Pepperstone Review

Pepperstone is a global regulated broker that provides its clients with the latest technologies for trading multiple assets such as Forex, indices, cryptocurrencies, stocks, ETFs, and commodities. This article provides an overview of its trading platforms, tools, fees, protection measures, and other aspects to help traders make a more informed decision.

Pepperstone Tradable Assets

Pepperstone provides access to 1,000+ of the world’s most popular instruments. We have listed some of the available assets below.

• Stocks

  Pepperstone gives access to 900+ US, UK, German, Australian shares of top companies. For example, you can trade DuPont, Ecolab, Tesla Motors, Apple, Alibaba, Amazon, Ford, Nike, Tupperware, Caterpillar, Honeywell, Alphabet, Facebook, Etsy, Motorola, etc.

• Commodities

  Trade 25+ commodity CFDs such as Spot Crude, Spot Brent, Copper, Natural gas, Palladium, Platinum, Silver, Gold, Gasoline, Orange Juice, Coffee, Corn, Cotton, Cocoa, Live Cattle, Soybeans, and London Sugar.

• Forex

  Pepperstone offers 60+ currency pairs for trading. Specifically, they include majors, minors and exotics such as USD, GBP, JPY, CAD, EUR, AUD, CHF, NZD, ZAR, TRY, MXN, CNH, HKD, PLN, THB, RUB, HUF, and CZK.

• ETFs

  You can trade 100+ ETFs that track the performance of equity markets in 35 countries such as iShares Global Energy, KFA Global Carbon, Global X Uranium, iShares Russell 3000, Global X Lithium, iShares MSCI Canada, etc.

• Indices

  The broker offers CFDs on 23 major indices from North America, APAC, Africa, UK, and Europe. For instance, GER40, US Tech 100, US500, US30, US2000, CA60, VIX, AUS200, JPN225, SA40, SCI25, SPA35, FRA40, UK100, CN50, etc. are available on the platform.

• Crypto

  The platform offers 20+ cryptocurrencies for trading and investing. You can access BTC, XRP, ETH, DOGE, ADA, LTC, EOS, DOT, LINK, BCH, DASH, etc. as well as Crypto10 Index, Crypto20 Index, and Crypto30 Index.

Please note that the above securities were correct as at the time of publication.
Since then it is likely the above list has evolved.

How Much Leverage does Pepperstone provide?

Pepperstone allows you to trade all types of securities with leverage to increase your profits. However, the size of leverage depends on regulation and your account type. You can check the available leverage options below.

Does Pepperstone accept US clients?

Is Pepperstone regulated and are my funds protected?

Pepperstone aims to provide its clients with exceptional, reliable service and an outstanding trading experience. Therefore, it operates under several legal entities worldwide including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) in Kenya, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in Germany, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), and the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB)

In addition to being regulated, the broker holds its clients’ funds in segregated accounts with tier 1 banks across the UK. In other words, the company or its creditors do not have access to these funds and cannot use them. Besides, Pepperstone is a member of the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Therefore, in the unlikely event of Pepperstone’s liquidation, its British retail clients can return up to £85,000. European clients can get €20,000.

Account Opening

To open an account with Pepperstone, you have to take 4 simple steps. First, fill in an application form and confirm your email. In fact, you can instantly register as an individual with your Facebook or Google account which makes things easier. Next, fill out a short questionnaire that will allow the support team to evaluate your suitability for derivatives trading. After that, verify your identity by providing the required documents. Once approved, fund your account and start trading.

The broker offers a wide range of funding options including credit cards, wire transfers, MPESA, Paypal, POLi, BPay, Neteller, Skrill, and Union Pay. The minimum account opening balance is $200 or the equivalent.

Account Closing Process

Before deactivating your account you must close all trades and withdraw your funds. Please, note that funds can only be returned to a bank account that has the same name as your Pepperstone trading account does. Withdrawals usually take 3 working days.

Features

The Pepperstone platform provides its clients with a great number of impressive features and tools which include the following options:

• cTrader Automate. With this tool, you can build automated trading robots and custom indicators.
• Autochartist. In fact, it is a market scanner that detects significant market movements, identifies important price levels, and provides daily market reports.
• Social trading. This feature gives access to thousands of trading strategies and signals from successful traders in real-time and allows copying of them.
• TradingView. Clients can integrate this tool into their trading platforms in order to get access to a vast range of indicators and advanced charting tools. TradingView is only available for Razor accounts on cTrader.
• Economic Calendar. In short, this market analysis tool shows upcoming global economic events in real-time.
• Active Trader program. High-volume traders get priority client support, VPS hosting, and exclusive insights from Pepperstone's market analysts. In addition, they can get 10-30% discounts on their Forex trading commissions.
• Negative balance protection. This tool protects traders from losing their invested money. In particular, if your account falls into a negative balance, the tool will return the balance to zero. However, it doesn’t work for professional clients.
• Analyze tab. This tool available on the cTrader platform offers an overview of your account performance.

• Standard (retail) account. This type is perfect for beginners and clients who prefer traditional trading without commissions. It is available to traders from all regions except the United States and Belgium.
• Razor account. This account is popular with scalpers and algorithmic traders. It offers access to institutional grade spreads from 0.0 pips with a commission starting from $7 per 100,000 trades.
• Professional (wholesale) account. As a Pro client, you'll have access to increased leverage of up to 500:1 and the referral program. Also, you'll be provided with a personal Relationship Manager.
• Islamic account. In short, this account type does not incur overnight funding or swaps and is available to Muslim clients.
• Corporate Trust account. This type is for companies that want to participate in trading alongside individuals.

