Expanded free and Plus stock universe šŸ”„ 18 SEPTEMBER 2020

Want expecting the free version to become a worse proposition. Losing access to about 10 stocks that I like.

I do agree with the pricing, I wouldnā€™t mind paying Ā£5-Ā£6pm (especially as I currently have no use for the ISA).

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Iā€™m hearing alot of good points on this thread, both critical and positive on certain moves and addition of new stocks.

Iā€™m sure the freetrade team are taking note even if they are slightly quiet on the responses. Me personally, I think this is probably the best way forward on balance, little concern over certain future ipoā€™s that might attract people over and then quickly put them off if the fee point isnā€™t managed properly to make it clear what is still available on free but I do firmly believe that those customers who have supported freetrade in their early days should benefit from being able to continue to buy the shares they already hold even if they go behind the pay wall.

Iā€™m not a developer, so I can probably guess this isnā€™t at all straight forward on the engineering side but just my opinion and would garner more of that respect that I know alot of the community have for the openness and progress so far that freetrade have made.

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I have had an II account for many years and it shows giving one free trade a month for Ā£9.99 and 7.99 after that even on the new charge schedule.- cannot see 30 free trades per month. Do you know which package that is shown on?

Just checked, itā€™s actually x25 trades a month free. Think you can get it in any account as part of their regular investing option. As mentioned earlier this is at a set date each month rather instantaneous trading

Thereā€™s nothing stopping you from dealing with shares you already own, ie you can hold or sell.

You just canā€™t buy new ones if they are pay-walled, unless you have Plus.

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Yeah I get that, I do see where youā€™re coming from there. Personally I think Freetrade are still in a bit of a chicken and egg stage.

Obviously weā€™re outside looking in a little bit, but It seems like they dont want to mess around with changing prices at any point. Ā£10 gets you in and thatā€™s that so to speak (presumablyā€¦)

I completely understand your decision to not go with Plus, I have mine as well.
I have a SIPP that cant be here, i have an ISA thatā€™s elsewhere as well, despite it having platform fees, its technically cheaper right now.

Even if it was cheaper at Freetrade I still have a chicken and egg issue with them. The app still needs work that id like to see before id be happy having significant amounts of money in it. It needs a website (or proper iPad app), it could really do with report generation and a documents area, lots of bug fixes, and Plus would need to have everything theyā€™ve posted in the announcement. Thats a confidence thing, I know my other brokers work very well and have a mature platform.

But I donā€™t think price (for me) makes that difference. I still likely wouldnā€™t pay for it at Ā£6 right now, but im not sure they should reduce the cost. imo, just because it doesnā€™t quite hit our needs right now doesnā€™t mean its not right. I do get the frustration though.

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Yeah that could work i would think it would be more difficult technically to implement now but thatā€™s definitely a solution.

I understand that Freetrade needs to make money but to move shares behind a paywall seems a little bit of a low move.

Having select international ones and more niche investments on a premium service makes sense but to take companies out of Freetrade into a plus version is unfair to the people who have invested in them already.

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For me if Iā€™m paying Ā£10 a month itā€™s more about plus whole package. if itā€™s something I got to subscribe to one month then unsubscribe next month I feel that would be inefficient and costly. I may end up missing a lot of buying opportunities when the stock dips and end up buying on highs when I have plus access. It might work for some people but i want to feel if Iā€™m paying for something itā€™s worth it all round and itā€™s not out of inconvenience that I have to add to a position in my portfolio.

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Thanks - cannot see that listed anywhere on the site or the rate card. Waiting to move everything to FT but some stocks require nationality declarations and think II will only allow a bulk transfer of all holdings.

The more "Free"Trade matures, the less I like it. The Free isnā€™t free, and the Trade has opaque prices. No more inflows from me. Iā€™ll close at leisure and move elsewhere.

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Really dispointed with this, to take back a availability is really not fair, iv got half mine in that list, so you give and then take back, EVIL,
So your not NO COM your liers
Thanks alot very upset

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No ones taken your stocks

I can see the disappointment and understand it for those who will not to take Plus. However, you wonā€™t have to sell, you just wonā€™t be able to buy more.

Could it be worth subscribing to plus for a month once or twice a year to buy all the ones you want?

Maybe FT could think about a small charge for a plus stock for those not on plus? I donā€™t know - maybe Ā£2 a share if you wish to make a purchase for a plus share? Could this be a good trade off?

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While I can appreciate simplifying the availability of stocks down to specific indexes, I feel thatā€™s going to confuse novice investors. Just look at the list of stocks being moved from free to behind the paywall, these include some well known companies (Halfords, Purplebricks, Restaurant Group, etc). If I were new to investing and noticed that these were behind a paywall, Iā€™d probably bypass FT altogether.

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FT has access to vast amounts of user data and secondary data from other sources which may inform the team of certain stocks that aline with their mission. If youā€™re displeased with FTā€™s decision, its cause you know more about investing then the average individual. FT want to reduce the risk of their users loosing money and separate the more informed with the Plus account. You canā€™t please everyone in life and after all FT is still a very young company at the end of the day.

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Yes I understand that,
But to rescrict access to purchasing stocks I have already built a postion on is unfair,
One should not give with one hand and take witht the other

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Disappointing to see the decision to split stocks between ā€˜basicā€™ and ā€˜plusā€™ (and presume ETFs to soon follow that course too). Whilst I get that you want to introduce a paying version to generate revenue, suddenly locking out existing users and forcing them to either move to plus or now only ā€˜hold/sellā€™ their stocks seems very underhand.

Also, I think you have pitched the cost of plus service too high. When you start charging Ā£9.99 a month / Ā£120 a year for your service, you lose your USP and put yourself in the same league as the other premium platform providers. However many of the features that they offer freetrade doesnā€™t yet have and whilst you plan to introduce some of them, items such as ā€˜limit ordersā€™ and ā€˜stop lossesā€™ should be basic features for all users anyway, not just plus users. If the cost was less, such a Ā£3-Ā£5 a month, I might have considered it more as a gesture to support freetrade than to access additional features/stocks (which I think should be available to all users anyway), but when itā€™s Ā£9.99 I would just prefer to use one of the other established platform providers. Sorry.

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Hey Richard. Can understand your frustration, but to balance your view FT has also gone the opposite way for its customers in its history (instant trades were not free last year)

If the Plus stocks are allowed to be traded for a small fee (Ā£1 per trade e.g.) and you wonā€™t have to get a subscription, does it seem like a good compromise between your interests and the FTā€™s to you?

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Yes I suppose that would be a very sensible compromise.
Separately, I would be interested to know how FT are choosing what stocks (and ETFs?) constitute Plus, whilst others remain available on basic.

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