your or your client’s personal objectives, financial circumstances, or needs.

Overview

Pepperstone is a solid Forex trading company that provides first-rate customer service and offers support for multiple trading platforms and trading tools. With a good education and market analysis section, and excellent trading conditions, Pepperstone should be a top choice for Forex trading.  Malaysians should note that while trading funds are segregated from company operational capital, automatic negative balance protection is not provided.