Besides, Pepperstone includes up to 30:1 leverage, scalping, hedging, and news trading options in all accounts. The trading size ranges from 0.01 to 100 lots.

Professional account

• Currencies up to 1:500
• Major indices up to 1:200
• Minor indices up to 1:100
• Gold up to 1:500
• Oil up to 1:100
• Commodities other than gold 1:50
• Shares up to 1:20
• Cryptocurrencies up to 1:10

Standard account

• Major currencies 1:30
• Minor currencies 1:20
• Major indices 1:20
• Minor indices 1:10
• Gold 1:20
• Commodities 1:10
• Oil 1:10
• Shares 1:5
• Cryptocurrencies 1:2

Commission and charges

Usability

How to place a trade

To create a trade with Pepperstone you need to follow a few simple steps. First, select a trading platform that suits your needs. Second, create a new order by choosing an instrument, your trading volume, and order type. Finally, you can open a position.

Pepperstone offers the following trading platforms:

• cTrader. This is Pepperstone’s own platform designed for both new and advanced users. It offers 150+ trading instruments, Expert Advisors, detailed order tickets, open API, and detachable charts for multiple monitors. In addition, you can benefit from adjustable session times, social trading, and strategy backtesting.
• MetaTrader 4 (MT4). It is the most popular trading platform in the world with 85 pre-installed indicators, Autochartist, Expert Advisors, and thousands of other online tools. MT4 enhances your trading experience with real-time charts, detailed news, and access to historical data. Besides, it supports around 40 languages, flexible order types, strategy backtesting, and copy trading
• MetaTrader 5 (MT5). In brief, this platform is a more powerful release of MetaTrader 4 with greater functionality. With its help, you can enjoy strategy backtesting, Autochartist, Expert Advisors, and the ability to hedge your positions. Besides, it gives access to 150 trading instruments, 38 built-in indicators, and 21 timeframes. It is worth noting that share CFDs and spread bets can only be traded on leverage using MT5.

Does Pepperstone Offer Demo Accounts?

If you are still getting to know the markets, improving your trading skills, or practicing strategies, the Pepperstone demo account will come in handy. With its help, you get access to all platforms and tools of the broker but in the safe mode where you can’t lose any funds. It is worth noting that MT4/5 demo accounts automatically expire after 30 days if you do not create a live account. Otherwise, you can request to set it to non-expiry. Besides, cTrader demo accounts do not expire if you log into them at least once in 30 days.

What Are Pepperstone's Opening Hours?

In general, the Pepperstone platform operates 24/7 with no days off and even on holidays. However, trading hours may vary depending on the type of asset. For instance, you can trade most forex pairs 24/5 from 00:01 to 23:59 (GMT+3), US share CFDs from 16:31 to 22:55 whereas cryptocurrencies are available throughout the whole week. Besides, clients can trade US equities during extended market hours.

Customer Services

There are plenty of ways to get in touch with the Pepperstone dedicated support team. First of all, it is available 24/5 on live chat to answer any questions users might have. In addition, you can reach them by phone or send a message via email. New users as well as old ones who have questions about their existing accounts can submit a form on the website while professional clients get support from a Premium account manager. Apart from that, you can contact the team on Facebook and Twitter.

Does Pepperstone Provide Mobile Trading?

The broker provides a mobile application for iOS and Android users to trade on the go wherever they are. In particular, it gives you access to the full range of order types, technical analysis tools, price alerts, trading statistics, order management settings, and other features inherent to the web version.

Does Pepperstone Provide Trading Education?

Pepperstone provides a wide range of educational and analytical resources such as articles, trading guides, courses, and webinars aimed at increasing market awareness. Regardless of your skill level, you'll find daily market reports, economic coverage, and expert commentary useful.

Equally important is the broker’s YouTube channel, where you can find plenty of videos with expert market insights to help you make the most of your trading activities. In addition, the cTrader platform has a built-in extensive video library that covers the basics of using the platform. Moreover, you can subscribe to receive information about high-impact economic events and trading opportunities for your chosen trading session.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Does Pepperstone provide negative balance protection?

Yes, but not for professional traders.

How long does a Pepperstone demo account last?

It lasts 30 days, but you can extend it under certain conditions.

Is Pepperstone legit?

Yes, it is registered in 7 regions.

Does Pepperstone offer MAM/PAMMs?

Yes, it offers MAM and PAMM to qualified fund managers with relevant licenses.

Is this broker good for beginners?

Yes, it provides a plethora of educational materials and a demo account for novices.

Does Pepperstone have a mobile app?

Yes, it is available on iOS and Android and has all the features of the web version.

Conclusion

Pepperstone is a nice option for beginners as well as for seasoned traders. Its intuitive interface along with a demo account and a vast number of educational materials serve to help those who only begin their journey as traders. Besides, the mobile version and a big number of trading assets and tools cater to the needs of experienced traders.

On the other hand, it has some downsides as well. Apart from some geographical restrictions, it comes with overnight charges, a high minimum entry sum, and slow withdrawals. Its security also causes concerns as the platform doesn't offer 2FA, neither it provides fund insurance for clients outside the EU and the UK.