Founded in 2010, Pepperstone has evolved into a truly global brokerage company Forex and CFD, with an impressive regulatory profile and offering a decent selection of trading products, including cryptocurrency-based CFDs. In this review, we will take a closer look at the various operational aspects of brokerage activity, as well as the types of its accounts and trading conditions.
Broker's regulation
The parent company behind the brokerage brand Pepperstone is Pepperstone Group Limited, its history dates back to 2010. Pepperstone Group Ltd is now the brand's corporate handler in Australia. It is licensed by ASIC and offers financial services to clients in Australia as well as in a number of different countries (which are not actually covered by ASIC's regulatory umbrella). Pepperstone Group Ltd. is a registered Australian company (its registration number ACN 147 055 703. ASIC license number is AFSL 414530. As a regulated operator, Pepperstone Group keeps its clients' funds in separate accounts at National Australia Bank. Ernst and Young regularly conduct third-party audits if the management of the audited company is outside Australia.
Another corporate company, Pepperstone Ltd, based in the UK and licensed by FCA, operates in Europe. Unlike Pepperstone Group itself, Pepperstone Ltd was only registered in 2016. However, thanks to it, traders from the UK, as well as from all over the EU, can take full advantage of the services provided by the brokerage company.
Pepperstone Ltd registration number is CN 08965105. The FCA license number for the operation is FRN 684 312. Address : 68 Hanbury Street, London, E1 5JL, UK. Like its parent company, Pepperstone Ltd. keeps its clients' money in separate Barclays bank accounts.
Pepperstone's official website provides full legal documentation to all clients of the brokerage company, which can be downloaded for free.
Basic information about broker's conditions
Trading in the Forex market is one of the main advantages of the company, although it should be said that not all user reviews in this regard are positive. Pepperstone has at least 70 currency pairs, including majors and exotics. The brokerage company prides itself on the fact that on major currencies such as EUR/USD and GBP/USD, it has spreads starting at 0 pips. The maximum leverage on Forex is also impressive: 1: 500.
Pepperstone offers about 13 CFDs that cover most important corners of the global economy. Pepperstone boasts excellent execution deals. The Energy section focuses on assets such as oil and gas. Trading conditions are also attractive for this category. There are spreads starting at 0.04, and margin requirements of 0.81 Australian dollars for the minimum transaction size. Traders can also use leverage 1:500 on these assets. The Crypto section covers Bitcoin-based CFDS, Ethereum, Dash and Litecoin. The maximum available leverage for these underlying assets is only 1:5, and the terms of trade are generally not as attractive as in the aforementioned categories.
The Edge Standard account is a broker account at the initial level. Requiring a minimum deposit of just 200 Australian dollars, it is really very affordable. It shows spreads starting with 1 point and without commissions. It offers STP execution through 22 banks and ECN.
The Edge Razor account offers much better spreads, but also has commissions. The minimum mandatory deposit for this account is also AU$200. The account allows scalping, hedging, and the use of advisors.
A Pepperstone Islamic account is a swap-free account that is really completely free. The minimum mandatory deposit is $200. The average spread on this account for a Forex pair, such as EUR/USD, is between 1 and 1.2 points. There are no commissions. This account takes into account scalping, hedging and advisors.
The Active Traders account is designed for institutional investors and those retail traders who can afford to move huge amounts of money through their trades. This account also has customizable account managers, VPS hosting, advanced reports, and customized trading solutions. Users of these accounts can trade through APIs as well as through third-party trading platforms.
The broker offers at least 11 trading platforms. Some are major industry products such as MT4 and MT5, while others are mobile and web traders. The main web trader of the brokerage company is the MT4-based solution, which has the most advantages and functions of the full version.
Also offered are MAM/PAMM accounts designed specifically for money managers who process multiple trading accounts and block trading orders through one main account. These accounts support all types of orders, as well as periodic management of customer reports. EUs are also supported by the MAM/PAMM package.
As you can see, Pepperstone covers everything an experienced Forex/CFD trader might need. From detailed MAM/PAMM accounts to hosting EAs and VPS, and a truly impressive selection of trading platforms, it really covers all the basics. Its trading conditions are mostly magnificent.