If you trade well and other people want you to trade their money, there are three common ways to do it in forex: PAMM, MAM and copy trading. They look similar from a distance (one trader, many accounts, trades replicated) but they differ on the things that matter most: who holds the money, how profits are split, and how locked in everyone is.
First, the caveat that belongs at the top of any post like this: managing other people's money is regulated in most countries. Depending on where you and your clients are, running any of these setups can require a licence or an authorised firm. Get proper advice before you take a client. Nothing here is legal or financial advice.
PAMM: one pool, percentage shares
PAMM (Percentage Allocation Management Module) links investor accounts to a manager's account at the same broker. The manager trades one account; results are allocated to investors in proportion to their share of the pool's equity.
An investor with $10,000 in a $100,000 PAMM holds 10% of it. When the manager makes 5% on the pool, the investor's share grows by 5%, minus the manager's performance fee.
- The manager sees one account. No per-client lot sizing; the allocation is a share of the result.
- Fees are built in. The broker's PAMM system usually handles performance fees (often with a high-water mark, so the manager is only paid on new highs), management fees and payout schedules.
- Deposits and withdrawals happen at defined intervals ("rollover" periods), because joining or leaving changes everyone's percentage.
- Everyone is at the same broker. It's a broker product.
MAM: separate accounts, flexible allocation
MAM (Multi-Account Manager) gives the manager a master account that places trades, which the broker's MAM system then allocates to each client's own sub-account. The allocation method is chosen per client:
- Lot allocation: each client gets a set share of every trade's lots.
- Percentage or equity allocation: lots scale with each client's balance or equity, so a client twice as large gets twice the volume.
- Fixed lot: every client gets the same lot size regardless.
Because each client has a separate account, MAM handles different risk levels per client and makes each client's own statement easy to produce. Like PAMM, it's a broker product: the manager and every client must be with the same broker, and the manager is limited to that broker's MAM software.
You'll sometimes see LAMM (Lot Allocation Management Module), effectively a MAM with lot-based allocation only.
Copy trading: the follower stays in control
In copy trading, the manager's trades on a source account are replicated onto follower accounts by a copier. The follower's account is the follower's own, and the follower can stop copying at any time.
The differences from PAMM and MAM:
- The follower controls the account. They can pause, change risk settings or disconnect. Nobody pools funds.
- It isn't tied to one broker. A cloud copier can copy from an account at
one broker to accounts at others, which also means dealing with
symbol differences
like
EURUSDvsEURUSD.pro. - Sizing is per follower: fixed lots, a multiplier, or proportional to balance, much like MAM allocation methods.
- Fees aren't automatic. Unless you use a signals marketplace, you bill followers yourself.
The copy trading internals post explains how a copier detects and replicates trades, and the EA vs cloud copier post compares the two ways to run one.
Side by side
| PAMM | MAM | Copy trading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client account | Share of a pool | Own sub-account | Own account |
| Who controls the account | Manager (via the pool) | Manager | Follower |
| Allocation | By equity share | Lots, % or equity per client | Fixed, multiplier or proportional |
| Broker | Same broker for all | Same broker for all | Can mix brokers |
| Fees | Built into broker system | Usually built in | Billed separately |
| Client can leave | At set intervals | By instructing broker or manager | Any time |
| Platform | Broker's PAMM software | Broker's MAM plugin | Any copier |
Which should you choose?
As a manager:
- Choose PAMM if you want the broker to handle allocation, fees and payouts and you're happy at one broker. It's the most "fund-like".
- Choose MAM if clients need different risk levels and separate statements, and you're happy at one broker.
- Choose copy trading if clients are at different brokers, want to keep control of their accounts, or you want to move brokers without migrating everyone. You give up built-in fee handling.
As an investor: the questions are the same in reverse. With PAMM you're in a pool with rules on when you can leave. With MAM your money is in your own account but someone else trades it. With copy trading you keep the controls, and the responsibility.
Whichever model, check the manager's real track record: drawdown, not just return. A 100% year with a 60% drawdown is a strategy that blows up eventually. The Sharpe and max drawdown post covers how to read the numbers.
Running accounts for clients with MetaKit
MetaKit is a copy trading and API platform, not a PAMM or MAM product. What it gives a money manager:
- A cloud copier from your source account to follower accounts at different brokers, with fixed, multiplier or balance-proportional sizing, symbol mapping, and per-copier fidelity and slippage reporting. The copier setup post walks through it.
- One P&L view across every account, see the multi-account post, which is the starting point for client reporting and performance fees.
- Equity monitors that alert you when any account crosses a drawdown limit you set per client.
What it doesn't do: pool funds, calculate or collect performance fees, or handle client onboarding. Those, along with the regulatory side, stay with you.