The LSE Directory / CFD and forex brokers
Pepperstone is an online broker offering margin trading in forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, shares, ETFs and cryptocurrencies. Clients trade through MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView or the firm's own proprietary platform, choosing between an all-in Standard spread account or a Razor account with raw interbank spreads plus a per-lot commission. The firm also offers copy trading and separate account tiers for professional and premium clients. Pepperstone positions itself on execution quality and platform choice rather than in-house proprietary software alone, giving traders access to third-party charting and automation tools (TradingView's Pine Script strategies, cTrader's cAlgo, MetaTrader Expert Advisors) instead of locking them into a single closed platform, a model it shares with other multi-platform brokers but pairs with a five-way regulatory footprint spanning both stricter European/UK oversight and offshore entities. The company was founded in 2010 in Melbourne, Australia by Owen Kerr and Joe Davenport. In 2016 the founders sold a 60 percent stake to Champ Private Equity (later CPE Capital) for A$90 million; when CPE moved to exit in 2018, its stake passed to FX Group Holdings, a vehicle formed by Fiona Lock together with then-new CEO Tamas Szabo (who joined Pepperstone in 2017 after nearly two decades at IG Group) and former director Andrew Defina. Pepperstone holds licenses from ASIC (Australia), the FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus), BaFin (Germany), the DFSA (Dubai), the CMA (Kenya) and the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, and added SCA approval in the UAE in December 2025. As of 31 March 2026 the group reported over 900,000 client accounts across 150 countries and AU$947 billion in monthly trading volume. Its UK subsidiary reported £10 million in net profit and held £25.16 million in client funds for its 2022 financial year. In November 2023, ASIC named Pepperstone among seven CFD brokers found breaching client leverage limits; the firm self-reported the issue and compensated more than 1,500 affected customers. A 2025 Supreme Court of New South Wales ruling, handed down by Justice Kelly Rees, found in favour of CPE Capital in a contract dispute over the 2018 buyout terms, ordering FX Group Holdings (Lock, Szabo and Defina's vehicle) to pay CPE approximately A$96.9 million plus interest; Pepperstone the operating business was not itself a party to the suit and continued normal operations throughout. Separately, the group has expanded its sports sponsorship portfolio, becoming a partner of the Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 team from January 2025 alongside existing tennis ambassador arrangements.
