To become a PAMM money manager at ThinkMarkets you register through the PAMM section of ThinkPortal, complete a public profile, accept three agreements, then configure the offer that sets your fees and minimums. Your master trading account is created automatically. You then invite investors using a private link.

This guide is written for the manager side. If you are still working out whether the model suits you as an investor, read what is a PAMM account first.

What does a PAMM money manager do?

You trade one pooled account on behalf of every investor in it. You place all the trades. Your investors place none, because trading is disabled on their accounts by design.

The role goes beyond execution, and this is the part most new managers underestimate. You approve or reject every investment and withdrawal request. You set and maintain the commercial terms. You are the person your investors come to when a month goes badly, and you have no support desk to hand that conversation to.

Whether you also need a licence or registration depends on where you are based and who you deal with. That is a question for your own legal advice, not for the platform.

Does running a PAMM pool suit your trading?

Three things decide this, and none of them is about how good your returns are.

Three things that decide it

None of them is about how good your returns are

Where your investors come from

You supply them, not the platform

There is no public directory, so nobody will find you by browsing. If your plan depends on being discovered, this is not the model.

Whether your strategy runs as one book

No per-client tailoring

Everyone in the pool receives the same percentage result. A strategy that needs different sizing or different instruments per client will not fit.

Whether you want the client relationship

The admin is the job

Approving every request, explaining a bad month and answering questions comes with the role. There is no desk to pass that to.

What do you need to register?

Less than most people expect. There is no set minimum for trading experience, track record, deposit or capital.

The registration itself asks for a nickname and a description that your investors will see. You are not required to use your legal name and may operate under a branded nickname. You then accept three agreements: the money manager advisor agreement, the money manager limited power of attorney and the money manager compensation agreement.

Your ThinkMarkets account manager will discuss your experience, your strategy and your expected investor base separately. That conversation is not part of the platform registration, and it is worth preparing for. You can review the service and apply from the ThinkMarkets PAMM money manager page.

Why does a PAMM money manager have two accounts?

Funding and trading are deliberately separated, which is the single thing new managers most often get stuck on.

Your two accounts

One is for money in and out, the other is where you trade

Owner account

Where you see it

ThinkPortal

What it is for

Deposits, withdrawals and access to the PAMM portal

Can you trade it

No. It is read only by design

How it is created

When you select Join as Manager

One more thing

It is treated as the first investor in the pool

Master trading account

Where you see it

The PAMM portal at pamm.thinkmarkets.com

What it is for

Pooled investor funds and all trading

Can you trade it

Yes. Every trade is placed here

How it is created

Automatically, when registration completes

One more thing

Trading costs and fees are charged here

If you cannot place trades on the account you can see in ThinkPortal, nothing is broken. That is your owner account and it is read only by design. Trading happens on the master trading account, which you reach through the PAMM portal.

Your owner account is also treated as the first investor in the pool, so you appear in the investor list whether or not you have deposited anything of your own.

How to become a PAMM money manager, step by step

Six steps, from an unverified account to your first investor.

From registration to first investors

Six steps, start to finish

Open and verify

The PAMM section appears in ThinkPortal once your account has Level 1 approval or full approval.

Join as Manager

This creates your owner account through the standard account creation process.

Complete your profile

Add the nickname and description your investors will see. Your legal name is not required.

Accept the agreements

The advisor agreement, the limited power of attorney and the compensation agreement.

Open the PAMM portal

Your master trading account is created automatically at this point.

Configure and invite

Set your offer, then share your private invitation link with your investors.

The portal is at pamm.thinkmarkets.com, and you sign in there with the money manager account credentials you created in ThinkPortal, not with your main account details.

What should you set in your offer?

Configure the offer carefully, because once at least one investor is attached you cannot modify it, and it cannot be deleted while active investors remain attached. The practical route to new terms is to create a new offer for future investors and leave the original running.

