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PepperstoneVT Markets Review
Written by Steven Hatzakis
Edited by John Bringans
Fact-checked by Blain Reinkensmeyer
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
VT Markets offers the full MetaTrader suite, along with a range of third-party features and social copy trading (as well as its own app). That said, VT Markets struggles to compete with the best forex brokers due to its limited research material, sparse educational content, and small range of available markets.
Now that VT Markets is independent, it holds only two regulatory licenses. As a result, the broker's Trust Score has dropped.
-
Minimum Deposit:
$100 -
Trust Score:
70 -
Tradeable Symbols (Total):
1000
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VT Markets pros & cons
Pros
- VT Markets holds regulatory status in one Tier-1 and one Tier-2 jurisdiction.
- VT Markets offers the full MetaTrader suite, along with premium trading tools from Trading Central.
- Trading costs at VT Markets range from average (when using the VT Markets ECN account) to expensive (for the Standard account option).
- VT Markets Trading App – the broker’s proprietary mobile app – is easy to use and delivers news headlines and research, with a robust watchlist alongside pre-defined screeners to choose from.
- Support for third-party features like trading signals from Acuity Trading (Signal Centre, formerly known as PIA First) and copy trading via VTrade.
Cons
- VT Markets' offshore entity in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines offers no regulatory protection to clients – and is best avoided.
- VT Markets' Trust Score is lower than the industry average.
- VT Markets' offering of 1,000 symbols can't compete with the extensive selection of markets available at Saxo, IG, or CMC Markets.
- VT Markets offers a growing but still-limited array of educational content, putting it at a disadvantage relative to peers.
- Access to Trading Central tools requires a minimum deposit of $500.
Overall summary
| Feature |
VT Markets
|
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
|
| Trust Score | 70 |
| Offering of Investments |
|
| Commissions & Fees |
|
| Platform & Tools |
|
| Research |
|
| Mobile Trading |
|
| Education |
|
ForexBrokers.com has been reviewing online forex brokers for over eight years, and our reviews are the most cited in the industry. Each year, we collect thousands of data points and publish tens of thousands of words of research. Here's how we test.
Is VT Markets safe?
VT Markets is considered Average Risk, with an overall Trust Score of 70 out of 99. VT Markets is not publicly traded, does not operate a bank, and is authorised by one Tier-1 regulator (Highly Trusted), one tier-2 regulator (average trust), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and zero Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). VT Markets is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC). Learn more about Trust Score.
| Feature |
VT Markets
|
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No |
| Bank | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 |
Offering of investments
VT Markets’ offering of CFDs includes over 1000 symbols and spans a variety of asset classes, such as shares, commodities, metals, indices, and forex pairs. The following table summarizes the different investment products available to VT Markets clients.
| Feature |
VT Markets
|
|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1000 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 39 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
Commissions and fees
The cost of trading at VT Markets varies depending on whether you choose the Raw ECN or the Standard STP account. The Standard STP account is commission-free but comes with spreads higher than those for the Raw ECN account, and both accounts require a minimum deposit of just $100.
Average spreads: VT Markets lists the typical spread on the EUR/USD at 1.2 pips for its Standard STP account, while the RAW ECN effective spread was 0.83 pips (based on 0.6 round turn commission and 0.23 average spread for September 2021). The pricing for the VT Markets Raw ECN account is pretty standard for the industry, while the Standard STP account pricing is less attractive.
| Feature |
VT Markets
|
|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.2 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.8 |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
Mobile trading apps
Despite full support for the MetaTrader suite and a proprietary mobile app, VT Markets just can’t compete with what the best MetaTrader brokers offer in this category. VT Markets mobile app has shown real promise, but will need to show more progress to realize its full potential.
Apps overview: VT Markets is primarily a MetaTrader broker, but also offers a proprietary mobile app called VT Markets Trading App. Along with MetaTrader 4 (MT4), and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), VT Markets mobile applications are all available for Android and Apple iOS devices directly from the Google Play and Apple App stores.
Ease of use: VT Markets' mobile app has a well-designed layout that is easy to swipe through, and includes cleanly-integrated research content. It features useful tools like watchlist items, and resources like its newsletter articles that cover Pivot Point analysis across a set of six popular trading symbols.
Charting: VT Markets' mobile charting features a small range of rudimentary features, such as the ability to rotate the display into landscape mode and the inclusion of tick chart functionality. There are only seven indicators available, ten selectable time frames, and no drawing tools or advanced features.
| Feature |
VT Markets
|
|---|---|
| Android App | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 |
| Watchlist Syncing | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 15 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes |
Other trading platforms
With no proprietary web or desktop platform, VT Markets remains predominantly a MetaTrader-only broker offering the popular platform suite developed by MetaQuotes Software Corporation. VT Markets also offers WebTrader Plus platform powered by TradingView. For the top picks among similar offerings, check our best MetaTrader brokers list.
