FP Markets Copy Trading: Social Trading, MAM and PAMM Accounts

FP Markets gives you several ways to let someone else's trading drive your account. Its Social Trading service, run through MetaTrader 4 and 5, lets Followers copy Providers, who publish an offer and set their own performance fee. For larger, managed arrangements, FP Markets offers MAM and PAMM accounts run by money managers. And cTrader includes copy trading of its own.

In every case, the trader you copy makes the decisions, and your account takes the results.

Social Trading for Followers

1. Open and fund an FP Markets live account on MT4 or MT5.
2. Browse Providers on the Ratings page, which ranks them by profitability over a period and shows full trading history.
3. Choose a copy mode and follow one or more Providers.
4. Manage risk with MetaTrader's stop loss and take profit, and switch copying on or off at any time.

FP Markets says there's no limit on how many Providers you can copy, and suggests trying several with different systems.

Social Trading for Providers

1. Have an active FP Markets live account.
2. Register as a Provider in the Client Portal under Social Trading, using your MT4 or MT5 details.
3. Create an offer: name it, set a performance fee and choose how often it is charged.
4. Publish it and monitor Followers and earned fees in the Social Trading portal.

MAM accounts

A MAM (Multi-Account Manager) account lets a money manager trade one master account that replicates trades across clients' individual sub-accounts, by lot allocation. Clients sign a Limited Power of Attorney, can see their sub-accounts in real time and can deposit or withdraw at any time, but can't intervene in or close the manager's trades. Managers can set performance fees per sub-account, deducted automatically from profits.

PAMM accounts

In a PAMM (Percentage Allocation Money Management) account, investors' funds are pooled and traded by a manager. Each investor's share of profit and loss matches their share of the pool, and the manager charges a fee from profits. FP Markets says it screens and vets managers in advance, and investors can review a manager's history and strategy before joining through the manager's invitation link.

Comparing the options

Choosing whom to copy

• Look at drawdown and track-record length, not only recent returns.
• Check what the Provider trades and how often.
• Spread money across Providers with different styles.
• Read the fee terms: rate, interval and how profit is measured.
• Review regularly and stop copying if behaviour changes.

Costs

Copied trades pay FP Markets' normal spreads, commissions on Raw accounts and swaps, plus the Provider's or manager's fee. Our FP Markets fees guide lists the trading costs.

Copying on cTrader

cTrader includes copy and social trading. If you prefer cTrader's interface or want C#-based strategies, it is an alternative to MetaTrader Social Trading. Our FP Markets platforms guide compares the platforms.

Becoming a money manager

Professional traders can run MAM or PAMM accounts with FP Markets, setting performance fees and, on MAM, adjusting allocations per sub-account. FP Markets vets PAMM managers in advance. Its PAMM Services Agreement sits among its legal documents, and should be read by investors and managers alike.

Start small

1. Copy with a small share of your capital for the first month.
2. Compare the Provider's live results with their history.
3. Increase allocation only if the drawdown stays within your limit.

Questions to ask before copying

• How long is the Provider's live record, and how deep was the worst drawdown?
• Does the strategy hold trades overnight, adding swaps?
• How often is the performance fee charged, and on what profit?
• Does the Provider trade instruments you understand?
• What happens to your copied trades if you stop following?

A Provider with a steady record and modest drawdown is usually a better choice than one with the biggest recent return.

Copy trading and your own learning

Copy trading works best when you treat it as a way to learn as well as to earn. Watch how the Providers you follow size positions, where they place stops and how they behave after a losing week. Over a few months, you'll see which habits lead to steady results and which lead to large swings.

Keep a short note each month on what each Provider did and why you kept or dropped them. That record stops you chasing whoever topped the Ratings page last month, and it builds the judgement you need if you later trade some of your account yourself.

Frequently asked

Related reading

• FP Markets platforms
• FP Markets fees
• FP Markets account types
• FP Markets VPS
• AvaTrade copy trading
• Our full FP Markets review