Add additional revenue streams

So i love the idea of a free trading account (hence why i am here of course) but my concern is over time it may be difficult to keep it free, e.g. maybe not enough Alpha accounts are created etc?

What are your thoughts about maybe allowing advertising on the platform or some other such revenue generating process?

(this is where you say ā€œhey Stephen check out this other thread where we already answered that ā€¦ā€ :joy:)

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Do not think it was anywhere yet.

Speaking in regards to the topic - if only margin trading was to be available - Freetrade could make money on lending cash that sits in other peopleā€™s accounts. I guess the market rate is 15-20% interest PA for the margin trading.

And, of course, reserve the right to sell if shares fall close to the breakeven, i.e. with 80% margin, 20% loss could trigger an immediate sell - as a minor prize, even non-Alpha customers could get that transaction free of charge hence Ā£1 saving at least :grin:

Edit: or some sort of relevant advertisement for Basic users

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If you havenā€™t already, itā€™s worth reading their blog post from last summer - How a zero fee stockbroker makes money :slight_smile:

Of course, optimising costs is only a part of how we can provide free trades. We have a freemium model, i.e. users will have the option to subscribe to premium services. Similar to how Amazon Prime offers unlimited fast delivery or how Spotify gives extra features like download, weā€™ll provide value-add premium services. Itā€™s the global standard in tech. :iphone:

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When we polled the community a few months ago, about half of the respondents said they would pay for Alpha. :muscle:

So, we are off to a good start! But we are not being presumptuous about it, and weā€™ll maintain a focus on building out this account.

Our goal is to make Alpha so overwhelmingly good that it feels like a much better deal than our basic service.

We donā€™t see room for revenue coming from things that donā€™t add value to you, as a customer. So, no advertising. :no_good_woman:

Great question though, and would love to hear thoughts - especially about what youā€™d like to see in Alpha! Disagreements welcome, too.

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When SIPPs are to be released, would you not agree that Ā£10 is too low for all of its features + SIPPs? Are there any thoughts on inflating the price or coming up with the 3rd tier premium that would incorporate more than Alpha?

We wonā€™t be offering margin trading or other forms of leverage - these are toxic products in our view (and the FCAā€™s) that only serve to magnify losses for most customers. Consider that if you paid the interest rate you quote, 15-20% pa, you would need to massively outperform the average market return just to break even, let alone achieve the same expected return from a passive strategy.

I know other brokers make a lot of money off these types of things, including Robinhood in the US, but we never will as we care about our customers and their investment outcomes.

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Thanks for the response. Certainly leverage may not suit the majority of the customers but that was only an income-related suggestion.

If Alpha subscription would cover all of the overheads that would simply be great, but will it? :thinking:

ā€œAfter many hours of thought, debate and number-crunching, Iā€™m proud to unveil Freetradeā€™s pricing model.ā€ - literally the first paragraph of ā€˜Introducing our pricing modelā€™ article.

The whole article answers your question as it implies that this pricing model is one they believe/forecast will be sustainable as well as ethical.

P.S. Please stop suggesting price increases :wink:

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I am sorry, probably because I still cannot believe that you can have all of that for just Ā£10!:no_mouth:

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Itā€™s good to evaluate Freetrade to gain comfort! I think itā€™s important not to under estimate the massive cost benefits a digital broker has vs a legacy broker using old expensive systems requiring large teams and paper-based operations.
Starting fresh leads to huge efficiencies as well as the ability to innovate and adapt to what customers actually want and will pay for! If people like it theyā€™ll share it with friends, so no marketing spending needed.

P.s. it looks like itā€™s only Ā£8.33 per month if you pay Ā£100 in one go! :+1:t3:

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How do Adam.

This is a shame, as I was hoping you would offer trading stocks on margin as a product. The FCA is right on so many levels, but there are nuances.

Trading with margin has been a game-changer for so many of usā€¦ and many of the worldā€™s most successful traders that started with balances in the thousands. I wonā€™t be opening an account with FreeTrade given the above and hope youā€™ll consider your position in time.

Margin is a mainstay of my trading, though I am one of many that would love to see improved fees / rates / transparency of product vs the incumbents.

  • I agree complex spread betting products have no place in a service like Freetrade, why not consider offering margin on basic stock trades to experienced investors?

  • Regarding experience, how about a qualification process for more experienced traders?

  • If you see exploitative interest rates and fees applied, why not offer a better product than your competitors?

Thereā€™s a clear opportunity for you guys here imhoā€¦ and an opportunity for a better, fairer, simpler product that is a win-win for all involved.

Thanks for reading.

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How much does the leverage cost you @BobDubya? Iā€™ve always felt that margin trading is way too risky.

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I think Freetrade is for people like myself, people who want to get into investing but without having expert knowledge and without being stung by fees from complex products/services we donā€™t understand - which is what is probably keeping these types of people away from investing in the first place. Their mission is to make investing accessible to people like myself and I think itā€™s right they retain that focus and make a difference in this ā€˜mainstreamā€™ space first before considering anything else

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If a fish canā€™t swim itā€™s dead. If someone canā€™t margin trade on Freetrade they can just use another service.

Offering a service that you believe is toxic doesnā€™t change its nature just because you charge less for it or have some make believe system for defining someone as a professional and competent.

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Thatā€™s the other thing, thereā€™s plenty of companies that offer margin trading already in the UK so itā€™d be difficult to offer anything truly unique here.

We think we have a bigger opportunity to do that by providing a service for long term investors, which is much more ethical because itā€™s aligned with our userā€™s interests. Whereas most day traders lose money.

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My investment style - Small, steady, consistent, long term ! #FREETRADE.

Will the numbers of people subscribing ISAā€™s and Alpha be in the public domain and updated regularly?
Like most others on here itā€™s in my interest that Freetrade makes money and succeeds long term !

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