Not a great write up in the Sunday Times for Robinhood/FT style apps (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-trading-apps-accused-of-turning-stocks-into-a-game-kpz68kp0h) - but one thing that stood out from the article was that there are 250k UK users on a waiting list for Robinhood ready to launch in the UK. I question why aren’t these people just using FT (which is obviously already live!)? Is FT doing enough to market itself to get these users on its app?
1 Like
There will be plenty that use freetrade that are on the waiting list such as myself. I plan to stay with free trade for my investments but hoping robinhood will allow UK users to trade Puts and Calls
3 Likes
Can someone copy the article for those without a subscription?
Plenty I’m sure but there are more on the waiting list for Robinhood then entire users of Freetrade. I doubt there are more than a few 1k on that waiting list wanting to trade options.
I think the answer Is quite straight forward - they simply dont know that freetrade exists. Robin Hood is world story due to its position in the US.
5 Likes
I was chatting to a group of UK investors the other day and most had never heard of Freetrade.
In contrast, most people have heard of Robinhood.
5 Likes
I’m still trying to get my head around calls and puts, especially given the recent sad news about a Robinhood users.
Can anyone explain what they are?
An option is a contract giving the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy (in the case of a call) or sell (in the case of a put) the underlying asset at a specific price on or before a certain date.
1 Like
Move basic details on Call & Put options contracts here:
In short: they are derivatives, instruments who’s value changes based on the price of the underlying asset (shares) but not in a simple 1:1 way that shares are. This non-linear relationship means small movements in the price of a stock can have a dramatic impact on the price of the contract e.g. a 5% increase in price of the underlying shares might mean a 500% increase in the price of the contract.
Options can be a very useful way to gain significant exposure and manage risk, however they can also be used to take on positions with large (or even unlimited) risk.
Many investors end up losing a lot of money due to the risk profiles associated with options contracts and as a result many people say it is irresponsible to offer these (often complex) products to retail investors.
6 Likes
I don’t think wanting to test drive Robinhood means you don’t have a FreeTrade account already.
For example, me. Happy FreeTrade user, happy FreeTrade investor, Robinhood waiting list #1
10 Likes
We are using Freetrade 
There’ll be lots of non UK people on the UK list, I’ve been on the Australian Robinhood waitlist for 3 years
3 Likes
Thanks for the info all. Whilst I’m interested in Robinhood, I won’t be switching from Freetrade.
1 Like
I do think offering leveraged trades to retail investors could be quite risky. I would guess many don’t understand, or at least underestimate the risks involved, and just see the potential gains dangled in front of them like catnip
2 Likes
Out of curiosity - why?
Did you write this yourself or copy it from somewhere else? Either way I think it is one of the simplest and clearest explanations I have read.
Thanks, no I just wrote it up then.
Obviously I gloss over the mechanics of how they actually work. I think it’s one of those things where a small amount of knowledge can be dangerous, so I don’t want to summarise that incase it gives someone false confidence.
1 Like
How do you see where you are on the list?
In practice, I suspect most Freetrade users are on the waiting list for Robinhood also.
In the same way I imagine a bunch of Freetrade users might also use Trading 212 etc…