Very true but we must remember the forum is a tiny % of the client base. Id prefer the CEOās energy be directed elsewhere. They did miss a trick by not hiring a community manager like Neil.
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This is the point I think. Personally, I couldnāt care less if the CEO or COO spends time on the forum but my problem is that nobody from FreeTrade really seems to. As someone else identified above, they will if they want votes or to crowdfund but I notice a lot of threads where people are requesting features or even reporting issues that are bothering them with absolutely no evidence of engagement from FreeTrade in return.
Having been on this forum for I think 14 months now, Iāve noticed a marked decline in traffic on this forum, itās a sad shadow of its former self. To be fair I think other forums are similar though so not just FreeTrade.
To go back to the strict topic though before someone decides to flag this, as I said previously, I donāt think most reasonable people would have an issue with price rises and I think itās clear to most realistic people that a company canāt run at a loss forever. I can only speak for myself, but my issues are: 1. the terrible messaging around this latest price rise. 2. The second change of price structure in less than 6 months which suggests a profound lack of thought or coordination in pricing strategy. 3. The increase in FX fees for Standard customers and the marked decline in service Iāve noticed as a Standard customer which makes me feel that Standard customers are becoming as unwelcome as Basic ones, even despite the fact that we pay good money towards the company. All of this makes me have real trouble seeing the justification in asking for these rises.
I wonder if there is a general lack of awareness on the part of companies, and not just FreeTrade to be fair, of the importance of intangible assets vs tangible ones. Obviously tangible ones can be seen - property plant and equipement or buildings and the like, but I think many companies plateau because they donāt recognise the imporance of good will in particular. Customers with good will can be very tolerant of missteps or sensitive to the needs of a startup company and will forgive an awful lot of things due to that good will. Word of mouth is also very important, do you want customers and others speaking well or ill of your company? Sap that good will, which is what I feel has been done here in a drip-drip effect, and you end up with a lot of first angry and then ex- customers!
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Hi Allan,
Bearing in mind the economic climate and the inflationary pressure on all companies at the moment do you feel the increase in prices are disproportionate?
Could you please elaborate on the decrease in service and the issues you have been having?
I already outlined the issues I see in a post that is now halfway up this thread. As an aside, if the whole forum was this popular, think how dynamic and busy an experience it would be!
But to try to answer your question, subjectively at least if not objectively, response times are definitley slower than they used to be. Iām not going to go back and look up exactly how much longer as I donāt wish to expend the time but I know that is a correct perception.
Otherwise there are niggles which I was willing to put up with before too many drips dropped in the drip drip effect. For example, my GSK shares still showing a ridiculous average of over Ā£19 as they have still not fixed it following the Haleon split, even though I both contacted support and raised it on this forum almost a year ago now.
I know all about inflationary pressures, Iām struggling to pay my own bills as it is. However, I do not think that companies should be increasing prices multiple times within a year, that just makes them look unprofessional and unprepared and makes me doubt whether they have actually thought of their short-term strategy, never mind middle- or long-term.
So to answer your other question ābearing in mind the economic climate and the inflationary pressure on all companies at the moment do you feel the increase in prices are disproportionate?ā Given the declining service, the lack of any action on issues that demonstrably deter new customers and the impression of total lack of forward-looking strategy, then yes, I absolutely do find a second price increase in nearly six months disproportionate.
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I try to remember that the biggest cost that most companies face is staff.
I can fully understand less communication on the forum when people are losing their jobs in other areas of the company, far more important than dealing with a lot of white noise on here.
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Absolutely correct and point well made. Which raises the further question that I raised above, is FreeTrade a viable business anymore?
Sorry to answer a question with a question, but is any business a viable business in the current economy? I think the real question is which businesses will survive the next year or so? If we knew that we might all be millionaires! I suspect, and hope, that Freetrade will survive, but who knows. Look at the banks at the moment, or energy companies a few months back. FreeTrade are doing the right things by the looks of it but maybe itās pot luck?
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Just for clarity, I pitched a cost-effective scheme that could save money AND have a part-time community manager. If the community isnāt nurtured and managed by the company there is no point in having the Freetrade name above the door. 
Thanks for your support as always @Big-g 
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You were the life and soul of the party when I arrived here @NeilB and was sad to see you step back. You taught me a great deal in my beginning days and FreeTrade is definitely less value without you being so active.
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As FT investor Iām worried, canāt do much about it really.
Iām founding member so I donāt have any fees, yet I have small amount on FT because of fx charges. I have my wifes ISA with FT, havenāt made any investments, just paid fess for 1 year, have to move that somewhere.
As other members articulated better, FT is super slow and not really competetive. Everyone is adult here so make decisions what suites better for you.
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Im still waiting on the answer to why my sell trades havenāt been executed.
I just got an annual statement for my pension (with Standard Life). Holy smokes, Iām getting shafted by the % management fees they charge.
Freetradeās fixed fee pricing looks far more reasonable now (even after the price rise!).
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The only YouTuber I watch is pension craft and his pod cast, the rest I just read online etc, pensioncraft does sponsor t212 it was vanguard before but I donāt care who he sponsors to be honest.
I just watch for info and many happy returns pot cast is a laugh as well.
Itās tasty isnāt it how much % do they take from you?
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A little over Ā£300, mostly made up of index funds and one managed fund.
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Interesting article: What next for Freetrade as big players launch rival apps? | This is Money
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āOur model inherently requires a certain degree of scale. Weāre very close to achieving that pointā¦ Weāll be profitable within 12 months.ā
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Nice to see something from Adam, It seems like a long time since Iāve heard anything from Adam or Viktor. which has led to a bit of a doom and gloom vibe on the forum. Itās positive that he says we are that close to profitability
My fear is that heās underestimating some of the cheaper competitors, Thatās not a new fear BTW. Heās been quite dismissive of competition for a long time. but companies like 212 seem to be gaining a lot of traction to me.
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Freetrade does have an advantage over the likes of 212 with their SIPP.
In terms of AUM potential, I see focus on SIPPs providing scope for growth.
ISA annual allowance is Ā£20k, SIPPs/pensions in the past had a limit of Ā£40k but this has just been increased to Ā£60k in the latest budget. Freetradeās SIPP provides a lot of value in terms of fees compared to others.
What Freetrade does need to do is to further improve their SIPP offering to encourage more account openings/transfers, things like allowing employer contributions and also a plan of what their drawdown will look like.
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