A PAMM account, short for Percentage Allocation Management Module, is a managed account in which several investors pool funds into one trading account run by a single money manager. The manager places every trade. Profits and losses are then allocated back to each investor automatically, in proportion to their share of the pool.

What does PAMM stand for?

PAMM stands for Percentage Allocation Management Module. The name describes the mechanism rather than the product. Each investor owns a percentage of a single pooled account, and the system allocates the trading result to those percentages. If you hold 20 per cent of the pool, you receive 20 per cent of the profit or 20 per cent of the loss.

You may also see the model written as a percentage allocation money management module. Both refer to the same structure. A full glossary of PAMM terms is also available.

How does a PAMM account work?

A PAMM account works in five stages, from funding through to allocation.

How a PAMM account works, step by step

What happens between your deposit and your result

Join an offer

Investors allocate funds to a money manager's offer, which sets the fees, the minimums and the trading interval.

Funds are pooled

Contributions go into one master trading account. Each becomes a percentage share of the total.

The manager trades

Only the money manager places trades. Investors cannot open, change or close positions.

Rollover allocates

The system recalculates every share and applies the profit or loss to it. Rollover runs hourly by default.

Fees are charged

Performance and management fees are calculated at the end of the trading interval.

Investors allocate funds to a money manager's offer. The offer sets the fees, the minimum investment and the trading interval used to calculate those fees.
The funds are pooled into one master trading account. Each investor's contribution becomes a percentage share of the total.
The money manager trades that master account. Investors cannot place, change or close trades.
At rollover, the system recalculates every share and allocates the profit or loss to it. At ThinkMarkets, rollover runs hourly by default.
Fees are calculated at the end of the trading interval and paid from the investor to the money manager.

Because allocation is proportional, every investor in the pool experiences the same percentage return over a given period, before fees. What differs between investors is the amount of money that percentage represents, and the fee tier that applies to their equity.

Who is involved in a PAMM account?

Three parties take part, and each has a defined role.

Who is involved in a PAMM account

Three parties, three clearly separated roles

Allocates capital

The investor

Funds an account and holds a percentage share of the pool. Trading is disabled, so an investor places no trades.

Places every trade

The money manager

Trades the pooled master account on behalf of everyone in it, and is paid through the fees set in their offer.

Provides the platform

The broker

Supplies the platform and the allocation system. Makes no trading decisions and does not select the manager for you.

The investor allocates capital and takes no part in trading decisions. An investor can deposit, withdraw and monitor performance, but trading is disabled on their account.
The money manager trades the pooled master account on behalf of every investor in it, and is paid through the fees set in their offer.
The broker provides the trading platform, the account infrastructure and the allocation system that distributes results. The broker does not make trading decisions and does not select the money manager for you.

What does a ThinkMarkets PAMM account look like?

The table below sets out the current ThinkMarkets configuration.

ThinkMarkets PAMM at a glance

The current configuration

Feature	ThinkMarkets PAMM
Platform	MetaTrader 5 only
Base currency	USD
Leverage	Dynamic leverage applies
Who can trade	The money manager only. Trading is disabled on investor accounts
How investors join	By private invitation link from a money manager
Allocation frequency	Hourly by default, through rollover
Performance fee	Charged from profit only, on a high-water mark basis
Management fee	Charged on investor equity, capped at 10 per cent
Trading strategies	Expert advisors, scalping and hedging are permitted

Availability varies by entity and country of residence.

A money manager holds two linked accounts. The owner account handles deposits, withdrawals and access to the PAMM portal, and cannot be traded. The master trading account is where investor funds are pooled and where every trade is placed. The split is explained in how to become a PAMM money manager.

How are profits and losses shared in a PAMM account?

Results are shared strictly by percentage of the pool. If the master account gains 4 per cent over a period, every share in it gains 4 per cent before fees. If it falls 4 per cent, every share falls 4 per cent.

How a PAMM account allocates results

Many investors, one account, proportional results

1. Investors allocate funds

Money manager20%

Investor 140%

Investor 225%

Investor 315%

▼

Pooled into one account

Master trading account

Only the money manager trades here. Trading is disabled on investor accounts.

