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Review Summary
Today BritFX is diving into another forex broker review, this time reviewing Pepperstone! Pepperstone is a highly competitive forex broker, holding regulatory licenses from both the ASIC and the FCA, two of the strictest financial service regulators in the world. Today we are asking if trading with Pepperstone is as hot as their name suggests!
Pepperstone prides themselves on being trustworthy, having 0.0 spreads, 24/5 customer service, fee free funding and over 180 trading instruments. In my opinion, a product portfolio of 180+ products isn’t something to scorn, however it certainly isn’t a boasting point. Spreads from 0.0 are great, however many brokers offer them but do not deliver!
Read on to see how Pepperstone stacks up against their claims, and if they deliver on their key selling points.
Opening a new account
Pepperstone make it extremely easy to open an account. They offer leverage up to 30:1, the maximum leverage available in the UK. When opening my account I was verified within two hours and ready to start trading; this is quite quick considering some Forex Brokers take 12+ hours for their “same day” verification. Pepperstone have no minimum deposit size, gaining another point there. The only hurdle potential clients face whilst signing up is the client qualification questionnaire, ensuring that all Pepperstone customers have sufficient knowledge to trade their products.
Pepperstone have a seamless account opening process, and offer the maximum leverage available in the UK. They have also recently done away with their minimum deposit size, great work there Pepperstone!
The Facts
Open new Account | Fast & Easy |
Minimum Deposit | $200 |
Leverage | 30:1 |
Deposit & Withdrawals | Quick with many methods |
Customer Support | 24/5, great quality |
Education | Great quality and range of offerings |
Research | News, technical and fundamental analysis |
Speed of Execution | Good execution, ~ 30ms, slippage average |
Product Portfolio | Extensive, 180+ instruments, 5 asset classes |
Commissions | $3.5 |
Spreads | 0.0 Verified |
Hidden Fees | No hidden fees |
Our Rating |
Broker Review
As usual, the first point of inspection for BritFX reviews is the customer service. When I first opened my account a customer rep rang me to discuss my trading experience and if there was anything that he could do to help me with trading and sent some educational material based on our call, which i thought was a nice touch. Pepperstone has been the only Forex Broker that has rung me post-funding to help; it creates the feeling that they’re not just after your money but there to help you! In my experience with FX Brokers this is unheard of, great going Pepperstone.
As mentioned above, i was sent educational content that was appropriate for me, which lead me to their educational offerings. Not only was their customer service here high quality, but so too was their educational products. Whilst not in extensive depth there are resources to improve traders from beginner to professional, with webinars, written content, and market breakdowns all done in-house.
A key selling point boasted by Pepperstone is their product offering of 180+ products. The range of markets includes FX, equities, index’s, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. They could expand their product range by introducing international equity markets rather than just North American markets. Equity markets are only accessible through their Mt5 platform.
Speaking of platforms, Pepperstone have no shortage, offering Mt4, Mt5, webtrader apps, and my personal favourite, Ctrader. They also offer a suite of tools that are integratable with each platform, with Autochartist available across Metatrader and Ctrader, and their ‘smart trader’ tools package available for both Mt4 and Mt5.
Pepperstone have scored a number of brownie points so far, but lets see how they fare going forward! The next area of scrutiny Pepperstone is subject to is their funding options. Pepperstone offer 11 funding options, with popular options including Poli, credit card, bank transfer, Paypal, Skrill and many more. All of these options are fee-free, with 10 base currencies to choose from. This is quite a solid offering from Pepperstone.
In terms of actually trading with Pepperstone their conditions are really good! They boast order execution speeds of ~30ms. I personally use limit orders to enter positions, and from time to time experience a considerable amount of favourable slippage. Whilst this is beneficial for me it does go both ways; traders using stop orders or market execution may experience unfavourable slippage. For the slippage Pepperstone loses a point here.
Pepperstone have exceeded my expectations with customer service and funding options, and offer a reckonable range of products, however they lost a point here for slippage.
Spreads, Commissions and Fees
Pepperstone’s pricing model is completely transparent. They offer great spreads, delivering on their promise of 0.0, have no hidden fees and a commission of $7 round turn per lot ($3.5 per side). Our partner TradeProofer has verified Pepperstone have tradeable live spreads from 0.0. Throughout August 2020 Pepperstone had an average EURUSD spread of 0.190707. They are priced as a very competitive Forex Broker.
With verified choice spreads, the industry standard commission and no hidden fees or non-trading costs, Pepperstone collects all 3 points here!
My Experience
I’ve had a very positive experience trading with Pepperstone, from having access to Ctrader to their great customer service and well designed client portal they have a very well thought out and built brokerage. Their pricing is very competitive as is their various resources and offerings!