Pepperstone cTrader Review

Introduction to Pepperstone cTrader Review

Pepperstone is an international Forex and CFD broker. The company has been providing online trading services to retail investors since 2010. By 2012, in a remarkably short space of time, Pepperstone became one of the largest online brokers that offered the Metatrader 4 platform. Today, Pepperstone cTrader and MetaTrader platforms are used all around the world by many thousands of traders. 

In 2013 Pepperstone cTrader was added to the companies range of trading platforms. This introduction happened alongside their local competitor IC Markets. At the time, it was quite a bold statement and innovative step forward for a broker to add an alternative trading platform. 

Australia was and still is a hub for forex brokers, where competition is fierce. Despite the tough local competition in Sydney and Melbourne, Pepperstone succeeded in becoming one of the world’s largest Forex brokers with a strong reputation and brand known by traders worldwide. In this review of Pepperstone, we will explore several factors related to their service offering. The Pepperstone review will naturally have a focus on the Pepperstone cTrader platform. 

The Pros and Cons of Pepperstone

To kickstart with Pepperstone review, we have shortlisted some pros and cons. Pepperstone is definitely one of the best forex brokers we’ve encountered. This is why they earn a top spot on our website. We are going to explore the pros and cons of trading with Pepperstone cTrader from our own perspective. 

The Advantages of Pepperstone

Pepperstone really stands out in the industry for having an unblemished reputation. They have away from risky business practices and always done right by their clients. 

1. Regulation is taken seriously. Pepperstone is authorised by several regulators, including the FCA, BaFin and ASIC regulated. There have never been any scandals that tarnished the Pepperstone brand. 
2. High standards. Pepperstone focuses exclusively on offering high-quality customer service and to retail traders. 
3. Easy to use client zone. Pepperstone has one of the simplest client zones of all cTrader brokers we have reviewed. 
4. Futures trading on cTrader. Brokers usually focus their offering on MT4, meaning novelties like Commodity Futures get left out of their cTrader offering. Pepperstone doesn’t do that.

The Disadvantages of Pepperstone

Even though the company is reliable, it doesn’t mean they are the perfect choice for everyone. Quality often comes at a cost, and that is what we attribute most of the negatives of Pepperstone to. 

1. Trading isn’t cheap. Pepperstone charges approximately $37.5 per million, whereas competitors Tradeview Markets charge $25 per million. 
2. Complicated differences between the various regulated entities. There is a tradeoff that traders have to make when choosing which entity to sign up with. UK clients get more protection but lower leverage.

About Pepperstone

Pepperstone first launched in 2010, the company received its first license from ASIC in Australia in 2013. In 2017 the company expanded by opening a European HQ in London and received a license from the FCA. Pepperstone is essentially split into two companies. The UK entity Pepperstone Limited is regulated by the FCA and is therefore required to follow the infamous client protection rules introduced by ESMA and enforced across the EU via product intervention powers. 

Pepperstone Group Limited is an Australian entity that is regulated by ASIC. Australia has plans to introduce similar measures as ESMA, but at this point in time, they have not yet been enforced. 

Pepperstone Trading Conditions

The trading conditions with Pepperstone vary according to which entity you open your trading account with. Pepperstone offers two account types on all platforms in both jurisdictions. The Razor account is their ECN account with low spreads and charges a $35 per mil commission. The Standard account doesn’t charge a commission, but it has a wider spread. 

While the fees, trading platforms and account types are very similar, many other crucial factors are worlds apart. If you trade with Pepperstone in the UK, the maximum leverage you can access is 1:30, unless you classify as a professional trader. If your account is with Pepperstone in Australia, you can still choose from leverage options up to 1:500. However, you do not get access to an investor compensation scheme or negative balance protection. 

Accessibility to Pepperstone cTrader

As mentioned a few times already in this article, Pepperstone operates as two separate entities, each having its own unique differences. In terms of accessibility, the main thing to note is that the UK entity has very few payment methods; it seems that e-wallets are totally unavailable as a deposit and withdrawal method. Luckily Pepperstone cTrader is offered by both entities, and the trading conditions have very little difference. 

Futures Trading on Pepperstone cTrader

One of the unique aspects of Pepperstone is that they offer a variety of Futures on cTrader. The Pepperstone offers soft commodity futures on cTrader and MT4. There are 6 CFDs available, cotton, sugar, coffee, cocoa and orange juice. This is a very cool differentiator. 

Pepperstone Active Trader Program

For professional clients only, you can join the Active Trader Program. You should note that what is considered a professional-client is different between the UK and Australian entities. This program lets you earn rebates for meeting certain trading criteria. But the bar for getting those benefits is set quite high. Before you can start enjoying the active trader program, first of all, you need to qualify, which requires you to meet a three-month volume criteria, then you can start getting rebates for any trades once your volume for a specif month has exceeded 100 Lots. I.e. you do not get paid for the first 100 Lots. Pepperstone rebates are set at 15% per Lot. 

Historical Tick Data

Pepperstone makes its historical tick data freely available on its website. This data ranges from 2009 until 2016, available in monthly periods for 15 forex trading pairs. This is particularly useful for any algo traders who want to use Pepperstone’s historical tick data in their backtesting to optimize their trading strategies or for traders who want to analyze their historical data in another way, for example, building charts or comparing against other brokers. 

Weekly Forex Webinars

Pepperstone is extremely active when it comes to forex webinars. Their weekly market outlook webinar happens (you guessed it) every week, on a Thursday. On top of that, they insert regular webinars into their schedule to cover specific topics to help educate their clients. 

Pepperstone Review Conclusion

Pepperstone is a great broker to trade with. Regardless of where in the world you are, you will have peace of mind knowing that your trading conditions are reasonable and your orders will be executed fairly. If and when you need it, you can count on the support provided by Pepperstone. Because of regulatory obstacles and depending on where you live, Pepperstone might not provide the trading conditions you desire. This handicap can’t be held against Pepperstone, but it might lead you to consider alternatives. Pepperstone has a good reputation for following the rules. We conclude this Pepperstone review by saying this is a 5-star broker, and you will struggle to find better.

Pepperstone Risk Warning: CFDs and FX are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.