Holding personal accounts and offering services involving another person’s portfolio are different activities. In the EU, copy-trading classification depends on the arrangement; authorization requirements cannot be generalized worldwide.

When holding several accounts makes sense, and when it does not

Several personal accounts can separate strategies, counterparties or contracts. Assess the reporting and operational work for each purpose; account count alone says nothing about diversification or trading skill.

For a hypothetical contrast, one strategy takes forty trades a week while another opens one position every ten days. Separate account reports can make their equity paths easier to compare, but a journal with strategy identifiers can also separate the records. Account separation does not itself create a profitable strategy.

Using different counterparties may limit concentration but does not guarantee recovery, liquidity or an insignificant loss after one fails.

Identify each legal entity, client classification and applicable jurisdiction before comparing account terms. Leverage and protections are product-specific; an offshore account is not automatically a controlled diversification benefit.

A volume step can prevent an exact allocation

Our model allocates 0.03 lots between two accounts at 60% and 40%. Each has a 0.01-lot minimum and step. Targets 0.018 and 0.012 are not valid step multiples.

Scroll sideways to see the full diagram

Discrete volume allocation between two accountsA fictional 0.03-lot target at 60/40 gives 0.018 and 0.012 lots. With minimum and step 0.01 on both accounts, truncating each gives 0.01 + 0.01 = 0.02. Allocating all 0.03 as 0.02 and 0.01 preserves the total but changes shares to two thirds and one third.THREE VOLUME STEPS, TWO ACCOUNTSTarget: 0.03 lots, shares 60% / 40%A: 0.018B: 0.012Minimum and step on each: 0.01 lotsA: 0.02B: 0.010.02 / 0.01 preserves the total.Shares: 66.67% / 33.33%, not 60% / 40%.Truncating both gives only 0.02 lots.

Custom assumptions for two accounts with matching contract specifications, minimum and step. No other positions, limits or costs. This example describes no default MAM/PAMM policy and establishes no equal risk shares. The MQL5 — Symbol Properties document confirms separate minimum-volume and volume-step properties.

The top bar shows a continuous target. The lower bar has three permitted steps and different shares.

Show target, actual volume and remainder as separate allocation-report columns. This model cannot preserve both exact 60% / 40% shares and the entire 0.03 lots. Assigning the remaining step requires an explicit rule; the result must not still be labeled exact 60% / 40%.

How MAM and PAMM on MetaTrader 5 really work

MAM and PAMM arrangements depend on the broker and software implementation. Check the actual allocation methods and account controls rather than assuming two universal built-in MT5 modes.

Equal-lot and balance- or equity-weighted allocation can produce different exposures. Proportional volume does not guarantee equal percentage risk when contracts, costs, stops or existing positions differ.

Three allocation models in MAM and PAMM, short characterisation
Allocation by lotVolume follows the lot-size parameters assigned to the individual sub-accounts
Allocation by balanceVolume scales in proportion to the balance of each sub account
Allocation by equityVolume scales with current equity, taking open positions into account
Practical consequenceCheck actual volume, percentage risk, costs and available margin on every account

For personal accounts, use supported account switching or separate terminal instances as appropriate. In MT5, logging in with an investor password permits observation but not trading. Account switching and chart profiles are different operations; desktop settings can disable automated trading when either changes. Do not assume a universal MT5 multi-terminal mode or a client-count exemption from authorization.

The red line — when managing other peoples accounts requires authorisation

In the EU, automatic copying without further client action can qualify as portfolio management. Classification depends on the actual service.

Fees alone do not classify every course or messenger channel as an investment service. Assess discretion, recommendations and order handling.

Regulatory and dispute consequences depend on jurisdiction and facts. Absence of authorization does not establish an automatic stronger civil position or eliminate every dispute route.

An illustrative situation that locates the line clearly

In a hypothetical model, account A has equity of USD 10,000 and B has USD 5,000. A planned stop loss of USD 100 on each represents 1% on A and 2% on B; together USD 200 is 1.33% of USD 15,000. A 1% budget on each would instead be USD 100 plus USD 50, or 1% of combined equity. These are price-loss budgets before costs and slippage, not maximum-loss guarantees. If both accounts hold the same directional trade, splitting it does not diversify that exposure.

General discussion differs from discretionary management. Personalized recommendations can still require a regulatory assessment even without a fee.

Submitting discretionary orders on another person’s portfolio calls for a jurisdiction-specific authorization assessment; informal wording does not settle it.

Automated copying needs a case-specific regulatory assessment. Subscriber count alone does not prove inevitable enforcement.

Broker and account choice in a multi-account setup

Assume the trader meets the preconditions and wants to run two or three personal accounts. Check each contracting entity’s authorisation to serve the trader’s country, contract, account currency, instruments and dispute route. A second account at a different broker may offer different instruments or terms, but a shared brand or an EU address does not guarantee uniform reporting or protections. Assess regulatory and tax consequences for every account rather than reserving those checks only for entities outside Europe.

Record each account’s currency and translate combined reporting consistently. Tax currency-conversion rules depend on jurisdiction and activity.

Keep an internal transfer separate from trading profit

In a hypothetical PLN report, A starts with PLN 10,000 and B with PLN 5,000. Transfer PLN 2,000 from A to B with no trades or fees. During processing, the accounts may show PLN 8,000 and PLN 5,000, with PLN 2,000 in transit: the reconciled total remains PLN 15,000. After receipt, PLN 8,000 plus PLN 7,000 is still PLN 15,000. Counting only visible account balances during transit would invent a 13.33% loss. Use matched transfer records, avoid counting the amount twice and do not treat it as available margin at either broker before it is credited.

What to do tomorrow if you are considering multiple accounts

  1. Audit expectancy, drawdown and combined exposure. A 20% drawdown threshold does not itself establish whether a second account helps.
  2. Define a written purpose for each account. Record the strategy, entity, contract and reporting needs it serves, then check combined exposure. More leverage increases the exposure that may be opened; it does not by itself establish diversification or a suitable risk budget.
  3. Set up a combined journal across all accounts. One spreadsheet with separate tabs, a single reporting currency, daily booking of closed trades and a uniform risk scale. Without that, two accounts quickly become two independent stories that say very little about the actual capital curve.
  4. Before handling others’ portfolios or offering copying, assess the service and jurisdiction. No-fee status alone does not establish an exemption.
  5. Verify the exact broker entity, permissions, warnings and applicable client protections in official registers. Do not assume every regulator provides an investor compensation scheme.

Related reading: multiple broker accounts, how to choose a regulated broker, MiFID II in the European legal framework, and copy trading services and their regulatory limits.