Forum AMA with Duncan Leslie, Freetrade VP Product, Fri 5th Nov, 1 PM

This is a great question.

Not the most imaginative answer Iā€™m afraid, but I always think one of the biggest problems we need to solve for users is what to invest in next - how to discover the next best opportunity. Everybody needs to solve this problem somehow whether theyā€™re experienced or new to investing, so our job is to make it easier (without providing advice, of course!)

So on that level, something like Spotify has iterated over and over with their discovery features to help its users sift through millions of tracks and find something new and relevant for them. If they donā€™t do this well, people jump to the next streaming service. I think we can learn from this and help customers find the gems amongst the thousands of stocks on Freetrade.

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Hey @Duncan can you open your Spotify and tell us

  • Last song you listen to
  • Next song Spotify recommends for you.

ABBA? Swedish house mafia? Ace of Base? The cardigans?
:sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden::sweden:

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One thing Iā€™ve learned over 15 years working in product roles is that youā€™ll always have someone who doesnā€™t like the way your product works or is designed. Our job is to make our products solve as many problems for customers as possible in a better way than theyā€™re solving it already. But different people have different views and challenges with investing, so one product rarely works for everyone.

So, once weā€™re armed with that knowledge and sufficiently thick-skinned, the easiest trick in our bag is talking to customers as frequently as possible. This way we really understand why they use our product, why they do (or donā€™t) invest, what role Freetrade plays for them in their unique context. Really understanding this makes designing products a whole lot easier than if we just used our best guess or personal views. But sometimes people will still they they donā€™t like it :slightly_smiling_face:

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Thanks @Pedr

Good question. I canā€™t give you any dates for employer contributions to SIPPs. But I definitely recognise the pension industry today is broken. We want to fix it by giving everyone a better way to save for their retirement, rather than being invested into a choice of two or three funds that charge high fees and deliver average performance. Rest assured, this is on the roadmap for growing the Freetrade SIPP.

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Oops, I may have got to your second point too late, sorry. But you can open the original question from my response :sweat_smile:

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Of course. I recognise how important withdrawals (and deposits) are - people want to feel in control of their money at all times. Weā€™ve made improvements to both throughout the year, but Iā€™d still like to cut the time it takes for a withdrawal.

We donā€™t control settlement times unfortunately, so we make the money available in your account to withdraw as soon as weā€™re told it has settled (and sooner, if you want to that money trade again).

Weā€™re looking at how we can reduce the time to receive the money once you hit withdraw - weā€™re in the hands of the banks at this point, and rely on the speed of their processesā€¦ But theyā€™re gradually improving their tech, so Iā€™ll be first in line to test it out!

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As a 2-year Freetrade veteran, I assume I get a pass for this then? :sweat_smile:

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Thatā€™s really unfortunate. We define new as 3 years :joy:

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Gah! I thought it kept my listening habits private :headphones:

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On a lighter note how is the new office and are there any cool areas we should know about ? The pictures shown so far make it look like a very fun place to be!

Thanks for your thoughts @Peter, Iā€™ll be sure to let @Caitlin know :smiley:

As I mentioned above, weā€™re working on how Freetrade should look and feel across all platforms currently - not just as we work on web, but with all the new account types, larger stock universe, new features and so on. It could quickly get very cramped in there! But weā€™re on it. Watch this space :eyes:

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Thanks for the feedback. Giving access to share offers is definitely something Iā€™d like to add, so you get the best prices through Freetrade. I canā€™t say when but yes, Iā€™d say this is something weā€™ll offer in future.

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:wave: Hopefully Iā€™m better at product than time-keeping!

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Yep, thereā€™s a change to open banking coming called ā€˜variable recurring paymentsā€™. Catchy :wink:

Basically this means being able to move money easily, regularly and automatically from your bank account to your Freetrade account. Itā€™s also a whole lot less clunky and expensive than standing orders and Direct Debit. The banks have been mandated to implement this, so weā€™re waiting with bated breathā€¦

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Anytime!

Thatā€™s it for today folks - thanks for your questions, itā€™s been fun, I hope youā€™ve got some of the answers you hoped for, thereā€™s so much more to come!

Enjoy your weekends and look out for more insightful AMAs to follow soon.

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Thanks for jumping into the community bear pit @Duncan & @Freetrade_Team for setting this up.

image

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Thanks, @Duncan - it was really interesting! :pray:

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Thanks Duncan :+1:

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Thanks to @Duncan and to everyone who shared questions!

See you all next time for the next AMA, and have a great weekend in the meantime :wave:

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