Pepperstone Review – Forex Brokers Review

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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 regulatedECN 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.

FX Solutions Review

While reading through FX Solutions’ website, in order to get to know the company and their services prior to trading, you get the feeling that they are a corporate firm, focused on servicing their customers. The site is easy to follow through and the language used is easy to understand.  Founded in 2001, FX Solutions has grown substantially within its 10 years of operation. Although the company’s staff is comprised of fewer than 100 employees, there’s no question that the company continues trying to expand its global reach by partnering with industry giants and solid investors. 

On the site you can also find short movie tutorials for using the software's basic features, which help familiarize you with the software. These movies too are easy to follow, and support that general feeling that trading with this company would be a positive experience.

The trading platform, Global trading System (GTS) Pro, is a download version, while GTS Web is a web based platform and it is developed by FX Solutions. The actual trading platform is in English only, while the site is offered in 3 additional Languages: Spanish, Arabic and Chinese.

FX Renew Review

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FX Renew is a Florida-based Forex brokerage that is looking to revolutionize the Forex industry by offering accessible, professional guidance to all clients so that they can have profitable, long-term trading careers.  Run by a group of licensed traders who monitor the market 24 hours a day, FX Renew offers excellent customer support, a live trading room and free Forex signals (some restrictions apply) so that traders will trade comfortably, intelligently and successfully.  Read our full FX Renew review to learn more about this top notch brokerage.

General Information

Maximum leverage: 50:1
Minimum deposit: $250
Languages available: English
Regulation: NFA and CFTC

Trading Platform

As a partner of FX Club, FX Renew has chosen to offer the company’s ACT Trader platform, which is an excellent platform that is available in both downloadable and web-based versions, as well as a mobile application.  The downloadable and web-based versions cannot be accessed simultaneously.  What is noticeable about the platform at first glance is that it has several different tabs through which traders can easily find what they’re looking for.  The tabs include the trading platform, the company’s website, access to the company’s signals and trading room, and to the popular AutoChartist software which affords technical traders excellent charting tools.

Pacific Financial Derivatives Review - PFD-NZ Review

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Pacific Financial Derivatives Limited (PFD-NZ) may be based in New Zealand, but its Forex services have a decidedly global reach.  The company is authorized by the Financial Markets Authority in New Zealand and is a member of Dubai Gold Commodities Exchange.  It is also a member of the Financial Dispute Resolution scheme in New Zealand, a third party service that helps settle resolutions between companies and their clients.  And yet, while this is comforting, we would expect that you should have no reason to launch a claim against PFD-NZ, as throughout our dealings with the company during our Pacific Financial Derivatives review, they seemed entirely approachable and willing to help.

Traders looking for a platform that varies from the standard MT4 platform will appreciate the Kiwi Trader platform offered by Pacific Financial Derivatives.  Although it looks quite similar to the standard MetaTrader 4 platform, the company has clearly made an effort to personalize the platform and to reduce the clutter that plagues many MT4 users.  PFD-NZ platform includes advanced charting abilities, customizable sounds, and the integration of critical indicators, among other benefits.  Traders who prefer web-based trading can try out the PFD Trader platform, which offers online Forex trading in a web-based MT4 platform.

The Kiwi Trader platform is available for both standard accounts and Kiwi Trader Gold accounts.  The differences are as follows:

Kiwi Trader Gold Zero

Minimum deposit: $200

Minimum deal size: 0.01 lot (micro lot)

Maximum leverage: 1:500

Spread: 0 pips on EUR/USD, USD/JPY

Commission: 1 pip on profitable trades, no commission for losing trades

Kiwi Trader Gold

Minimum deposit: $200

Minimum deal size: 0.01 lot (micro lot)

Maximum leverage: 1:500

Spread: 0.8 pips on EUR/USD, USD/JPY

Commission: None

Forex.com Review

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If you’re looking for a reputable Forex broker and the ability to trade over 50 currency pairs, Forex.com may be just the broker you’re looking for. Forex.com is operated by Gain Capital, a financial services company that’s been in business since 1999, and even a cursory look at Forex.com will confirm that this online trading website was developed by industry veterans. Read this full Forex.com review to determine if this is the broker you’ve been looking for.

General Information

Founded in: 1999
Headquarters: New Jersey, USA
Maximum leverage: 50:1
Minimum deposit: $500
Minimum lot size: 10,000 for a mini account, 1,000 for a MetaTrader4 account
Languages available: English, Chinese, Russian, Arabic
Regulation: NFA

FXCM Review

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FXCM Holdings, LLC was listed among the fastest growing companies by Inc. 500 List of America’s Fastest Growing Companies three years in a row. FXCM Holdings, LLC has headquarters in New York, with offices around the globe in places such as the U.K., Japan, Hong Kong, France, Italy, and Australia. It is regulated and licensed in each of them.

As of June 30, 2010 FXCM has over 165,000 tradable accounts on platforms offered by FXCM. An average of over $250 billion in notional volume is traded each month on trading platforms offered by FXCM.

FXCM Trading Accounts

FXCM provides several account types designed for experienced traders as well as for those who are new to the FOREX market. The standard 100K account is ideal for experienced traders wishing to leverage the full advantages of FX trading. Opening a standard account requires an initial deposit of $2,000, and offers leverages of up to 1:200* for all traders who are outside of the United States, and 50:1 leverage for US-based traders.

The Mini Account is designed for those who are still new to online currency trading. It requires an initial deposit of just $50. Mini accounts can be opened not just in US Dollars, but also in Euros, Pounds, Japanese Yen, Canadian Dollars, New Zealand Dollars and Australian Dollars.

eToro Review

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Many traders think of Forex trading an ‘independent sport’, but eToro is a Forex broker that is looking to negate this stereotype. In addition to offering a user-friendly traditional trading experience, eToro has pioneered the ‘social’ trading arena, something we enjoyed tremendously throughout our eToro review. The company’s OpenBook platform allows users to follow the trades of other users and to share own their trading experiences, a give-and-take which will likely revolutionize your personal trading strategy and the way the private trading arena functions.  Forex traders in the United States should check out our eToro USA review for more information.

General Information
Founded in: 2007
Headquarters: British Virgin Islands
Maximum leverage: 1:400
Minimum deposit: $50
Minimum deal size: 1,000
Languages available: English, German, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese
Regulation: NFA, FSA BaFin and more (See All eToro regulations here.)

Trading PlatformeToro offers 3 trading platforms, including its WebTrader, eToro OpenBook and a mobile trading platform. The beauty of a WebTrader is that you can make trades from virtually anywhere, without having to install the software.  But with eToro WebTrader, there's an additional beauty in an excellent user interface which caters especially to new traders (and is just a pleasure for experienced traders as well!).  The design is clean, uncluttered and easy to understand, and traders should have no trouble executing the trades they desire with the eToro WebTrader.