Making the Move (Another One Bites The Dust)

Freetrade Chat šŸ”„
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Iā€™ve just found out that as of this year, we can now open and pay cash into multiple S&S ISAs at once provided we donā€™t exceed our annual threshold.

Iā€™ve been looking into Trading 212 for a while and just took a look, and itā€™s an eye opener.

After exploring the app, it appears all the things Iā€™ve been asking for here over the past four years have already happened there: (Iā€™m providing this list to shed light on what I feel most people here are in need of from Freetrade)

  1. AVCO
  2. Trailing stops
  3. Buy stops
  4. Pre / post market access / trade execution
  5. Overnight 24/5 access / trade execution
  6. Instruments to short individual US stocks to hedge investments
  7. Charts which show volume, and a line for avg price
  8. Real-time pricing, tick by tick (even low liquidity ETF prices update by the second)
  9. An API

So, after almost exactly 4 years with Freetrade, Iā€™ve decided itā€™s time to make the switch as I need these features in order to be able to accurately execute, track, and assess the progress of investments.

I will miss the excellent communication here in the community from the team at Freetrade - Thatā€™s definitely one thing I think Freetrade excels at, especially if thereā€™s an issue. The fixes have always been prompt and the level of service is truly outstanding. The community itself is a great bunch of helpful, friendly folks.

Overall, I think it has mainly been the lack of speed in development and implementation of everyoneā€™s suggestions and ideas over the years which has left me feeling as though we Freetraders are now somewhat behind the curve compared to investors using other platforms. I have also been seeing it mentioned more and more in this community. I know deep down, if more of the above features had been implemented in that time, I wouldā€™ve been happy to stay with FT.

Being new to investing in 2021, Freetrade was a fantastic app to use as a beginner and learn the ropes on, and Iā€™m glad I chose it at the time. What it did have to offer, was 99% of the time, easy and trouble free - and for that, Iā€™m very thankful.

Thanks to the excellent team, all the best to everyone here, and I hope that in the not too distant future, Freetrade can eventually roll out the features everyone has been asking for.

Happy investing everyone! :slight_smile:

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Do you know if they can except SIP/SAYE and BAYE transfers ?

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Sorry, I donā€™t know on that one.

I realised the transfer process can take a large amount of time (up to 4 weeks for cash and 6 weeks for shares), plus potential hassle.

As I havenā€™t made hardly any deposits this tax year, the year is nearly over, and my account balance is below the threshold, Iā€™m withdrawing the funds instead.

That way Iā€™ll have the funds within a few days and can get straight back to it.

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@acamp take note

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I like the good natured honesty of your post @DirkDickens and I hope that one day thereā€™s a reason for you to come back

But I also I hope, and expect, that reading this pains @Viktor as much as it pains me and other Crowdfunders :slightly_frowning_face:

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Autopilot??? Iā€™ve been waiting impatiently for 6 years !

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Thereā€™s a balance to be had, if Freetrade implemented all of these updates and then increased the fee I would be looking for another broker. For a long term HODL investor using the ISA and SIPP none of these features bring any added value at all in my opinion.

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Please let us know how you find T212. I opened a cash ISA with them and quite like the UI and how you can see your daily interest. For me Iā€™m now in my 3rd year with FT and my biggest gripes as a paying ā€œstandardā€ customer are some of the features plus users get as standard such as faster withdrawals, which I think should be a basic feature. Iā€™m also buying more US stocks so the 0.15% FX fee is another attraction. This year will be decision time for me also.

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I agree, I can see how someone trading would need these features, but as a mostly buy and hold investor I donā€™t actually care about any of them

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This! It has pained me so much as an investor to see T212 eating FTā€™s lunch over the years. Iā€™m fearful with T212 set to launch a Sipp and Lisa in the months ahead.

I only tried 212 tentatively as it offered stocks FT didnā€™t and there was zero sign of progress adding them. I once requested a stock here and I didnā€™t even get a response for some four years.

I asked for a dozen or so over there and they were all added to the platform the same day.

Thatā€™s the biggest differentiator for me: T212 listens and acts on what its customers want.

For this reason, Iā€™d wager T212ā€™s Sipp will quickly overtake FTā€™s offering feature-wise despite the latter having a three-four year head start because it iterates quickly as good tech companies do.

Similar to @Mattywallace and @Dave, I could hardly care less about most of the features listed by the opening poster because theyā€™re trading focused. But others do, so T212 delivered them.

The broker offers many other advantages for investors too, including but not limited to:

  1. Lower cost: As an example, when 212 launches a Sipp in the new tax year, it will more than halve my costs. It will be magnitudes cheaper still for those with less to invest
  2. Web portal: Being able to uninstall the app, and log into a website once a month or quarter, can help in terms of minimising the temptation to trade. I know FT finally has a portal now but, last I logged in, it was nowhere near as good
  3. Greater range: FTā€™s got much, much better in this regard in recent years but itā€™s still trailing in terms of number of stocks and markets
  4. Fractional shares: Everything on T212 is fractional. If I want to buy Ā£100 of RMS, I can. European stocks, even ETFs, seem to be going the way of the US in terms of high unit cost
  5. Pies: 212ā€™s automated investing options are far superior
  6. Dividend reinvestment: Automatic and fee free
  7. No fees for bog standard features: eg access to stocks, web portal and customer service
  8. Multi-currency accounts: Another potential cost saver that should be available in Sipps
  9. Interest: 4.9% on cash with no cap. I could go onā€¦
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I still believe once the SIPP is rolled out on 212 they will start to charge, probably within the next 18 months or so.

If Freetrade adopted the same approach as 212 it simply it wouldnā€™t be here as of now, they have had to cut their cloth accordingly.

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Main difference between US - UK companies

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Isnā€™t Trading 212 Bulgarian? Ninja editā€¦ or Cypriot??

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So far, I have to honestly say itā€™s a breath of fresh air. Just as clean and simple to use (which Iā€™ve always liked about Freetrade), yet more efficient, capable and responsive.

When I joined Freetrade four years ago, after thoroughly researching both options, it it honestly felt like a coinflip between the two, but itā€™s apparent T212 has spent the time steadily evolving in multitudes since then.

I may not need every feature it has to offer, but itā€™s good to know they are available. I know the AVCO is going to make all the difference; that alone is worth the switch for me - no more spreadsheets just to see the actual loss or gain of investments.

As for the age-old ā€˜long term hold vs tradeā€™ debate, I guess the bottom line is that regardless of whether a platformā€™s customers are Warren Buffetts or Bill Oā€™Neils - as a company participating within a sector, itā€™s a case of either evolve with its peers, or run the risk of extinction.