Why would I keep cash in Freetrade?

First Time Investing šŸ£
1

As an unexperienced investor, can someone explain the portfolio breakdown of cash in freetrade?

I donā€™t understand why you would keep cash just sitting in freetrade when it could be sitting in lots of different places like isas or just using the money to buy stocks?

I understand you can get 3% on plus but without plus I donā€™t see any advantage unless itā€™s targeted to day traders but freetrade doesnā€™t seem like the platform for that?

2

It just shows you how much cash you have, since cash is also an asset. Thatā€™s it. Not sure why this warrants a dedicated thread :smiley:

3

I tend to build up cash in FT so that, when I spot something I want to invest in, Iā€™m not having to wait for my deposit to turn up from my bank. Also, I donā€™t think Iā€™ll miss the 0.3p interest I might have earned!

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4

Well my cash is sat there ready to be invested if I see anything that takes my fancy, itā€™s around 10% the total which is what Iā€™ve seen some suggest in the past. However I suppose itā€™s easy to buy and sell as you want quickly now so it might be better invested in something safe which can be accessed easily as needed. But 3% isnā€™t bad.

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5

Agree with Tony, for me itā€™s a bit of a convenience thing to have cash ready ā€˜just in caseā€™ although deposits into FT are pretty fast these days. Nevertheless there isnā€™t really a great place to keep cash atm, I used to put it into premium bonds but they take ages to withdraw and then transfer into FT if there was a big opportunity.

Also donā€™t forget that depending on the time of year, I.e. nearing the end of March some people just put cash into their isa to not lose their allowance (especially if you donā€™t think itā€™s a good time to invest at that point)

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6

Youā€™d keep cash in Freetrade thatā€™s waiting to be invested.

Because youā€™d have allocated that money for investing, or itā€™s in cash in the ISA account waiting to be invested.

Since investing isnā€™t meant to be an impulse game lots of people have large amounts of cash sitting around for the particular opportunity theyā€™re waiting for.

HL hold Ā£13 billion in client cash for example

7

You need to have cash easily available anyway, not in stocks or bonds. Thinking that cash for emergencies (or future opportunities) is wasted money is a big mistake IMO.