How many users now?

Freetrade Chat šŸ”„
2255

I have done my part too!!! 5* to Freetrade :muscle:t3:

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2256

Have added a 5* review. Not like it isnt the truth!

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2257

Same here, 5 stars to Freetrade!:rocket:

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2258

Donā€™t forget to vote for the awards too guys! Team really deserve it :facepunch:t3:

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2259

Does anyone have the link to the awards?

2260

Perhaps we need another thread for positions in App Storeā€¦ and ratings on Trust Pilot.

Get overly excited when I see notifications against this threadā€¦ and equally disappointed to read that there is no update on user count. :joy::joy:

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2261
2262

I do agree :joy:

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2263

Whoa back to 4 stars at least!

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/freetrade.io

Keep leaving honest reviews, if you havenā€™t already

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2264

Thatā€™s the power of our community :ok_hand:t3:

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2265

Just to update on numbers, managed to get another friend to signup last night, user #503,16X

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2266

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2267

Its actually terrifying reading some of thr 1* reviews. People actually think theyā€™ve lost money because they couldnā€™t buy shares yesterday.

Half a million users!!! Mad!

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2268

Exactly. Perhaps those that werenā€™t able to buy shares that went down will now leave us a 5 star review for helping them to avoid losing money. Yeah right! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

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2269

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The reviews still get me :sob::joy::joy: but in all seriousness donā€™t forget to leave a review on the AppStore for Freetrade

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2270

Yep, this was my point above:

But this thread is on :fire::fire: :laughing:

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2271

Wow!

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2272

Added my review too. Well done all, what a week!

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2273

How they communicate throughout on different platforms when it happen was a great job Iā€™m not knocking that. For you to say itā€™s nonsensical is someone who lacks understanding of what transpired on a deeper level. The research is out there. Anyway we all have a choice, we can either just sit here and be excited about every user growth milestone or research and understand the broader world of investing and the effects & risks when it comes to behavioural economics.

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2274

I would be interested in digging a bit deeper into this.
Letā€™s talk about risks to Freetrade:

  • Since itself is FCA regulated with customer accounts segregated and no position taken, there is zero risk to them from the market direction point of view, strictly talking about market risk.
  • In terms of clearing/collateral risk, we need to distinguish between UK and US equities.
  • for US equities, I doubt that Freetrade is a clearing broker like Robinhood, as that would need massive amount of capital vs. what Freetrade has. So I can only assume that they are a broker and use a different clearing broker. As it was disclosed by RH, the collateral requirement has increased 10x due the $GME and other r/wallstreetbets favorites volatility. There is still the risk that whoever is their clearing broker, can hit collateral constraints, which could be passed on to FT, resulting in further restrictions. I hope they use a big player and this wonā€™t be the case.
    Also, very important to realize. FT doesnā€™t allow margin accounts and doesnā€™t allow options like RH. Both these factors have a massive impact on the collateral requirements, which together with the increased volatility cause Robinhood to almost become insolvent.
  • For UK, have no idea how they are setup. I assume they also use another clearing entity, but the volume in UK names hasnā€™t increase drastically anyway, for now. This can change of course, if there is a massive selloff.

We also have to keep in mind that being FCA regulated means they have to obey the rules and regulations imposed after GFC. Which means that, where applicable, you need to have the required capital for extreme scenarios. (stress tested in extreme market conditions, etcā€¦)

Now, if you are hinting about market conditions and imminent selloff, that is another story. Yes, it can affect FT growth, yes it can put people off investing for some time, but that is the risk in operating in the equities investment domain. FT themselves keep pushing long term outlook, investing, not taking un-necessary risk, donā€™t leverage, etc.

Disclaimer: I have no inside knowledge into Freetrade and only limited experience with equity investment regulations in general.

Links:

  • RH update on increase collateral requirements: What happened this week ā€” Under the Hood
  • How FT keeps customers secure: Keeping your money safe
    This bit describes how US stocks are dealt with:
    ā€œWhen you invest in US-listed stocks, we hold them in custody at a third-party SEC-registered broker (the Security and Exchange Commission, which regulates US securities markets). Our customersā€™ stocks are held in a designated customer account at the broker, and cannot be mixed with Freetradeā€™s own assets or used to settle our debts. Similar to the UK securities being held in CREST, your US stocks are ultimately held in DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation). Currently, some customersā€™ US stocks are still held by Freetrade Nominees Limited in CREST, but we are in the process of fully migrating US stocks to our third-party broker.ā€
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