Freetrade, the UK commission-free stock trading service, is expanding into other European countries in the latest shake-up of the investment market by app-based brokerages.
The Netherlands and Ireland are the first countries selected by Freetrade for a wider European rollout of its low-cost trading platform, following its 2018 launch in the UK. App-based services such as Freetrade, Revolut and the US-based Robinhood have disrupted the traditional investment market, which charges fees for customers to buy and sell shares. Investment platforms such as Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell and Interactive Investor can charge more than £10 per trade. Adam Dodds, Freetrade chief executive and co-founder, said the expansion was a European “land grab” in a rapidly shifting industry. “We want to be the first ones to offer a customised, localised investment version.”
Freetrade has a relatively limited field of investments available to its clients, with 620 investment options for UK customers, from US and UK stocks to exchange traded funds and real estate investment trusts. This compares with the thousands of products on offer at established investment platforms such as Hargreaves Lansdown.
Freetrade sees opening up new European markets as critical to building market share. “Europe is essential to our growth plan,” said Viktor Nebehaj, Freetrade co-founder.
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