Compare the best managed forex accounts in 2023

By:

James Knight

James is a lead editor for Invezz, where he covers topics from across the financial world, from the stock market, to cryptocurrency, to macroeconomic markets. His ... read more.

Updated: Aug 5, 2023

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Get started in minutes with our preferred broker, Skilling.

9/10

82% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

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This beginner’s guide takes you through what a managed account is and how it works. Then get some advice as to the key things to look out for and have your most important questions answered.

Best fx managed accounts overall for 2023

Where can I find the best managed accounts?

If you just want to get started, these are best forex trading platforms to sign up for an account. You can head to their websites using the links in the table below, or keep reading to learn more about how to pick between them.

Most Popular

1

Min. Deposit

$ 10

Best offer

User Score

10

Join the Social Trading revolution. Connect with other traders, discuss trading strategies, and use our patented CopyTrader

eToro is the world’s leading social trading platform, offering a wide array of tools to invest in the capital markets

Largest number of currency pairs to trade

Start Trading more info

Payment Methods:

Bank Transfer, Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Wire Transfer

Full Regulations:

CySEC, FCA

77% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

2

Min. Deposit

$ 250

Best offer

User Score

9.0

Muti asset broker with the top currencies at your fingertip

Forex Trading - Available 24/7 with 0% trading fees

Dedicated Senior Account manager to guide you through the platform

Start Trading more info

Payment Methods:

Credit Card, Debit Card

Full Regulations:

HCMC in Greece

3

Min. Deposit

$ 0

Best offer

User Score

9.0

Open a free account in minutes

Go global with fee-free foreign exchange

Finance tracking made simple

Start Trading more info

Payment Methods:

Credit Card, Debit Card

Full Regulations:

Top 5 forex managed accounts, reviewed

1. eToro. Best for beginners, copy-trading & demo-account

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1500

No. assets

$10

Minimum deposit

Forex

Platform type

Pros & Cons

Great for beginners, simple to set up and get started Zero commission stock trading Popular ‘CopyTrader’ function lets you follow top traders Excellent customer service, with live chat support provided Over 2,000 CFDs available to trade

Comparatively high fees for withdrawals and account inactivity Does not integrate with the MetaTrader platform High spreads on some assets

Overview

We love eToro because it’s an easy place to trade the currency markets. Forex can be intimidating, but eToro strips back the complexity to give you a platform where you can trade 50+ currencies at competitive prices and with up to 30x leverage.

As well as being a broker that offers lots of investor protection, eToro offers a very social trading experience. You can easily see how all the major and minor forex pairs are performing every day, track how investors feel about every one of those currencies, and copy other people’s trade suggestions from your desktop or the eToro app.

The fees: eToro charges a fee on currency CFD trades through the spread. Spreads are variable depending on the currency and start from 1 pip for EUR/USD trades, 1.5 pips for EUR/GBP, and 2 pips for GBP/USD. Overnight and weekend fees apply.

Visit eToro eToro Review

77% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

2. Capitality. Best for trading like a pro

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...

No. assets

...

Minimum deposit

Forex

Platform type

Pros & Cons

Trade 2000+ CFDs in six markets Access institutional quality web trading platform Comprehensive market knowledge and education section

Unregulated offshore broker registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines Relatively high initial deposit required

Overview

We love Capitality because it gives regular investors the means to trade with pro data and tools. Capitality offers 2100+ financial instruments, including 80 currency pairs. 

The Capitality web trading terminal gives you access to live market data, real time quotes, and super-fast trade execution, all without needing to download anything. There’s also a free economic calendar that lets you know when the big financial events happen so you can plan your trades accordingly.

The fees: Capitality charges its fees through the spread. Spreads start from 0.1 pips for major forex pairs but can be significantly higher for minor and exotic pairs.

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What is managed account?

It’s a forex trading account that’s controlled by a professional. Managed accounts are similar to a stock market fund, where you provide the money and someone else makes the decisions, but they’re more of a formal arrangement where you give somebody else the power to make trades on your behalf.

This type of account is best suited to beginners who want to trade forex but don’t feel they have the expertise to do so. It also might be the preferred route for someone who doesn’t have the time to research different currencies and build their own trading strategy.

How does it work?

By effectively giving someone else full control of your account. You sign up through a forex broker and then sign an agreement that permits the account manager to make transactions for you.

