Pacific Financial Derivatives: New Zealand FX and CFD accounts

The individual application accepts international applicants subject to review, excluding US residents and sanctioned-country applicants. It requires a retail knowledge-and-experience assessment, identity evidence and a recent address document. Certain applicants can use electronic identity checks; others need certified documents and English translations. Account opening takes effect when PFD confirms acceptance in writing.[11]

The account pages print commission and ProPlus opening amounts with a dollar sign only. Confirm the currency in the approved account schedule. The general terms still contain a USD 250 initial-funding requirement, despite the account pages’ no-minimum wording for Trader and Pro.[13]

The PDS uses a 100% margin-call level for lower-leverage accounts, differing from the Trader/Pro table. Confirm the actual server threshold before relying on a warning.[12]

The swap-free account removes overnight interest but introduces an administrative charge for positions held more than three days. Its page advertises leverage up to 1:300 without a numerical administrative tariff.[7]

The linked swap-free symbol list instead gives 1:100 for its FX and metal contracts and different stop distances. That product schedule needs to be checked separately from the general account headline; a swap-free label does not establish cost-free long-term holding.[9]

View full spreads & trading costs

These are over-the-counter contracts with PFD as counterparty, settled in cash; they do not deliver ownership of the underlying asset.[12]

Some web specifications retain older index and company labels. The approved server’s current symbol, expiry and contract size are the practical basis for an order. For example, the CFD page still uses DAX30 and LIBOR wording; those labels should not be treated as a verified current index name or financing benchmark.[10]

PFDPro’s published commission implies $2 for opening and closing one standard lot before any introducing-broker markup, spread or financing. The page permits introducers to mark up commission. Its qualitative spread labels and claims about positive slippage do not establish a measured average spread or a guaranteed execution improvement.[5]

ProPlus calculates swaps on the summarised unhedged position, while the other core plans calculate them per trade. This can matter to traders holding offsetting positions, but the result still depends on the applicable long and short rates and the account’s exposure.[6]

The PDS places rollover at 17:00 New York time and directs clients to MT4 symbol specifications for variable swap rates. Weekend holding is included.[12]

Account selection should compare the intended holding pattern as well as transaction frequency. A lower commission quote can be offset by overnight financing, payment fees or an intermediary’s markup; a trader who rarely trades should include the inactivity trigger in the comparison.

PFDTrader explicitly permits scalping, news trading and trading robots. It uses market execution and gives a 0.01-lot FX minimum, equivalent to 1,000 base-currency units. This strategy permission is useful for an MT4 user, although an advertised execution model does not eliminate slippage or contractual risk controls.[4]

Point distances are platform units and should not automatically be read as pips. Different account symbols can have different settings even when they reference the same underlying market. Check the symbol specification before sizing a position or preparing an automated order.

PFD’s contact page explicitly directs clients to its international dealing desk when they lack internet access, cannot connect to the server or have not received an online order confirmation. The published number is +64 9 632 0100.[17]

The terms permit telephone instructions, with read-back and recording; written channels require authorisation. Cancellation must reach PFD before order acceptance.[13]

MetaQuotes documents that MT4 trailing stops run in the client terminal. If the terminal is off, the trailing calculation stops; a stop-loss level already submitted remains server-side. Changing devices or closing the desktop application therefore has a different effect on the trailing logic from the existing stop order.[30]

PFD asks for payments from an account or card in the client’s own name. Processor charges are deducted from the amount received; a third-party remittance may be returned.[14]

Withdrawals can be requested online using MT4 credentials or through a signed paper form sent to PFD. The paper form is designed for overseas wires but can be used for other methods with the relevant details. The withdrawal page does not commit to an approval or receipt timetable.[15]

The terms restrict payouts to the account holder and to money available after margin obligations and charges.[13]

The application offers USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, NZD and JPY base-currency choices. These are account-opening options, distinct from the payment-provider menu.[11]

The PDS instead describes USD accounting and conversion at PFD’s quoted rate on withdrawal. Confirm how this operates for the selected non-USD account.[12]

A cash request is not complete merely because a form was submitted. Retain its acknowledgement, the fee breakdown and the receiving-bank or wallet credit so that the amount and timing can be reconciled.

PFD states that derivatives investor money is held on trust separately from operating cash, reconciled at least daily and covered by an annual assurance process. Its client-money page identifies permitted uses including settlement, expressly authorised derivative activity, authorised hedging and agreed fees. Those stated controls concern how money is held and used; they do not promise that every trading-account balance is recoverable in full.[16]

The general terms describe pooled segregation and exposure to overseas banks or brokers, with potentially different insolvency treatment.[13]

The PDS warns that losses can exceed the deposit, stops are not guaranteed and PFD or its counterparties can fail. Margin liquidation is therefore not a negative-balance guarantee.[12]

The independently matched FMA entry confirms the licence’s identity, category and active status. It should be read together with the actual PFD agreement: a licence entry alone does not set an insurance payout, the amount of recoverable client cash or the risk of a leveraged position.[1]

PFD’s legal page says it will acknowledge a written complaint, investigate and endeavour to respond within ten days. It directs unresolved disputes to FDRS and identifies its participant reference as FM0312. These are the firm’s published instructions; the scheme’s current process determines whether an individual complaint is within scope.[18]

FDRS independently describes its complaint process as free. It first works with the consumer and provider toward agreement and can make a decision if agreement is not reached. This is a dispute-resolution service, not automatic insurance against market losses.[19]

The July 2024 amendment updates older rule wording and is part of the current scheme framework. FDRS must still decide jurisdiction for the actual service and dispute; the broker’s New Zealand address does not by itself settle every overseas client’s eligibility.[21]

PFDTrader provides daily and monthly statements and online trade history.[4]

The platform manual explains printing or saving completed-transaction history and reviewing the terminal journal. Those records help reconcile execution, financing and cash movements. Its password controls include changing the terminal password, but they are not a complete lost-device or withdrawal-recovery policy.[23]

The terms require trade discrepancies within two business days and prompt notification of suspected unauthorised account access.[13]

PFD’s MAM service allocates a manager’s orders across investor accounts by methods including balance, equity and free margin. Investors must share the master’s base currency and trading terms. The service states that investors cannot independently manage their positions and may withdraw only when no open positions remain. That restriction is central to deciding whether delegated trading suits the client’s cash needs.[24]

A revocation request, the broker’s acknowledgement and closure of open positions are separate events. Keep the final position list and fee calculation when ending a mandate, because ending authority does not itself settle the investor’s account.

PFD offers a limited FIX 4.2 service for direct pricing and order access, including MAM use. Its published description tells clients to contact the firm for access details; it does not establish automatic activation for every retail account.[27]

This is documented trading and market-data access. The specification does not establish a cash-withdrawal API. Its published change history reaches 2016, so a developer should obtain the current connection specification and test environment before using it with live exposure.[28]

PFD describes a business history beginning in 1999, with earlier New Zealand futures authorisations preceding its 2015 derivatives-issuer licence. The company says it is wholly beneficially owned by a Japanese investor. These ownership and historical statements come from PFD’s company profile; the FMA record independently confirms the present licence.[3]

Domain matching is particularly useful here. In a warning dated 8 January 2025, the FMA said PFDMarkets was misusing the genuine Pacific Financial Derivatives company’s details and that PFD had no association with pfdmarkets.com or its related site. That warning concerns an impersonator; this profile concerns the genuine pfd-nz.com company and the matching FMA entry.[29]

Headquarters

Auckland, New Zealand