Hi,
I bought APPL at 132.91 usd (as stated in contract note) and current price listed by FTrade shows 134.84 usd.
However Freetrade lists the stock a loss of -0.16%. Oopsy!
Does anyone know what exactly is going on here?
Does the FT profit/loss include any fees (such as FX fees)?
So in USD you have a gain but if converting back to GBP you have a loss. FT shows the latter.
ok got it. Thanks.
Wish we could hold USD on FT.
Definitely. There are a couple of stocks I held on to yesterday because the exchange rate was so bad, and then they crashed even more anyway.
But given that FX fees are one of the few ways FT make money, such a system would need some thought because otherwise theyād lose a lot.
If itās ISA you are referring to then it can be held in GBP only in accordance with HMRC rules you cannot hold foreign currency in an ISA.
I did not mention ISA anywhere in my post.
What about EURs or AUD? Freetrade are soon to launch in EUR countries and in Australia.
So they can let us hold different currencies.
You didnāt mention ISA and neither did you mention GIA. Hence the first word in the sentence starts with a āIfā.
Thereās an idea here from a while ago but still good to get the latest perspective from FT on a multi-currency GIA account.
Absolutely 
Point taken
Would be a game changer to have a multi currency account. Right now I can make a loss because of FX fees.
I asked FT earlier if they applied an FX fee to dividends, and they said āno, not yetā. Applying FX fee to divs could make investments in Freetrade pointless to a certain degree: Itās my passive income that supports me throughout this covid jobless era, and a .45% fee on a div would affect me adversely.
Iād rather not have a fee on dividends, but honestly 0.45% of the dividend is unlikely to make all that much difference, and youāre unlikely to find a much cheaper FX rate anywhere else anyway.
Probably not cheaper elsewhere, but it could cost 4.50 gbp on 1000 gbp, which is also 4 to 5 kilogrammes of rice or pasta, or a few boxes of Weetabix.
exactly 
Ā£4.5 in Ā£1000 is hardly pointless 
ok ok ok
I guess the point Iām making is that Freetrade need to make their money somehow and the FX rate was clearly advertised as such when you signed up. The fact youāre not being charged an FX fee at the moment for dividends is an extra bonus, but not what you agreed to.
However, the other point is that being able to keep funds in USD would be advantageous. There probably needs to be some way for Freetrade to make some profit so you donāt keep reusing the same money and earning them nothing, e.g. maybe you have two pots, one you get charged an FX fee to do GBP to USD, and another that receives USD when you sell shares. To convert from either pot back to GBP you can pay the FX fee and when you buy shares, it uses it from the non-sell pot for free if if can, and any extra it has to take from the sell pot has an FX fee charged. That way Freetrade still earn some money for supporting foreign trades, but we can also avoid exchanging an unfavourable rates.
This plan isnāt very well thought out, but itās the start of an idea. But like I said, the current FX fees are reasonable, itās just the fact we have no control over when we do the conversion that works against us.
Absolutely, and am relieved they do not.
The different currency pots you described is a good idea.
Hi,
I put in a feature request here. Love to have your votes.
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