As far as you’re concerned, that’s virtually all you have to do. The manager then makes decisions on which currency pairs to trade based on their own experience and the trading signals they use. You can set some guidelines over which factors the manager should consider before making a trade but for the most part they’re left to their own devices.

How to set up a managed forex account – a step-by-step guide

1. Research the options. You should look around and compare all the options available. Choose an account based on things like its trading strategy, the currency pairs it’s interested in, and the size of your budget.
2. Sign up for an FX broker. Once you’ve chosen who you want to manage your account, you need to sign up for the broker that provides it. This is usually simple but you should be prepared to provide some personal information and verify your account with a form of ID.
3. Subscribe to the managed account. Before you can use one of these accounts you need to subscribe to it. Read through the prospectus and make sure you understand the fee structure before you agree to anything.
4. Sign the relevant documents. To let someone else trade on your behalf you need to sign a contract. It’s known as a Limited Power of Attorney Agreement (LPOA) that allows a third party to make your money decisions, within a fixed forex remit.
5. Transfer money. Once your documents are approved you should be given the account details so that you can fund it and the manager can start trading. After that, your work is done and it’s up to them to make the right decisions.

Things to look out for

Before you sign up to anything you should compare accounts in order to pick the best one. Compare basic features like the design and how easy to use a platform is to start with, and then use the factors below to choose an account that works for you.

Fees

A managed account is usually much more expensive than trading forex yourself. You might have to pay a fee to cover the costs of trading, or an annual fee to use the account. Those annual fees can be high: as much as 30-40% a year is not uncommon.

Other accounts make money by charging a percentage of monthly profits. Again, expect that figure to be high, and it can be between 20-40% of the money the account makes each month.

Minimum deposits

Another feature of this type of account is that you sometimes have to put down a substantial deposit to start using one. The range of minimum deposits is wide, and at the lower end there are some platforms that ask for just $50-100. It’s more common to see $500-1,000, while in some cases you have to deposit tens of thousands to use an account.

Trading system

Different managers use different indicators to decide which currencies to trade. Some use simple technical indicators like support and resistance levels, others might go for more complicated strategies. The account prospectus should give you this information and you can use it to compare the options on offer.

Past performance

Past performance is no guarantee of future success but it is something that should factor into your decision. To start with, you want to make sure the broker publishes a history of its account. If there’s no way to verify how well a manager has done, it’s best to steer clear completely. 

Otherwise, you want to check that the account’s methods have met with some success in the past. If it’s trading using a specific set of indicators, then you want proof that they work before you invest your money.

Types of account

There are different types of managed accounts available. There is the traditional individual account, where you sign over control to a manager who controls your money and yours alone. Then there are pooled accounts, which are much more like a mutual fund where the manager controls money that’s contributed by lots of different investors.

Individual accounts mean that the manager is more focused on achieving the best for you, while pooled accounts let you spread the fees with other investors. You might be able to choose a pooled account that focuses on a particular trading strategy or set of currency pairs.

Additional features

Forex trading relies on leverage in order to make big enough trades to profit from tiny price changes. The amount of leverage a platform offers is something to consider. As is the range of currencies available. 

An account that sticks to the major pairs with low leverage might be less risky. One that trades the exotics with lots of leverage could open up the potential for big wins, as well as the risk of much bigger losses as well.

Quick answers to key questions

Are managed accounts safe to use?

The ones that are provided by regulated forex brokers are perfectly secure. However, there are a lot of malicious actors out there and you should beware of loud and unverifiable claims about how much money you can make.

Can I sign up with more than one forex broker?

There is no limit to the number of brokers you can have an account with. Just note that setting up multiple managed accounts might be very expensive.

Should I let someone manage my forex account?

Possibly, if you don’t have the time, expertise, or psychology to trade currencies but want to try to make money from it. Managed accounts can be useful for beginners or people who don’t want to learn the ropes themselves. However, they certainly aren’t for everyone. They’re more expensive than regular forex trading accounts and there is no guarantee of success. 

If you are thinking about using one you should spend time comparing accounts. It pays to think long and hard before committing your money to somebody else and you want to be sure that they can be trusted and are likely to perform better with it than you could. 

Still undecided?

Here is a final summary of the pros and cons of using a professionally managed account. Use these to help you come to a final decision about whether it’s for you.

Where can I learn more?

Here at Invezz we have lots of content that covers the forex markets. You can learn how to trade forex, follow the latest news, or head to our education section in order to find out more about how the market works.