Sorry… just shorthand… 
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So I think eToro are feeling the pressure from rival platforms because they are now offering real stocks on a lot of companies, with the same instant trading, 2% fees and no monthly.
Given that this is the case, I might not switch to Freetrade unless their ISA is really competitive price-wise, as US securities immediately available sounds quite lucrative.
If anyone wants to give eToro a go, you can use my referral link (we both get $20 each) https://etoro.tw/2qF7c6E
For some reason they trade in dollars only according to their help section, so surely you’re immediately hit with the cost of conversion from £GBP to $US, before you even start trading? Hmm.
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I considered eToro in late 2017 because I was bombarded with their Facebook ads while looking for credible ways to gain crypto exposure. Their reviews across several sources were discomforting and even now their App Store reviews (3 star overall) have not improved, with multiple warning from U.K. users. Therefore, I’m happy to wait for FreeTrade who I trust more.
However, it may be worthwhile starting a separate thread for eToro referrals as that may gain traction.
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I don’t really mind the referrals, was just throwing it in there as a suggestion. I’ve made a lot of money through eToro, and while they aren’t perfect (what system is) the ability to trade instantly across tons of different markets/commodities/etc in realtime at a low spread makes it lucrative for me
As with anything, your mileage may vary 
It is interesting though that you have more trust in a company that has never released a product, than one who has?
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I trust Freetrade more because they have always been transparent about their product and business model, eToro have done some very questionable advertising around their offerings, for example implying that you buy stocks when actually you’re buying CFDs…
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Authorised by the FCA, member firm of the London Stock Exchange, etc. We are only rolling out now because we built the foundations first. Customer trust is everything for us. If that takes time, that’s fine.
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Let me clarify this. I trust FreeTrade because I interact with them directly here & now on their dedicated forum. Furthermore, I keep up to date with their Medium blog posts and this has fostered my buy-in to the company’s brand/values/business model/product. Moreover, I am very eager to become a small crowdfunding investor of products I foresee using and the upcoming round for FreeTrade will provide an opportunity where previously I’ve missed out on Monzo & Revolut.
Separately, eToro’s negative reviews dissuaded me from their brand, and further due diligence at the time led me to access Coinbase(GDAX) via Revolut for a near fee-less method of exposure to crypto. Therefore, I discarded eToro as a product that would be of any use to satisfying my particular wants. This is entirely personal preference so I respect that you’ve found success with them.
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Agreed, I wouldn’t do business with someone who isn’t FCA authorised - and appreciate the value in waiting to get something right before launching
I would just have to say, competition in the market is great for us (the consumers) so if these two are operating in the same space it’d be really interesting to see how it works.
On the one hand, I like the eToro has a wider portfolio and web interface, and low fees. But a UK ISA with free free stock trading will be good as well.
@Theodore Cheers for the explanation - I see lots of bad reviews of eToro, but at the same time as a user of their platform I also see a lot of people do some really dumb s*** and then cry that eToro didn’t stop them, so it’s a double edged sword haha
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Anyone interested to come to this Balderton / Crowdcube Pitch Event tomorrow?
Adam (Freetrade’s CEO) will be on stage, talking about our next crowdfunding.
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For those of you not yet signed up to the Freetrade forum, here are the details of the next crowdfunding round that Adam announced last night 
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To echo @anon32756862 's last post, tomorrow’s Crowdcube raise goes live a full 24 hours before the public raise, for members signed up to community.freetrade.io 
Looking like it’s might be a fast raise…
Whether you’re a seasoned investor, looking to start out or just want to scratch an itch, it feels like an interesting community is starting to take shape around all things investing over there, so I definitely recommend checking things out.
@anon77734705, I know you mentioned you were looking for some resources on how get things rolling, might be one for you.
http://help.freetrade.io/about-freetrade/how-to-join-and-invest-in-freetrade-on-crowdcube
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Also… The first live trades through the platform will be done today!
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First live trade done. If I saw correctly over Adam’s shoulder, he bought VUKE! 
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SO AWESOME @anon4335928 
You guys must be stoked!
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We are beyond stoked! Time to update our social channels. We’ve been celebrating.
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Are you rolling out to app users tomorrow? I’m roughly 300 in que
Wow, I’m late to the party. Nearly 34,000 uses ahead of me in the queue.
Here’s my referral link if anyone else is signing up and can help me out 
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Jack, a couple of referrals and you’ll shoot up the list.
Defo check out community.freetrade.io too, lots of questions and answers on product, service and trading and investing more generally. Exciting times ahead!
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Team members are getting their customer accounts now, a bit of internal testing, while an external penetration test is being done, too. We’ll update this thread: https://community.freetrade.io/t/the-latest-on-the-rollout/12/34
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