6 Best Managed Forex Accounts for 2025

How to Choose a Forex Managed Account?

Find below some of the key points to consider when choosing a forex broker who provides account management.

How to Find a Regulated Broker?

As a money manager trading client capital, the safety and security of the broker you use is just as important as your performance. As an investor following a managed account provider, you will also want to know that your capital is safe and secure.

A regulated broker means that the company needs to adhere to strict regulatory standards that cover the safety of funds, transparency of execution, handling of client deposits, etc. If a regulated broker fails to adhere to the rules then they will lose their operating license or be fined.

When choosing a managed account provider, we prioritized brokers that have entities regulated in tier-1 and tier-2 jurisdictions. The three tiers of regulation incorporated in our broker reviews include:

• Tier-1 regulators are those in well-established financial jurisdictions offering the highest protection level. Examples include the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
• Tier-2 regulators are those in well-established economies but offer a lower level of investor protection. Examples include the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of New Zealand.
• Tier-3 regulators typically operate in offshore locations, such as the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB) and the International Financial Services Commission (IFSC) of Belize.

Explore Best FCA-regulated brokers and Best ASIC-regulated brokers.

Some brokers are not regulated and operate without oversight, posing significant risks to traders as they lack accountability or protection mechanisms. Given that scalping is a precision-focused trading strategy, it’s advisable to choose brokers regulated by Tier 1 authorities for maximum security.

Since the introduction of the MiFID II legal framework, Tier 1 regulated brokers are required to provide negative balance protection to retail clients and segregate client funds from their own. While some Tier 2 and Tier 3 regulators may implement similar measures, many do not, as they are not legally obligated to do so.

From personal experience, I strongly recommend avoiding unregulated brokers, as they offer no recourse if your funds are mishandled or trade execution is poor. If you’re unsure about a broker’s regulatory status, check the regulator’s online register to verify its license—this simple step can provide valuable peace of mind.

Read more about Best regulated forex brokers.

What Fees Should You Consider?

When using managed accounts, it’s essential to understand the various fees involved. Money managers typically set their own fees, often in the form of a performance fee and, in some cases, a management fee.

Ensure that any performance fee is charged above the high-water mark, meaning fees are only applied when the account achieves its highest profit level. MetaTrader’s MAM and PAMM technology facilitate this process automatically.

Read more about Best forex MAM/PAMM accounts.

If you’re following a money manager or trader through a copy trading platform, check for any monthly fees associated with following their strategy. While some traders may charge a subscription fee, most—though not all—copy trading platforms offer their services free of charge. Always review the terms and conditions to confirm.

Additionally, consider broker-related fees associated with opening, closing, and holding trades, such as:

• Spreads. This is the difference between the buy price and the sell price. Money managers will want to ensure this is as low as possible to get the best returns. See our guide for the Best forex brokers with lowest spreads.
• Commission. Some brokers will charge a fee to open and close a trade. Some brokers will offer commission-free trading accounts or commission-based trading accounts but with lower spreads.
• Swaps. This is a fee for any leveraged trades to be held overnight. Usually, it is based on the interest rates of the currencies being traded and a broker markup. Discover Best low swaps forex brokers.

Investors will want to make sure the money manager hasn’t increased the spreads, commissions, or swaps charged to clients and marked up what the broker charges (rare but can happen and is available to money managers).

Also, if you are copying the trades of another trader, make sure they are based on real results which will take spreads, commissions, and swaps into consideration. In the early days of social trading, I found that many traders would show demo account performance without commissions, but once these were factored in, it turned a profitable track record into a losing one.

Some brokers may also charge an account maintenance fee. While this is rare, many will choose to charge a fee if there is no activity over a certain period, so it is worthwhile checking with the broker if they do.

Check out Best zero spread forex brokers.

What is the Best Execution Model for a Managed Account?

The broker’s execution model is a key consideration, as managed accounts execute the same trades across multiple sub-accounts. This requires fast and direct market execution with minimal broker intervention. Common execution models include:

• Dealing Desk (Market Maker) Accounts: In these accounts, the broker takes the opposite side of the trade. They usually feature fixed spreads rather than floating spreads.
• No Dealing Desk (NDD) Accounts: These accounts use technology to match orders with other traders almost instantly, bypassing broker involvement. Discover Best no dealing desk forex brokers.
• STP (Straight Through Processing) Accounts: A type of no-dealing desk account where client orders are routed directly to the broker’s liquidity provider. Discover Best STP forex accounts.
• ECN (Electronic Communications Network) Accounts: These accounts connect traders to a network of liquidity providers, enabling order matching with anonymous participants. Find Best ECN forex accounts.
• DMA (Direct Market Access) Accounts: Clients trade directly with interbank market participants, offering transparency and control.
• Demo accounts. These are accounts that allow you to trade in a risk-free, virtual environment. It’s a great way to test the products and services of a broker. Discover Best forex demo accounts.

How Much Leverage Should You Use?

A trading account with a forex broker is likely to be a margin-based trading account that utilizes leverage. This allows traders to trade larger position sizes using a small deposit by borrowing funds from the broker.

As you borrow funds from the broker to control a larger position size, there is an overnight financing fee to borrow the capital. This is known as the swap fee. The principles are the same as a mortgage, in which you borrow capital and pay interest on the loan.