What your offer controls

A default offer with no fees is created at registration, so set yours before anyone joins

Setting	What it does
Performance fee	Your success fee, charged from profit only. Equity tiers can give larger investors a lower rate
Management fee	Charged on investor equity each interval regardless of results. Capped at 10 per cent
Trading interval	When fees are calculated. Days, weeks, months, calendar months or on rollover, in UTC+0
Minimum initial investment	The smallest amount an investor can join with
Minimum deposit and withdrawal	The smallest top-up and the smallest withdrawal an investor can request
Public or private	Whether the offer can be browsed or needs your invitation link

A default offer with no fees is created automatically when you register. If you invite anyone before changing it, you will be managing their money for nothing and you will not be able to fix it for that investor.

Set the trading interval to match how you trade. A short interval calculates fees often, which suits frequent trading, but it also resets the high-water mark more often. A longer interval smooths results across a fuller cycle and delays when you get paid.

How and when do you get paid?

Your investors pay you, through the fees in your offer. ThinkMarkets does not set your rates, and the mechanics of each fee type are covered in PAMM fees explained. What matters here is the timing and the route the money takes.

How your fees reach you

The route money takes, from interval end to your bank

Interval ends

Performance and management fees are calculated on each investor at the end of the trading interval set in your offer.

Fees collected

The fees are collected on the master trading account, where the trading and the costs already sit.

Transfer to owner account

You move the money from the master trading account to your owner account, which is the funding side.

Withdraw

You withdraw from the owner account through the standard ThinkMarkets payment channels.

A mid-interval withdrawal by an investor triggers a pending performance fee, so work already done is still paid.

Fees are calculated at the end of each trading interval and collected on the master trading account. To take money out of the system you transfer it from the master trading account to your owner account, then withdraw through the standard payment channels.

One protection is worth knowing. If an investor withdraws part way through an interval, a pending performance fee is calculated on the profit you made for them during that interval, so you are not left unpaid for work already done.

What can you trade on a PAMM master account?

PAMM runs on MetaTrader 5 only, in USD base currency, with dynamic leverage. Expert advisors, scalping and hedging are all permitted.

Two structural points change how you should think about risk, because they do not apply when you trade your own money.

Stop-out applies at the master account level. If margin falls to the stop-out level, positions close on the master account and the realised losses are distributed across every investor in proportion to their share. One margin event affects all of them at once.

There are also no drawdown limits. Nothing in the platform will stop a losing run on your investors' behalf, and they cannot set a stop loss on their own investment. That control is entirely yours, which is covered from the investor's side in PAMM account risks.

Frequently asked questions

What are the requirements to become a PAMM money manager?

There is no set minimum for trading experience, track record, deposit or capital. Registration asks for a nickname and a description that investors will see, and requires acceptance of the three money manager agreements. Your account manager will discuss your experience and strategy separately.

Will investors expect me to put my own money in the pool?

Many will ask, because a manager with capital at stake shares the same proportional outcome as they do. It is recommended rather than required, so the platform will not stop you launching without it, but be ready for the question and have an answer.

Why can I not trade the account I see in ThinkPortal?

That is your owner account, which is read only by design. All PAMM trading happens on the master trading account, reached through the PAMM portal. If you also want to trade your own money separately, open a standard trading account.

Can I change my PAMM offer after investors have joined?

No. Once at least one investor is attached to an offer, it cannot be modified, and it cannot be deleted while active investors remain attached. To use different terms, create a new offer for future investors.

How do PAMM money managers find investors?

In the current phase they bring their own. There is no public directory, so the platform does not generate leads for you. You share a private invitation link with people who already know you, and you approve each request yourself.

Can PAMM money managers use expert advisors or scalping?

Yes. Expert advisors, scalping and hedging are all permitted on a PAMM master trading account, which runs on MetaTrader 5 in USD with dynamic leverage.

How long does it take to set up a PAMM money manager account?

The registration itself is short, because the master trading account is created automatically once you accept the agreements and open the portal. The gating factor is account verification, since the PAMM section only appears in ThinkPortal once your account has Level 1 approval or full approval.