Platforms overview: VT Markets offers the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platforms, available for Windows and Mac. For traders that deposit at least $500, VT Markets offers several plugins for MT4 as part of the Pro Trading Tools suite from Trading Central (a popular third-party provider).
Trading tools: VT Markets supports third-party signal providers, including Acuity Trading, as well as copy trading, such as on it's own VTrade platform.
| Feature |
VT Markets
|
|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | No |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No |
| ZuluTrade | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 15 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 30 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 |
Market research
VT Markets provides a small selection of research content in the form of its Daily Market Analysis series, alongside third-party content available from Trading Central. Though the quality is good, the Daily Market Analysis series is a rather limited offering that provides just one daily article. VT Markets ranks close to the industry standard in this category, but has a long way to go if it wants to truly compete with industry leaders like Saxo, IG, or CMC Markets.
Research overview: I found the quality of in-house coverage in VT Markets’ Daily Market Analysis series to be decent. The series covers fundamental and technical analysis and includes multiple descriptive charts, but I was left wanting to know more about the condition of the broader markets. Trading Central’s Economic Calendar and the daily video updates posted on VT Markets’ YouTube channel do help to round out its research. VT Markets could boost its research offering by organizing and expanding the range of its video content.
Market news and analysis: For clients who deposit over $500, VT Markets provides access to the Pro Trading Tools suite from Trading Central, available directly through the client portal. An add-on for MetaTrader is also available from Trading Central as part of VT Markets offering. Otherwise, market news and analysis is limited to just one daily article and video published by VT Markets.
| Feature |
VT Markets
|
|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes |
| Autochartist | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes |
Education
VT Markets recently introduced a dedicated Academy section for education on its website, with dozens of articles and lessons. There is also related financial markets educational content on its YouTube channel but it hasn't been updated in over a year as of September 2023. Besides some content from Trading Central, VT Markets offers a limited selection of educational materials, which weighs down on its ranking in this category. For comparison, see education leaders like Saxo, IG, or FXCM.
| Feature |
VT Markets
|
|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes |
| Client Webinars | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes |
Final thoughts
Since departing from its assocation with Vantage Group, VT Markets' Trust Score has dropped significantly. Acquiring more licenses in trusted jurisdictions could help boost its otherwise low score. VT Markets also needs to significantly enhance its offering of financial markets education (which has already started to improve). Likewise, its research trails behind the best forex brokers.
While VT Markets recently increased its product offering, its range of markets is limited compared to the many thousands of symbols available from other multi-asset brokers that offer MetaTrader, such as City Index, XTB, or FOREX.com.
About VT Markets
Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, VT Markets was founded in 2016. While the company was previously a subsidiary of Vantage International Group (VIG), it has recently divested its interests and is now independent.
2024 Review Methodology
At ForexBrokers.com, our reviews of online forex brokers and their products and services are based on our collected data as well as the observations and qualified opinions of our expert researchers. Each year we publish tens of thousands of words of research on the top forex brokers and monitor dozens of international regulator agencies (read more about how we calculate Trust Score here).
Our research team conducts thorough testing on a wide range of features, products, services, and tools (collecting and validating thousands of data points in the process). We test all available trading platforms for each broker – whether they are proprietary or come from third-party providers – and evaluate them based on a host of data-driven variables.
We also take an in-depth look at each broker’s commissions and fees, such as bid/ask spreads – including the average spread data for some of the most popular forex currency pairs. We research other trading costs, such as inactivity or custody fees, minimum deposit requirements, VIP rebates and/or discounts, and a range of other important fee-based data points.
Some of the other important research categories that are factored into our testing include mobile trading accessibility and capability, availability of market research and educational content, and each broker’s overall Trust Score.
All content on ForexBrokers.com is handwritten by a writer, fact-checked by a member of our research team, and edited and published by an editor. Our ratings, rankings, and opinions are entirely our own, and the result of our extensive research and decades of collective experience covering the forex industry.
Read our full explanation and accounting of our research and testing process to learn more about how we test.
Forex Risk Disclaimer
There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. Read more on forex trading risks.
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Show allAbout the Editorial Team
Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. A forex industry expert and an active fintech and crypto researcher, Steven advises blockchain companies at the board level and holds a Series III license in the U.S. as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA).
John Bringans is the Managing Editor at ForexBrokers.com. An experienced media professional, John has a decade of editorial experience with a background that includes key leadership roles at global newsroom outlets. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from San Francisco State University, and conducts research on forex and the financial services industry while assisting in the production of content.
Blain Reinkensmeyer has 20 years of trading experience with over 2,500 trades placed during that time. He heads research for all U.S.-based brokerages on StockBrokers.com and is respected by executives as the leading expert covering the online broker industry. Blain’s insights have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Chicago Tribune, among other media outlets.