Pepperstone Review

Pepperstone Review

Spicy Broker on the horizon: Pepperstone Review

The purpose of this review is to break down the important features of Pepperstone and whether or not trading with them puts you at an advantage or the opposite.

Lets take a look at Pepperstone – introduction 

Since being founded in 2010, Pepperstone Group has manifested itself to be a top-tier Australian brokerage firm. The Melbourne-based broker also has offices in the United States, United Kingdom, China, and Thailand.

According to their website, Pepperstone was built from the ground up by a team of experienced traders with a shared commitment to improve the world of online trading.

Frustrated by delayed executions, expensive prices and poor customer support, they have set out to provide traders around the world with superior technology, low-cost spreads and a genuine commitment to helping them master the trade.

Notably Pepperstone Group processes an average of $12.55 billion worth of trade every day and it is trusted by 73,000 traders around the world.

 

Pepperstone Review of Account Types

Pepperstone’s three main trader account plans contain mostly similar specs. According to Pepperstone, there are some things that all its clients look for in a trading account, namely:

  • Minimum 0.01 lot trading size
  • Maximum 100 lot trading size
  • Available leverage up to 500:1
  • AUD$200 minimum account opening balance
  • Base currencies available: AUD, USD, JPY, GBP, EUR, CAD, CHF, NZD, SGD, and HKD
  • Scalping allowed
  • Expert advisors allowed
  • Hedging allowed
  • News trading available
  • No dealing desk execution

Pepperstone account types

Despite most of the accounts’ features being similar, they do have their own distinctions. Pepperstone offers three account types; each goes by the names Razor, Standard, and Swap-Free.

Standard Account

  • Institutional grade spreads
  • 1.0 to 1.3 average EURUSD spread
  • Rollover swaps
  • Minimum account balance $0

The most basic account type that Pepperstone offers for traders. With a minimum account balance of $0 to keep trading, this account is ideal for beginner traders trying the ins and outs of the market; as well as identify the do’s and don’ts of trading with minimal monetary risks involved.

Swap-Free or Interest-free Account

  • Institutional grade spreads
  • 1.0 to 1.3 average EUR/USD spread
  • Fixed admin fee
  • Minimum account balance $200

This account is an interest-free trading account that allows users to take advantage of competitive low spreads without receiving or paying swaps.

Razor Account

  • Institutional grade spreads (without markups)
  • 0.0 to 0.3 average EUR/USD spread
  • Rollover swaps
  • Commission (from AUD$7 round turn 100k traded)
  • Minimum account balance of $200

Although we would like to see more specifications when it comes to the accounts’ overview, these specs appear to be on the normal side of things. With Pepperstone, what you see is what you get. You get a range of account types catering to what you need for the right amount.

PepperstoneL Variety of Trading Products

Pepperstone covers a wide selection of asset classes and products. Trading with this broker allows clients to trade in over 150 currency, CFD, and futures markets across 62 currency pairs, 62 shares, 14 indices, 7 futures, 6 commodities, and 5 cryptocurrencies.

Forex

  • Pepperstone spreads can reach as low as 0 pips on the EUR/USD, as liquidity can influence its spreads at any given time, since this broker accesses interbank markets for currencies and other spreads.
  • Average spread on EUR/USD is 0.16 pips for Razor account holders and 1.16 pips on Standard accounts.
  • Pepperstone also prioritizes low latency, quality execution, with flexible leverage up to 500:1 and reliable trading infrastructure.

Index CFDs

  • Investors may execute trades on 14 major stock markets without the dealing desk and commissions.
  •  Pepperstone ensures that its index CFDs  do not have hidden markups, no re-quotes, and low latency.
  • Some of the available indices include Australian 200, Germany 30, Japan 225, UK 100, US 500, US Tech 100, US Wall Street 30, Hong Kong 50, China 50, and more.

Share CFDs

  • Buy and sell CFDs of over 50 top-listed US companies.
  • Pepperstone allows traders to long and short stock CFDs with leverage  up to 10:1.
  • Notable share CFDs that the platform offers include Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., and Amazon.com Inc.
  • Share CFD margin rate is at 10%.

Commodities

  • Pepperstone have a minimum trade size from 10c per pip for all of its energy instruments as well as leverage of up to 500:1 and no commission.
  • The average spread of oil, i.e. West Texas Intermediate crude oil and Brent crude oil are 0.5 pips and 0.7 pips respectively.
  • Notably, minimum spread for precious metals can reach 0.5 pips.
  • Some commodities available include sugar, gold, natural gas, and more.

Cryptocurrencies

  • The platform offers five cryptocurrency derivative products, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Dash, and Litecoin.
  • Also leverage available is up to 5:1 across all Pepperstone platforms, with no commissions.
  • Trading with cryptocurrency CFDs enable clients of Pepperstone to hedge on a single account.

Pepperstone Trading Conditions

Commissions

  • Pepperstone employs mainly a commission-free model, but there a few commissions depending on trade and account types. The amount of the fees from the client’s side comes from the spread the platform offers.

Spreads

  • The size of Pepperstone spreads  is quite minimal, ranging between 1-1.7 pips based on pairings and markets. The highest spreads of the platform are on GBP/CHF (2.48), cotton (16.76), and UK100 outside market hours (1.88).

Pepperstone Trading Platforms

When it comes to platforms, Pepperstone have some of the widest-ranging trading platforms available. Pepperstone  offers three major platforms, i.e., the MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTader 5 (MT5), and the cTrader.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4)

  • The MT4 platform features more than 85 pre-installed indicators, a user-friendly interface, and the ability to chart within various windows, while monitoring several markets. The MT4 also enables automated trading and order execution.

MetaTader 5 (MT5)

  • The MT5, which is equipped with a built-in economic calendar, has 38 built-in indicators and can present up to 21 different time-frames across an interface. The platform also allows hedging of positions and better control over pending orders.

cTrader

  • Designed by traders, cTrader features different presets, detachable charts, and a customizable interface. It also offers level II pricing and automated trading, while its detachable charts help ease management  of orders.

cTrader trading platform

Conclusion – Is Pepperstone good broker?

In the first place Pepperstone is a highly decorated firm, earning various awards due to its performance, and exerting great effort to integrate a huge selection of options for clients.

Traders could benefit from the firm’s broad range of account options and trading markets, which offer almost no commission.  Through the platform, they can also apply more flexibility than what they usually exercise with other brokers.

While Pepperstone offers a limited number of trading products, it still provides clients with competitive pricing and a wide variety of trading platforms which are all under a trusted international brand. This broker is also ideal for currency-focused traders, regardless of experience level.

paperstone broker infographics: details and conditions