Freetrade and ISAs

FUNDSS

Has anyone got an ISA account with Freetrade? It's currently free and I've just signed up. However, I can find absolutely no informations on the ISA options they offer. I obviously can't invest my money if I don't know what it's going towards!

I don't know if anyone has information on the specific types of S+S ISAs they offer or has been through the process with the platform and can please point me in the right direction? (Aye, looking for a friend... :beer:)

eskbanker

One of the many rules of thumb of investing is to establish what you want to invest in before identifying where to hold it/them.

In other words, opening a Freetrade ISA without any idea of what you could then invest in seems illogical, and the fact that their offering is so opaque would be enough to make most investors steer well clear.

https://freetrade.io/isa-transfer proudly refers to:

Invest in over 350 stocks and ETFs commission-free. We’re adding new stocks and ETFs to your app continuously!

as if that number of stocks is large, and so it looks like if your username suggests an interest in funds then you'll be best advised to go elsewhere....

sendu

They offer an S&S ISA. There are no options or "types".

Freetrade is not a robo-advisor; they do not give advice or let you pick from their own managed funds.

They are a stock broker that only offers a limited selection of UK and US company shares and UK-eligible ETFs. This selection is growing, but still relatively small. They will never offer OEIC funds.

Once you have an account (including the free general account), you can use the app to see what shares and ETFs they sell.

The ISA fee will eventually be £3/month, which is quite expensive for someone new to investing and less than £24,000 to invest. There are cheaper, better platforms offering S&S ISAs.

FUNDSS

That's exactly what I was thinking yes. They only offer shares in UK and US stock and have given me no info on their ISAs so...

Plus, I don't think it's a good time to invest in the UK for political reasons. Think I'll just be sticking to Vanguard....

FUNDSS

Right, what I've deducted from that is you can get an ISA, but you have to pick the stocks ans shares. It's not for me.

Is £3 a month really expensive? I guess if you're investing a small amount, it probably is. Thank you.

sendu

FUNDSS wrote: »

Is £3 a month really expensive? I guess if you're investing a small amount, it probably is.

Yes, it's all relative. Under ~£24k there are cheaper platforms than this.

Also, if you're only investing, say, £100/month, and make 7% gains from your investment choices, you'd be up £46 by the end of the year, but spend £36 on the account!

You lose about 78% of your profits. That's really expensive, wouldn't you agree?

Alexland

FUNDSS wrote: »

Plus, I don't think it's a good time to invest in the UK for political reasons. Think I'll just be sticking to Vanguard....

I noticed Freetrade have the VWRL Vanguard All World ETF.

The problem is that for £3 a month you would have to have a big enough ISA to be worthwhile. But then if you have a big enough ISA you might prefer to be with a more established platform with a similar cost such as Halifax Share Dealing / iWeb depending on your trade pattern.

Alex

webjaved

FUNDSS wrote: »

That's exactly what I was thinking yes. They only offer shares in UK and US stock and have given me no info on their ISAs so...

Plus, I don't think it's a good time to invest in the UK for political reasons. Think I'll just be sticking to Vanguard....

Don't time the market, investing should be seen as a 5-10 year plan so you give yourself to recover if there is a dip in the market.