Investment programmes
Two ways to take part without giving up control
Mirror another trader's activity on your own account, or allocate to a pooled money-management programme — both run from the account you already have, and both carry market risk.
Copy trading
Mirror another trader's activity on your account
When you copy a trader, positions they open and close are mirrored on your account. Your money stays in your account, and the size of your allocation stays under your control.
How it works
Step 1
Choose a provider
Review the traders available to follow inside the platform, including the activity they have recorded.
Step 2
Decide your own allocation
You choose how much of your account to allocate — the amount never leaves your control.
Step 3
Positions are mirrored
Positions the provider opens are reflected on your account while you are copying.
Step 4
You can stop at any time
You can stop copying from your account, and mirrored positions stay yours to manage.
What to check before you start
Track record
Look at the activity the provider has actually recorded on the platform, not at what is promised elsewhere.
Risk
Mirrored trades carry the same market risk as any trade you place yourself — losses are possible on every position.
Past results
Past results are not a reliable indicator of future results, and nothing here guarantees an outcome.
PAMM
Pooled money-management programmes
In a PAMM programme, participants allocate funds to a single programme and a manager trades it according to the programme's rules. Allocations, trades and outcomes are recorded so participants can review what happened.
Who does what
Investor
You choose a programme and decide how much to allocate — the allocation size stays under your control.
Manager
The manager trades the programme's positions according to the rules that programme publishes.
Records
Programme activity and your allocation are recorded in your account so you can review them.
What to check before you start
The rules of the programme
Read how the programme is run, what the manager may do with it and how allocations are handled before you commit funds.
Activity you can review
Make sure you can review the programme's recorded activity before joining, and keep reviewing it while you take part.
Risk
A pooled programme carries market risk like any other position: its value can go down as well as up.
Side by side
Compare the two
| Comparison | Copy trading | PAMM |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | Choose a provider and set the allocation you want to mirror. | Choose a programme and allocate funds to it. |
| Who controls the trades | The provider you follow opens and closes the trades. | The programme manager trades the pooled funds under the programme's rules. |
| You can stop | You stop copying from your account at any time, and keep managing the positions already mirrored. | Your allocation remains yours; the programme's rules set out how you stop taking part. |
| Risk | Mirrored positions carry market risk, and past results do not guarantee future results. | Pooled positions carry market risk — the value can go down as well as up. |
Risk on investment programmes
Investment programmes carry the same market risk as your own trading, and allocation sizes stay under your control.
Risk warning: Trading financial instruments involves significant risk and may not be suitable for everyone. The value of investments can go down as well as up, and you may lose the capital you invest. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Consider your financial situation and risk tolerance before trading.
Decide with the full picture
Open an account to take part, or read the learning hub first and come back when the mechanics are clear.