Jumat, 24 Februari 2012

Pepperstone

Pepper may look innocuous on the outside, but once you bite into it, the flavor is undeniably bold. The same can be said about Pepperstone, a relatively new Australian Forex broker which is run under the auspices of CDM Pacific. The broker’s tastefully subdued website belies the exciting trading experience that lies within its trading platform. With both standard Forex trading and the services of a regulated ECN broker, Pepperstone has a lot to offer – below you can see what we discovered during our comprehensive Pepperstone review.
 
General Information
Founded in: 2010
Headquarters: Melbourne, Australia
Maximum leverage: 200:1
Minimum deposit: $200
Minimum deal size: 1,000 lots
Languages available: English (though the MT4 trading platform is available in 25 languages)
Regulation: ASIC
 
Trading Platform
The cornerstone of Pepperstone’s trading system is MetaTrader, an industry leader in Forex trading platforms. Pepperstone offers both the MT4 and MT5 platforms as well as the iPhone and standard mobile trading portals. The company claims to have an ultra-low latency network and cutting edge technology that makes their version of MT4 stand apart from other brokers like AvaFX that use the same trading platform. We were excited to put this to the test during our Pepperstone review.
Although we expected instant trade execution, we were surprised to see that there was a holding time between the execution and the confirmation. While this was probably no more than 3 seconds, it felt like quite a while because of our unreasonable expectations. We were happy to see, however, that the trades were executed as requested, without the re-quotes that are so common with other Forex brokers.
It’s worth noting that the spreads in the company’s demo account are identical to those in their real account, so those wishing to test out the service before depositing should have no trouble gauging the broker’s efficiency. We were surprised, however, to see that the demo account had only $5,000, as compared with other Forex brokers which offer demo accounts up to $100,000 or customizable demo accounts which can truly mimic the trader’s future account. Nevertheless, a $5,000 should be more than sufficient for traders to get a sense of Pepperstone’s platform. 
 
Features
As a broker that offers both ECN Forex trading and standard trading, Pepperstone offers several features that make it stand out against veteran brokerages. For starters, the company’s ECN accounts require a minimum deposit of only $200, whereas most ECN brokers like FxPro require the account to be funded with a minimum of $1000.
Pepperstone is a no dealing desk broker (aka STP Forex broker) that offers expert advisors, trading of 22 currency pairs and some of the lowest spreads available. With variable spreads starting at 0.5 pips and the ability for scalping, there’s no question that Pepperstone offers some of the best trading conditions available. The company claims that it can offer such low spreads because it is connected to 22 major banks, and this very well may be the reason why this Forex broker can pull it off.
The only visible disadvantage of the brokerage is the lack of options other than MetaTrader platforms, which may be a turnoff for some traders. That notwithstanding, anyone willing to trade with MetaTrader will likely appreciate all that Pepperstone has to offer.
 
Customer Service
Although Pepperstone doesn’t offer customer support phone numbers in multiple countries as somoe other Forex brokers do, it does offer some specific advantages. For starters, Pepperstone publicizes its skype contact directly on the site, so that traders who use skype can contact them in this way for free. In addition, Pepperstone offers an online email submission form as well as distinct email addresses for 7 different departments, so that you can send your inquiry directly to the proper place. We emailed a general question to Pepperstone and received a response in 25 minutes.
During our Pepperstone review we also chatted with a representative several times, and were more than satisfied with the prompt, helpful and polite responses that we received. 
 
Ease of Use
Forex trading isn’t a specifically easy endeavor (otherwise, nobody would ever lose!). That notwithstanding, Pepperstone makes it as easy as possible for traders both to setup their accounts and to trade successfully. The account registration process is only 2 pages long, and is completed by scanning, faxing or emailing two forms of identification. Due to regulation, trading cannot begin until the trader’s identification is verified – a measure which may delay the process, but will protect both the trader and the Forex broker.
Trading accounts can be funded via credit card and wire transfer, and as a direct transfer from other Forex brokers including Alpari and FXDD. The company plans to accept PayPal and BPAY in the future.
Withdrawing money is equally straightforward, though it requires submission of the withdrawal form and a waiting period of at least 2 days.
One thing we noticed is that Pepperstone does not offer the wide range of Forex learning resources that some other brokers offer. The company does offer two forms of weekly market analysis which can be extremely helpful for more advanced traders, but those seeking for an explanation of Forex principles will be required to look elsewhere (such as in the Forex Trading Basics section on this website).
 
Final Thoughts
Although it can be argued that Pepperstone is still in its infancy, there’s no question that the company exhibits a keen understanding of what traders need to trade securely and successfully. While the company doesn’t yet serve clients from the US, it offers first-rate trading opportunities to traders in the rest of the world. 

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