Should Freetrade use only neutral descriptions of stocks?

Scrolling through the stock list, I can see a few examples:
Aston Martin - Fancy Cars (Automotive)
AstroZeneca - Drugs (Pharmaceutical)
BT - Slow Internet (Telecommunications)

Would it be better to have impartial descriptors, like i have suggesed in brackets? It seems more professional and does not influence peopleā€™s opinions of stocks.

6 Likes

Following the chat about BTā€™s description, letā€™s try something different for this topic & use a poll so that we can see how many people like the alternative too..

  • Use neutral descriptions
  • Use unconventional descriptions

0 voters

Iā€™ve used ā€˜unconventionalā€™ to try to keep the description as neutral as possible :innocent:

4 Likes

Iā€™m in the camp of unconventional descriptions but with the proviso that they are at worst neutral.
For example, Drugs for Astrozeneca I converge to indifference although Medicine would be my suggestion. And when it comes to Slow Internet for BT, Iā€™m not a fan of it and would like @Freetrade_Teamā€™s ā€œBig Towerā€ descriptor more.

Ultimately, unconventional gets my vote.

11 Likes

Yeah, Toby made a good call with that

1 Like

+1 from me on this.

1 Like

I like the quirky descriptions as long as a bit more serious detail is provided as well in the longer summary, but feel the BT one crosses a line into snarky.

So Iā€™ve voted for unconventional with the caveat that it doesnā€™t stray into negative. Iā€™d like to see the BT one changed if only because itā€™s going to waste a lot of support time as you scale.

6 Likes

I donā€™t want Freetrade to be accused of influencing investment decision as that may lead to all sorts of trouble.

Be impartial and provide the trading platform (boring I know, sorry)

7 Likes

I donā€™t have a strong view on this so just be consistent.

Shouldnā€™t the poll have a ā€œunconventional and neutralā€ option?

1 Like

I canā€™t change the options now that people have voted so if youā€™re neutral, please donā€™t vote :raised_hands:

3 Likes

Man, if someone wants to invest in BT and is put off by the description ā€œslow internetā€ then theyā€™re clearly not doing any sort of research on their investments.

13 Likes

Fair point and if you donā€™t know what BT does then maybe their marketing department needs to rethink all their adverts :rofl:

5 Likes

The humour is much appreciated here :smiley:

I have a feeling this is going to be as controversial and divided a topic as the ā€œhot coral or plain colourā€ threads that have plagued Monzo since day 1.

A significant minority of people just donā€™t want humour or anything different or interesting in their financial services/lives.

(Tongue in cheek warning) How about a toggle in the app with 3 settings - Serious (what this topic is calling for), Facetious (what it is now) and Damn Right Crude (what Iā€™d have it set to).

eg. ā€œBP - large dividends, larger oil spillsā€.

7 Likes

Iā€™d volunteer to help with the crude listings :yum:

5 Likes

Even if I voted for the neutral descriptions I donā€™t mind and I quite like the unconventional approach. What concern me is that many people are unfortunately very sensitive and make a big deal out of nothing. I know is a bit comparing apples and oranges but a comedian went to jail just because was joking about his dog making a nazi gesture.
My point is just to be wary because not everyone has sense of humor, unfortunately, and lawyers are expensive.

4 Likes

If someone hires a law firm then it gets changed at that point, although personally I think the legal arguments on what constitutes slow internet would be fascinating.

2 Likes

I like the unconventional ones. Itā€™s more fun! And as mentioned, youā€™d be daft to make investment decisions based on those. Brokers also make all sorts of disparaging comments about PLCs.

Even the boring normal descriptions can be ā€˜wrongā€™ to some people. I donā€™t have access yet, but I noticed on a screenshot in another thread that Associated British Foods is classed on Foods. But to me ABF is Primark, and in fact Primark is by far their biggest individual business. It makes about Ā£7bn in revenue while their grocery brands make less than half of that.

2 Likes

I donā€™t think people are judging BT by this, but they are judging freetrade.

5 Likes

But one of the main points of Freetrade is to appeal to those who are not investment savvy (yet, they are just starting out) and they will absolutely look at some shares and (maybe) be pursuaded by the description.

I sound like a killjoy I know, but I want this to be a huge success (for many reasons).

1 Like

Iā€™d argue that Freetrade might also appeal to experienced investors (eg those maxing out their S&S ISAs year on year) who want to pay lower transaction fees for their investments. Some may be put off by the ā€˜quirkyā€™ descriptions and not see FT as a serious company but then again, some others may see them as a breath of fresh air.

4 Likes

As some people have said above, maybe it should use neutral descriptions, but they can still be unconventional. I.e. donā€™t use negative descriptions.

6 Likes