Leveraging positions will amplify both winning and losing trades. For example, if a broker offered 30:1 leverage to trade currencies, this means you can open a currency position worth $30,000 but will only need $1,000 of cash in the account to do so.

The launch of MiFID II regulations in 2018 forced many tier 1 brokers to restrict leverage to retail traders to make it safer. Brokers regulated by the FCA, CySEC, and ASIC have a regulatory requirement to cap forex trading at 30:1 leverage.

Read more about Best MiFID-regulated forex brokers.

While some brokers may offer 1000:1 leverage, these are most likely to be unregulated offshore providers, as there are zero to very few regulatory protections for retail traders.

When using a managed account, it’s important to take into consideration whether the investor can access the same account type as you (the money manager). Or, if you are copying someone else’s trades, it’s wise to check you can open the same type of leveraged account, otherwise, you may miss out on a lot of trades and end up with completely different returns.

Check out our guide on Best high leverage forex brokers.

Which Trading Platform Fits Managed Account Best?

The most professionally managed account platforms are offered by MetaTrader’s MAM and PAMM technology. MAM (multi-account manager) accounts simply provide the technology to have one master account with many sub-accounts. Any trades taken on the master account are then also taken on the sub-accounts.

Depending on the broker, they will offer different types of trade asset allocation methods. One of the most common is percentage allocation, which is offered by PAMM (percentage allocation module management) account technology.

While trade allocations can be distributed across all sub-accounts by the percentage of funds held by all investors, other allocation methods include allocating trades by lot but this is only used if every investor has the same account balance. These are known as LAMM accounts (lot allocation management module).

MAM accounts typically involve the investor having to sign a Limited Trading Authorisation (LTA) form to give permission for a money manager to take a trade on their account (but things such as deposits and withdrawals are excluded).

Another type of managed account product is copy trading. Some brokers will also use MetaTrader for this, while others have built their own proprietary copy trading platforms allowing clients to become strategy providers and earn a share of follower profits, or simply be a follower and copy the trades of other clients.

Check out our dedicated guides on Best MT4 brokers and Best MT5 brokers.

Having used both MAM accounts and copy trading, I have found that using a copy trading platform is the easiest way to get started and doesn’t require money managers to be licensed or regulated. It’s also easier for clients to get started with, as on most platforms, it is just the click of a button to get started with.

A MAM account is more of a professional solution, but in some regions, will require the money manager to have a license and authorization to manage capital.

Read more about Best forex trading platforms.

What to Avoid When Choosing a Managed Account?

When choosing a managed account, ensuring the broker has the right technology to support the trading of client money is important. As money managers, it is essential to know that any trade you take on a master account will be executed seamlessly on all of the sub-accounts.

In my personal experience of managing client capital, another important factor is the safety and security of the broker. Investors will want to know that they are funding an account with a top broker and that their money is safe. Therefore, make sure the broker is highly regulated by a well-established financial body.

If you are choosing a managed account provider to follow, then be sure the platform allows you to view the performance of the trader with statistics that can measure the return as well as overall risk. The longer the track record, the better.

How to Avoid Forex and CFD Scams?

Unfortunately, there are many forex and CFD scams around. However, these can be avoided by doing thorough research beforehand. Leveraging the power of other experts and analysts through websites such as FX Empire can help you make more informed decisions.

It’s also wise to stick to regulated brokers in well-established jurisdictions that provide a high level of safety and transparency regarding your funds. Many managed account providers will use unregulated, offshore brokers, which provide zero or very little transparency and safety.

In the early days of managed accounts and social trading, there was a trend I witnessed that you also should be aware of. Some traders will lock off the ability to view the current open positions in the portfolio. This means they may only close winning positions to show very good results but have a lot of open losing trades. Only follow a trader or invest if open and closed trades are transparent.

Our Methodology

To select the best managed accounts, I have used the findings from our research team’s extensive 250 data point checklist used in our broker reviews and have also further refined the brokers according to the following factors:

• Highly regulated brokers – essential when managing other people’s money
• Offers MAM (multi-account manager) technology through MT4
• Offers copy trading solutions for those looking for a simpler option to manage investor capital or copy other traders
• High-quality customer support and service for managers and investors
• Customized solutions such as setting performance fees, spread markups, and multiple allocation methods
• Low trading spreads and commissions compared to the industry average

A higher amount of emphasis was placed on brokers who scored well in trust and platform and tools. This is because these are two of the most important factors for money managers when trading investor funds.

The safety, security, and trust of a broker are paramount for investors to feel safe in funding an account for you to trade. Or, if you are copying the trades of another trader you want to know that your funds are handled safely.

The broker also needs to have the right technology for trades to be executed as fast as possible but across hundreds or thousands of different accounts. Most money managers will use MAM and PAMM technology for this, which not all brokers provide.

We researched and checked for brokers that can be considered to provide the best managed account service by opening live accounts and testing the features ourselves, providing you with a great foundation to make a better choice.

Meet Our Writers

The team of forex and CFD writers and editors at FX Empire is composed of trading industry professionals and seasoned financial journalists. Our writers have been published on leading financial websites such as Investopedia and Forbes. In addition, they all have extensive trading experience.

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