Summary
Pepperstone holds licences from seven regulators, including the FCA, ASIC, CySEC and BaFin, and no enforcement action was found in the sources reviewed. It also operates an offshore entity in the Bahamas, and as a private group it publishes less than its listed peers.
- Grade
- A
- Score
- 75/100
- Fieldwork
- 1 Oct 2026 to 2 Oct 2026
- Findings
- 2 medium1 strength
Scorecard
| Pillar | Weight | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation & Licensing | 19% | AA | |
| Corporate Structure & Ownership | 14% | A | |
| Client Money & Payouts | 19% | A | |
| Execution & Pricing | n/a | ||
| Conduct & Disclosure | 14% | AA | |
| Operational Resilience | n/a | ||
| People & Community | 5% | C | |
| Overall | 71% | 75 | A |
The overall score is the weighted average of the assessed pillars, with their weights scaled back up to 100.
Findings
Regulation & Licensing
80/100The CySEC licence was confirmed on the register. Pepperstone states it is licensed by the FCA, ASIC, DFSA, CySEC, BaFin, Kenya’s CMA and the Securities Commission of The Bahamas.
- StrengthPepperstone EU Limited holds CySEC licence 388/20, authorised on 3 August 2020; the register lists pepperstone.com as the approved website.
- MediumThe group also operates Pepperstone Markets Limited, licensed in the Bahamas (SIA-F217), outside the main retail protection regimes.
Corporate Structure & Ownership
70/100The group is privately held. Its regulated entities are identifiable on registers; we did not review audited group accounts.
- ObservationGroup accounts and ultimate ownership were not reviewed in the public sources used for this audit.
Client Money & Payouts
78/100UK clients are covered by the FSCS and EU clients by CySEC’s Investor Compensation Fund. Clients of the Bahamas entity have no equivalent scheme.
- MediumClients of Pepperstone Markets Limited (Bahamas) fall outside any investor compensation scheme.
Execution & Pricing
Not assessed in a desk audit. Spreads, slippage and fill quality can only be measured with live accounts.
Conduct & Disclosure
88/100No enforcement action against Pepperstone entities was found in the sources reviewed.
Operational Resilience
Not assessed in a desk audit. Uptime, incident history and security controls require evidence from the firm or live monitoring.
People & Community
15/100No Great Place to Work certification was found. In 2025 Pepperstone made a charitable contribution to Headspace, Australia’s youth mental health foundation, as part of its Formula One sponsorship.
- ObservationNo Great Place to Work certification was found in Great Place to Work’s public listings.
- ObservationA 2025 contribution to Headspace was announced alongside Pepperstone’s Formula One team partnership.
Licences verified
Each licence was checked directly against the regulator's public register on the date shown.
| Entity | Regulator | Licence | Checked | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperstone EU Limited | CySEC | 388/20 | 2 Oct 2026 | ConfirmedAuthorised 3 August 2020; approved website pepperstone.com. |
Notes and sources
Evidence and scope
Scope
Desk audit of the group’s client-facing entities, using public sources only: regulator registers and announcements, court and stock-exchange filings, and the firm’s own published documents, as available on 2 October 2026. No accounts were opened, nothing was tested live, and the firm was not asked for evidence.
Limitations
Absence of a public enforcement record is not evidence of good conduct. FCA and ASIC licence details are taken from the firm’s disclosures; the FCA and ASIC registers could not be queried directly for this audit and should be checked before publication.
Evidence reviewed
- CySEC register entry, Pepperstone EU Limited
- Pepperstone regulatory disclosures
- Pepperstone legal documents
Version history
- Report published.
- Methodology update: enforcement older than eight years is recorded but no longer scored, applied to all audits.
- Methodology update: People & Community pillar added (workplace certification and community contribution, from public sources), applied to all audits.
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