Pepperstone Hires Veteran FX Executive to Lead Its Africa Strategy

Pepperstone has appointed Andrew Turnbull as its Head of Africa, putting a financial services veteran in charge of its strategy across a continent where trading activity is expanding. Turnbull will be based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Turnbull brings more than two decades of experience in financial services. He previously held senior positions at ODL Securities and FXCM Europe, where he served as Vice President. Before joining Pepperstone, he was Director and Co-founder of Wellesley Group Investors Limited, an alternative property investment and peer-to-peer lending platform.

Pepperstone holds a license from Kenya's Capital Markets Authority, which the broker noted was among the early African regulatory bodies to establish a formal framework for online trading.

"There is a growing appetite for online trading across the continent, but every market is different," Turnbull said. "I'm looking forward to building on Pepperstone's presence here and working with our teams and partners to better understand and serve the different trading communities across Africa."

A Maturing but Fragmented Market

Marc Boever, Pepperstone's Head of EMEA, said Africa encompasses dozens of distinct trader profiles and regulatory environments, which has driven the broker to allocate increased local resources. Across the continent, rising awareness of financial markets along with improved access via digital platforms has driven a substantial surge in trading activity in recent years.

At the same time, regulators are intensifying their oversight. The registry for Over-the-Counter Derivatives Providers (ODP) in South Africa has significantly raised costs for retail brokers, reflecting a more rigorous licensing framework and a stricter supervisory methodology.