As per the title, Iām tempted to upgrade to FreeTrade Plus. I donāt like the stock limitations on the free version nor the inability to place limit orders. I have a small FT portfolio of around Ā£1,500 and also have Ā£1500 in an H&L ISA - but of course they charge Ā£11.95 per trade as well as FX fees. Hence why I am considering FT Plus.
However, multiple sources online seem to suggest the PLUS subscription is a flawed business model that will hurt the platform in the long run - and they advise against it. e.g.
Naturally people who have invested in the Plus stocks before they Plus launched will not see the value of Plus (as per some of these reviews).
If youāre coming from a HL or AJ Bell then itās fantastic value.
FT needs to make money and other comission free brokers make money from their users losing money. Is that sustainable?
āIf you make 3% a year on a Ā£10k balance, youāre losing 50% of your gains due to the fee. Oh and by the way click this link for a free shareā.
If youāre only making 3% a year whilst having access to all the plus stocks, then youāre probably better off just putting your money into VWRL anyway and living a relatively stress free life.
It does depend on your personal circumstances, but the way I see it is that the 3% interest is basically a 100% cashback on the cost (Ā£120 / year) - so you get everything else for free.
Thanks for the replies. A couple of further newbie questions if I may.
1) With a Plus account, does it allow you place limit orders on US stocks?
2) A few days ago, I held a US stock in my GIA. The stock closed at $38. At around 10am GMT I placed an order to sell my holding, hoping to lock in that price of $38. However, when the order was executed at 3pm GMT I only got a price of around $36 per share. Where did I go wrong? Would having a Plus account have made any difference in this scenario?
I have a Ā£9k port in AJ Bell - paying Ā£9.95 to buy and Ā£9.95 to sell. Thatās Ā£20 per move.
I donāt trade too often as I try to keep costs low - so if I buy I use the regular investing feature to buy for Ā£1.50 but have to take the price as at 10th of the month.
Anyway, I could easily spend Ā£300+ a year on moving in and out of positions (also scaling in/out of holds).
The way I see it is that Freetrade could allow me to maximise profits at a lower cost over 12 months than my other ISAās.
Should I pay Ā£120 for the year to buy and sell 10ās/50ās times a year? Of course.
In summary, is PLUS worth it? Definitely if it saves you in fees/costs vs your other platforms in return for moving in/out of positions/holds as and when you feel like.
I am currently in the process of moving stuff across just starting with cash balances for now.
The market does not open with the last price of the previous day. There is after hours trading as well. Also, freetrade executes orders that were made outside of market times at 3pm. The US market opens at 2.30 though.
Great, being able to place limit orders on US stocks is pretty much a deal-breaker for me. H&L doesnāt allow me to do that. Iāll be signing up to Plus.
Iāve joined plus last month to access additional stocks however Iām not sure I will keep it.
Freetrade describeās itself as a platform for small investors. However, 10Ā£ a month is not a good investment for anyone with a portfolio worth less than say 5k.
I believe a lot of people investing in individual shares will enter and exit positions at least a couple times a year, specially having access to smaller and more volatile stocks in Plus. Limit orders also provide an incentive for increased trading.
Because FT doesnāt allow holdings in dollars, going in and out 2x per year in plus will cost 1.8%. Adding 10Ā£/month on a 5k portfolio weāre looking at a total of 4.2%.
To make it more attractive for smaller investors, FTPlus should be cheaper if the FX rate is to be maintained. Revenue loss could be offset by more people joining Plus, trading more often and paying those FX charges. This would allow for a true easy access to the markets for the small investors.
If you are a passive investor and go with a Vanguard ISA, they charge a 0.15% ISA admin fee or platform fee. This means if you have more than 24k in your FT account you are better off with the FT ISA. For Plus members a pot value of 80k or more is required to beat Vanguardās platform fee. Obviously the comparison is not completely fair, however, costs are the main distractor of long term performance.