20%

40%

25%

15%

Money manager Investor 1 Investor 2 Investor 3

▼

Allocated at rollover, hourly by default

Money manager

20%

of profit or loss

Investor 1

40%

of profit or loss

Investor 2

25%

of profit or loss

Investor 3

15%

of profit or loss

Shares are illustrative. Losses are allocated in exactly the same proportions as profits. The manager's owner account counts as the first investor in the pool, whether or not own funds are deposited.

The allocation happens at rollover rather than trade by trade, which is why a PAMM balance does not move with every tick the way a personal trading account does. A full worked example is set out in how PAMM profit and loss sharing works.

What does a PAMM account cost?

Two fee types apply, and both are set by the money manager rather than by the broker.

The two PAMM fees

Both are set by the money manager and shown before you join

From profit only

Performance fee

Charged at the end of each trading interval on a high-water mark basis, so a loss must be recovered before fees resume. No profit means no performance fee.

On equity, capped at 10 per cent

Management fee

Charged on your equity every interval regardless of results, so it applies even where the interval is flat or negative.

A performance fee is charged out of profit only, at the end of each trading interval, on a high-water mark basis. No profit means no performance fee.
A management fee is charged on investor equity each interval regardless of results, and is capped at 10 per cent at ThinkMarkets.

Spreads, commissions and swaps are charged on the master trading account, because that is where the trading happens. Investors do not pay them separately. They reach investors inside the net result that is distributed at rollover. See PAMM fees explained for worked examples.

What are the main risks of a PAMM account?

The central risk is that you are exposed to someone else's trading decisions and cannot intervene in them. Three features of the structure matter in particular.

There are no drawdown limits. Neither the platform nor the offer caps how far an investment can fall.
Investors cannot set a stop loss, because trading is disabled at investor level. The only way to reduce exposure is to submit a withdrawal request.
Withdrawals are not instant. They are processed as requests and take effect at the next rollover, so you cannot exit a position the moment you decide to.

These and other risks are covered in PAMM account risks.

How is a PAMM account different from copy trading?

The difference is where the trading happens. In a PAMM account, one pooled account is traded and you own a percentage of it. In copy trading, a provider's trades are replicated into your own separate account, which you continue to control.

That structural difference drives most of the practical ones, including how you find a strategy, whether you can trade alongside it and how you exit. ThinkMarkets offers PAMM and also offers copy trading through ThinkCopy. The models are compared in PAMM vs MAM vs copy trading.

How do you get started with a PAMM account?

PAMM money managers at ThinkMarkets are currently private, and there is no public directory to browse. That shapes how each side begins.

If you are an investor, you need an invitation link from a money manager you already know or have been introduced to. Open and verify a ThinkMarkets account, create a PAMM investor account, fund it, then use the link to join that manager's offer. Before committing funds, work through how to choose a PAMM money manager.

If you want to manage money for others, you register as a money manager in ThinkPortal, accept the three money manager agreements, configure your offer and invite your own investors. Full product details are on the ThinkMarkets PAMM money manager page.

Frequently asked questions

What is a PAMM account in simple terms?

A PAMM account is a shared trading account. Several investors put money in, one money manager trades it, and the profit or loss is split between the investors according to how much of the pool each one owns. Investors do not place any trades themselves.

What does PAMM stand for?

PAMM stands for Percentage Allocation Management Module. The name refers to the way results are allocated, as a percentage of a pooled account, rather than to any particular strategy or market.

Is a PAMM account profitable?

There is no answer that applies to every PAMM account. The outcome depends entirely on the money manager's trading over the period you are invested, and losses are allocated in exactly the same proportional way as profits. Past performance does not indicate future results.

Can I lose money in a PAMM account?

Yes. Your share of the pool falls when the master account loses, there are no drawdown limits, and you cannot set a stop loss on your investment. Allocating funds to an experienced manager does not remove market risk.

Can I trade my own PAMM investor account?

No. Trading is disabled on PAMM investor accounts by design, so that all execution sits with the money manager. If you want to trade for yourself as well, you can open a separate standard trading account alongside your PAMM investment.

How do I withdraw from a PAMM account?

You submit a withdrawal request, which the money manager approves and the system processes at the next rollover. If trades are open, only your proportional share of each position is closed. Withdrawing part way through a trading interval can trigger a pending performance fee.

Which platform do ThinkMarkets PAMM accounts use?

MetaTrader 5 only. ThinkMarkets PAMM accounts are not available on ThinkTrader, MT4 or TradingView. The base currency is USD and dynamic leverage applies.