Pepperstone review and ratings

Company information

Pepperstone group includes 6 related companies.

Pepperstone AU - located in Australia, regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Pepperstone UK - located in the United Kingdom, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Pepperstone DE - located in Germany, regulated by the Bundesanstalt fur Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin).
Pepperstone CY - located in Cyprus, regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
Pepperstone UAE - located in the United Arab Emirates, regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).
Pepperstone BS - located in the Bahamas, regulated by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB).

Be aware, AU, UK, DE, and CY companies have some trading restrictions because of the local rules and regulatory obligations.
At the same time, BS company is free from such restrictions and has more flexible trading conditions, so one can open an account there if he/she feels like it.

Availability

Pepperstone group accepts clients from all over the world, excluding USA, Canada, Japan, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Zimbabwe and some other jurisdictions with restrictions.

Distinctive features

• Authorised and regulated by credible government agencies.
• Integrated with various algorithmic and copy trading networks.
• Free learning materials, trading guides and webinars.
• Tight spreads on major currency pairs.

Trading instruments

Forex broker offers the following underlying assets for trading.

Comprehensive review

Pepperstone is a renowned forex & CFD broker headquartered in Australia, and with additional entities located in the United Kingdom, Germany, Cyprus, the UAE, and the Bahamas. The broker has been around since 2010, and is popular among many online traders as it is seen as a reliable player in the space that gives access to high trading leverage and a fairly wide range of assets to trade.

In recognition of its work, Pepperstone has won a number of industry awards over the years. This includes the “Best Forex ECN Broker” and “Best Forex Trading Conditions” for 2018 by the UK Forex Awards. Notably, the company also won the “Growth Company of the Year Award” in Australia in 2012, shortly after it was established.

Pepperstone is regulated both by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). And although the FCA is no longer subject to ESMA rules after the UK’s departure from the EU, the same regulations on forex & CFD trading have largely been kept in place. This also includes the limitation on trading leverage to a maximum of 1:30 for all clients trading under the UK-based branch.

Making matters even worse for traders seeking high leverage, Australia’s ASIC regulator in 2021 also put in place strict regulations for all brokers registered in Australia that essentially mirror the rules already in place in the UK and the EU. As a result, trading leverage is now limited to just 1:30 for everyone trading under the Australian branch as well.

Luckily, both Pepperstone and many other forex brokers in Australia and Europe still have separate branches based in various offshore jurisdictions that continue to offer very high trading leverage to anyone who wants to sign up with them.

Moving over to the trading instruments that are available, Pepperstone in our view offers what could be described as a pretty good range of forex pairs, as well as CFDs based on everything from stock indices to cryptocurrencies and various commodities. All trading instruments are available across the different account types that the broker offers.

In terms of cryptocurrencies, Pepperstone offers traders the chance to trade CFDs based on Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Dash (DASH), and Litecoin (LTC), in addition to three ETF-like baskets of cryptocurrencies. Combined, we believe this constitutes a wider selection of cryptos for trading than most of its competitors have to offer.

When it comes to trading accounts, Pepperstone offers three distinct options for its clients. Which account type is the best depends on the trader’s own trading style, and whether he or she prefers to pay for trading in terms of spreads or commissions.

The three trading accounts are:

• Razor: Commission-based trading with tight spreads, suitable for very short-term traders
• Standard: 0 commission trading with wider spreads, suitable for beginners
• Swap-Free: 0 commission trading with wider spreads, mainly for Muslim traders

As far as trading platforms go, Pepperstone is one of the brokers that offer the popular cTrader platform to its clients, in addition to the classic trading platforms MT4 and MT5. With cTrader, traders get access to lighting-fast order execution and a highly reliable platform which is popular among both hobby traders and professionals alike.

A nice additional benefit with trading with Peppersone is the daily trading ideas that their analysts publish on the website. All trading ideas are based on chart analysis of popular trading instruments offered by the broker, which also serves as an excellent opportunity for new traders to learn about trading and technical analysis.

Lastly, Peppersone’s customer support is available via live chat and phone with Australian and UK local numbers 24 hours a day on all days the forex market is open. However, the broker does have an extensive FAQ section on its website which should cover most issues that could be experienced during sign-up and trading with Pepperstone.

Warning! Forex & CFD trading comes with a high risk of losing money due to leverage and high volotility in the exchage markets. Between 74-89% of retail investors experience money losses while trading Forex and CFD assets with Pepperstone. Carefully consider whether you understand the essence of Forex & CFD trading and whether you can take the high risk of losing own funds.