Pepperstone
Navigate the Financial Markets with Pepperstone
Pepperstone is an online discount broker founded in Melbourne in 2010. Despite only a decade of operating history, Pepperstone has become a popular broker among traders in both Asia and Europe. Pepperstone provides access to the markets through CFD products which allow traders to speculate on price movements in different assets without actually having to own the underlying instrument. This allows traders to go both long and short on different markets and apply leverage when a good opportunity arises. Pepperstone is a discount broker and competes intensely in terms of fees with the major brokerages such as TD Ameritrade and E-Trade. The company is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom and also the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). According to the Pepperstone website, over 73,000 traders use their brokerage. The funds of clients are segregated into top tier banks.
Pepperstone Trading Markets and Products
Pepperstone provides access to a wide variety of markets including popular asset classes such as commodities, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies. Major markets such as equities and forex are also available to trade. With the markets being provided via CFD products, traders can go both long and short on all of the markets. Traders can also apply up to 500:1 leverage on some products. While such leverage capabilities are highly risky, advanced traders may find them useful when they find themselves on the correct side of a position.
| Market | Number |
|---|---|
| Forex | 61+ |
| Cryptocurrencies | 5 |
| Indices | 14 |
| Commodities | 5 |
| Metals | 4 |
| Equities | 60+ |
| Currency Indices | 1 |
Pepperstone offers two account types with one designed for new traders and the other more suited for professional traders who will benefit from lower spreads. The typical spread for the EURUSD forex pair with the standard account is 1 to 1.3 pips. With the more professional account, known as Razor accounts, the typical spread is 0 to 0.3 pips. However, Razor account traders are also charged approximately $7 AUD per round trip trade meaning that they would need to be trading at a significant scale for this account type to make sense. Users also have the option to open a demo account for 30 days to trial the service and platforms before opening an account with real money.
Pepperstone Trading Platforms and Features
Pepperstone traders can access the markets on a variety of devices including desktop, mobile, and also through the browser. Pepperstone offers three platforms which allows traders to access the markets. Two of these are the popular MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms. Pepperstone also has a third platform, its own proprietary cTrader software which is more tailored towards advanced traders. All of the three platforms are available on both Android and iOS. In terms of desktop, cTrader is only available on Windows software but the MetaTrader platforms are available on both Mac and Windows. Metatrader 5 is the only platform which is not available from the browser.
All of the trading platforms have a diverse set of tools including depth-of-market, technical analysis indicators, and advanced order types. One of Pepperstone’s strong points is the software it provides to users. This software enables traders to conduct a deep analysis of the markets and put in place a diverse set of order types.
What are the Pepperstone Fees?
Pepperstone has several different fees that are charged to their customers. Pepperstone earns part of their revenue through variable spreads. Standard account fees are completely charged through the spread in different markets. Razor account holders benefit from significantly lower fees but are charged a commission on the products which they trade. The commission rates are variable based on what product is being traded but they work out to be approximately $7 per round trip.
Swap rates and administration charges are also applied when a trader holds a position long-term. Swap rates are charged when forex positions are held overnight and these rates constantly change. In some cases, traders will receive payment based on the swap rate as long positions may pay shorts or vice-versa. Admin charges apply to several products such as cryptocurrencies and are only charged if the trader holds the position longer-term. The admin rate is charged every ten days and varies based on the product. All of these rates can be seen on the Pepperstone website.
What else does Pepperstone do?
Pepperstone has a team of analysts that produce research reports on daily market movements to help inform users investment decision making. In addition to research reports on market developments, Pepperstone publishes educational articles and host webinars which delve into important market concepts. Pepperstone also has tools to assist their traders in navigating the financial markets. An economic calendar is available on the Pepperstone website so that traders can stay up to date with important economic announcements. Other tools include infrastructure to help traders design automated trading systems and software which helps traders assess the risk of the trades which they are taking. One example of a tool Pepperstone offers is Autochartist which includes software that can scan the market in search of high probability trading setups.
Social trading is becoming an increasingly popular service that top online brokers provide. Social trading allows users to analyse the performance of top traders so that they can take into account the investment decisions they are making. Brokers such as eToro provide social trading as a key part of their services. Pepperstone has gone a step further and partnered with six social trading platforms so that their users can assess a wide variety of factors including trade ideas, algorithmic trades, and risk profiles.
Successful traders can manage multiple sub-accounts to scale up their trading. Pepperstone has software which allows qualified fund managers to take on the capital of other traders under terms and conditions. This is a viable route for consistently profitable traders to scale up their returns once they can continuously outperform the market.
Extremely active traders can join Pepperstone’s Active Trader program where they receive rebates on their fees. As part of this program, traders also receive exclusive market analysis reports from Pepperstone’s in-house team of analysts and further have the option to host algorithmic strategies in a virtual private server provided by Pepperstone.
