FT making money is a necessity - everyone accepts that but how they make money matters.
This all feels too familiar to Monzoās Plus offering ie not what people want; lacking in final offering with hints of more to come; going against the FT āethosā (I realise that is essentially subjective).
CMC Markets is listed as moving to Plus but itās joining the FTSE250 tomorrow.
My two pennies.
I think FT has the right approach with this recent split of stocks between āFreeā and āPlusā. Some people may be unhappy about some individual stocks, but these are likely in the very small minority (they will just be the most active in complaining about it).
There may be some tweaks to be made, but this can be done after taking on some feedback.
My major concern however is that the jump between ISA and Plus is very large (Ā£84 per annum more). All for some order functions (which presumably cost FT nothing on a per unit basis), and a wider stock universe. If Plus is to include a SIPP, then this package starts to look very good value. But without it - I simply think it is missing the mark. If SIPPs are comingā¦ why not offer a Plus discount until SIPPs are ready?! This might increase adoption and I think everyone would appreciate this transparency.
āMuch much moreā is a very irritating feature. 
Any update of ETFs and plus, couldnāt see anything in the article?
ISA only is still Ā£3/m
Nothing is free, be glad you got that idea out your head sooner than later 
āFT making money is a necessityā, No one disputes that but at least do it by giving your customers value and features. They are still in their growth stage so surely attracting and holding onto users right now should be vital as once in, the liklihood is they will remain longterm. Plus just really isnāt value for money right now, many people are talking on here, twitter, YouTube about moving away from FT. The app is missing basic features and company stats and info that many other providers have as the norm. It feels like putting stocks behind a paywall is just a way of padding out Plus, trying to justify it as a feature, fill it with useful features and people will gladly pay for it. Maybe months down the line when SIPPS, potentially reduced fx fees etc and other features are available it will be good value. As this thread shows many people are now distrusting of Freetrade based on the handling of some of the freely tradeable stocks previously now being behind the paywall and wary of what else they will remove at a whim and add to the paywall.
No one is complaining about any Ā£3 monthly ISA you going off topic. Itās a slight inconvenience and itās nothing more. We donāt get that mistrust vibe from freetrade like some other platform. Itās not like they went into our portfolio and sold our stock position without any warning. If certain investors accept that on other platforms they shouldnāt talk about precedent on another.
This is the issue with this system. As the indexes are rebalanced people will find themselves inside or outside. Seriously clear communications will he needed here which Freetrade have often failed at.
Itās gonna turn into a farce at worse and a mess at best everytime a stock moves into or out of a certain index. Sorry guys you could buy it fine last month but not this one.
It would be better, IMO, if the universe just expanded every time a new company was added to an index but without having the drop outs removed. The issue will be even more confusing for some investors as companies that drop out of the FTSE100 will not be moved into Plus but those that drop out of the FTSE250 will. All of this is likely going to create a poor customer experience.
With the movement of stocks behind the paywall, and the relatively high cost of that product, versus say Stake, I will not be moving my US portfolio to Freetrade which is a real shame because as an investor I want to support them. I genuinely believe that Ā£10 is not only too much regardless of what is offered (given the comparisons in the US and Australia of ~Ā£5) but that the offerings do not justify anywhere near Ā£10 per month.
Superhero and Stake are, arguably, two products which most closely align to Freetrade and both of these companies are offering 6 months of premium for free to EVERYONE. That shows confidence in their product and, unlike Plus, does not result in people ending up trapped out of certain stocks.
Sorry if it was said but could someone explain what happens to peoples holdings of stocks that will move to the plus account if they donāt have plus?
You can sell them but you will not be able to add to the position.
Ah oK thank you!
Am sure freetrade will be offering plus free for at least 3 months when they finally launch, they previously offered isa free when that was launched also
No announcement though and that still doesnāt justify the price given what competitors are offering.
Does Viktor and Adam still engage with the community? They used to regularly contribute to customers concerns. It just doesnāt happen anymore.
Super confused on what Plus is.
I will not pay Ā£120 per year for a smallish isa account.
Freetrade will need to balance what longterm passive investors want as opposed to what regular traders & investors want.
Right now, I have no idea what Plus is and it seems confusing at best.
Personal Cons of FreeTrade right now:
ā¢ It takes up too much of my time.
ā¢ I cannot simply log in and spread Ā£200 across etf investments in a percentage based format.
The pros of FreeTrade are obvious. Itās just those two cons for me right now.
IMO this whole discussion about paywalled stocks gets solved in 2 seconds if Plus stocks could be purchased outside of the subscription for a small fee (e.g. Ā£1)
I couldnāt agree more. It would also save the admin of people signing up for a month at a time. I hope the Freetrade team read this and act on what youāve suggested.
EVERYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH THE PAYWALL SHOULD LIKE THE ABOVE POST AS A PRACTICAL SOLUTION.
They wonāt announce anything until its officially released, and as we know itās still WIP and the benefits will only grow eg sipp