The intervention of the broker is essential while trading in the financial market. However, it would help if you make this decision vigilantly as the market is full of fake and untrustworthy firms. One such brokerage firm is Pepperstone. The broker offers limited and outdated services still, various biased reviews, characterise it as one of the best firms. Check out the unbiased Pepperstone Review 2021 provided below.
About Pepperstone
Pepperstone was established in the year 2010. The firm can be considered unregulated as it is licenced and authorised under some random and local authority, the Securities Commission of the Bahamas. It has been operating in the market for 11 long years and has not taken any initiative to expand its asset size, decline its high trading charges and provide additional tools and educational material.
If we consider the firm’s trading charges, it seems like the broker is mainly focused on its profit maximisation rather than enhancing its users’ trading standards.
Moreover, the website of the broker is too basic. Hence, it fails in luring the interest of seasoned traders and also lacks many important points.
Is Pepperstone Scam or safe?
The Pepperstone is clearly a scam broker. It is risky to invest with the firm as the local and random financial authority regulates the firm despite the central regulatory authorities such as Australia Securities and Investments Commission, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. This random authority is the Securities Commission of the Bahamas.
Unfortunately, it has been 11 long years, and still, the broker has not taken any action to get itself registered with legitimated and trustworthy authorities. The firm itself has given a reason to doubt its authenticity and safety.
Trading platforms with fewer features
The web trading platform of the broker does not show regular notifications and price alerts. The broker’s desktop trading platform also has several disadvantages, including poor platform design and lack of two-step login.
Limited markets and tradable assets
The firm mainly deals in Forex and CFD trading, and options in these are also limited. It has missed out some of the most common and important markets such as ETFs and real stocks. If we look into the tradable asset list of advanced firms we will find that they have worked hard in providing more than 300+ assets for trading.
It is a serious drawback of the broker that it has not taken any action to enhance the trader’s portfolio size.
Unrealistic Leverage
The broker offers unrealistic leverage of 1:500. Also, this value is beyond the limit permitted by some governing entities. The European Union has set the leverage limited to 1:30 for all brokerage firms. Those who fail to meet this limit are considered unsafe and untrustworthy for trading. Moreover, leverage is a double-ended sword, and many traders lose money due to the broker’s high margin.
High trading charges
The minimum deposit to open a trade with the brokerage firm is $200. It is clearly twice the amount charged by other renowned firms. Moreover, the forex trading amount and CFD financing fees (charges for holding overnight trading positions) are also relatively high. It is visible that the broker’s high charges do not do justice with the trading features and platforms offered.
Not up to the mark research tools
The broker’s research tools are not up to the mark and also lack several essential tools. Other than this, the two major drawbacks of Peperston research instruments are:
1) The news feeds are quite basic and hence, requires many upgradations
2) The lack of fundamental tools or data
Time-consuming deposit and withdrawal process
The process of withdrawal and deposit of funds is time-consuming and tiring. The options available are restricted. Also, the bank withdrawal charges for investors outside Australia and the EU is as high as $20.
High spreads and Commissions
The spreads on each trade are as high as 1.13. Also, the commission charged is high.
Inefficient customer support team
The broker customer support team is inefficient as the response time is more than 1 minute. You can only connect with the team on weekdays.
Drawbacks of Pepperstone
1) High withdrawal charges outside the EU and Australia
2) Not regulated by central regulatory authorities such as FCA, CySEC etc
3) High spreads (1.13)
4) High minimum deposit
5) Limited time for trading on demo or virtual trading account
6) Lacks ETFs and stocks
7) Does not hold a banking licence
8) Not listed on any stock exchange
9) Financial data related to the firm is not publicly revealed
10) Complex user interface
The Bottom Line
Pepperstone can be regarded as an unregulated brokerage firm as the local authority regulates it. It is not safe to invest, so think twice before investing. The firm has not revealed legal and financial information publicly or on its official website. Thus, it opens the door for several rumours and doubts about its authenticity. Apart from this, the high minimum deposit, unrealistic leverage, high withdrawal charges, complex user interface and lack of fundamental tools compel us to look for other firms. Firms like Global TradeATF, HFTrading, 101investing, ROinvesting, and PrimeFin offer far better services at affordable fees.