Why trade with Pepperstone?
Although Pepperstone has only been in existence for approximately one decade, they have quickly built up reputation and trust among their users. Their software and tools are exemplary in helping both beginning and advanced traders navigate the financial markets. There is also a vast library of educational resources suitable to traders of all levels. The tools Pepperstone offers makes the broker a particularly good choice for advanced traders who may want to build their automated strategies or execute advanced order types.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money
Education
Pepperstone offers diverse educational content, including webinars, tutorial videos and articles, as well as features such as a trading glossary and a demo account. You can read articles on how to trade CFDs, forex, crypto and shares. Each piece is marked with tags based on your familiarity with trading — from beginner to advanced.
You can also access many educational videos that will guide you through the basics of trading and Pepperstone’s services. Every video is accompanied by a short article that explains the video’s topic.
The broker provides two courses — MetaTrader 4 and forex trading. The former course, created by BKForex.com Co-Founder Boris Schlossberg, contains ten chapters and is more in-depth, while the latter, designed for beginners, is generally short in format and touches only the basics. It also has a YouTube account where you can watch past webinars and short educational videos.
Safety
Pepperstone has been authorized by two tier-1 regulators, two tier-2 regulators and one tier-3 regulator. The top organizations regulating the broker are the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Other regulators that have approved the broker are the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya (CMA), the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).
If the broker were to go bankrupt, UK clients would receive investor protection up to £85,000. German and Austrian clients are eligible for a 90% return on securities claims up to €20,000 and a 100% return on cash claims up to €100,000, while clients in other European nations are protected by up to €20,000. Those outside the UK and EU are not covered.
Negative balance protection for forex spot and CFD trading is available for retail clients from the UK, Australia, the European Union and the Middle Eastern. On the other hand, professional clients will not get any protection from negative balances.
It should be noted that in 2020, Pepperstone announced that there had been a data leak where hackers infected a computer utilized by an external service provider with malware. The hackers managed to access clients’ names, contact information and dates of birth, but the broker assured its clients that no potential harm might come to their trading accounts or assets.
FAQ
How do I make a withdrawal?
All you have to do is enter your protected client area and choose the “Funds” tab. To view all withdrawal possibilities, select the “Withdraw Funds” tab. After clicking the “Accept Withdrawal” link in the withdrawal confirmation email, you must confirm the withdrawal request within one hour.
If you activate 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your account, you must confirm the withdrawal by entering the code from your Authenticator app.
I have trouble logging in. What should I do?
You may receive error messages if:
- Your account details, including your account number and server, are incorrect.
- Your password is wrong.
- You chose the wrong server (each account has its own server, and accounts cannot be accessed through any other servers)
- Your account is archived.
- You don’t have an internet connection, or your connection is unreliable.
- Your demo account has ended.
- You must change your password.
If you still need help, you can email support@pepperstone.com with the specifics of the problem.
Can I reactivate an old account?
To recover your trading account, simply email support@pepperstone.com with the account number. You should also include your full name, birthdate, and the response to your account security question.
What trade commissions am I required to pay?
Each FX trade you make on a Razor account will be subject to a commission fee. For MT4/5, they will depend on the lot size of your trade as well as the currency you have selected for your account. You can read further about trading commissions for Razor accounts on the MT4 and MT5 platforms here.
On the cTrader platform, commissions for Razor accounts are computed as seven units of the base currency for every lot of the FX pair you are trading.
There are no commission fees on transactions executed through Pepperstone’s Standard account. However, there is a one-pip markup on the raw spreads.
How long can I use a demo account?
Unless you have a live funded account and ask Pepperstone to set your MT4/5 demo account not to expire, the account will expire automatically after 30 days. However, you can prevent your cTrader demo accounts from expiring by logging in at least once a month.
Pros
- A wide variety of tools that traders can use to help when making their trading decisions.
- Traders can apply large amounts of leverage and take both long and short positions in markets
- A vast library of educational tools suitable for traders of all levels
Cons
- Not a huge variety of trading instruments available within market classes
- There are several different fee types which traders are subject to
- Only operating for approximately ten years
Fixed spreads
Variable spreads
Stop losses
Limit orders
One-click trading
Trailing stops
Expert advisors (EAs)
Virtual private server
Direct market access
STP broker
ECN broker
Market maker
Price alerts
Signal trading
Watchlists
Charting tools
iOS App
Android App
Windows App
Major Stock markets (US UK Germany)
Indices
Penny stocks
Forex
Majors
ETF
CFDs
Bitcoin
Commodities
ETFs
IPO
Options
Futures
Bonds
Hong Kong stocks
Japanese stocks
Listed on Stock Exchange
Scalping
Hedging
Demo account
Islamic account
Micro account
Standard account
VIP account
Zero spread account
Managed account
Credit cards
Bank transfer
PayPal
Neteller
Skrill
Electronic wallets