Freetrade, the UK-based challenger stockbroker offering commission-free investing, has closed $15 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Draper Esprit, who invested $7.5 million. Previously, Freetrade investment crashed Crowdcube funding site with its huge demand.
This new funding will be used to further fuel growth and continue product development. The firm, who have more than 50,000 customers, is also planning to expand to Europe next year.
CEO and founder of Freetrade; Adam Dodds, also plans to reach more of the millennial customers, educating the market that investing doesn’t need to be prohibitively expensive or complicated.
Freetrade has built its own brokerage and obtained a full broker license from the FCA, rather than simply partnering with an established broker.
Freetrade’s app lets youquickly and simply invest in stocks and ETFs. Trades are completely “fee-free” providing customers are happy for your buy or sell trades to execute at the close of business each day.
For customers who want to execute immediately, the startup charges £1 per trade. In contrast with larger incumbents who can charge up to £12 per trade, Freetrade is making investing and trading accessible to those who only want to invest small amounts.
“Freetrade are on a mission to open up investment opportunities for everyone, as are we,” says Simon Cook, CEO of Draper Esprit, in a statement. “In this sense, their mission is totally aligned with our own, as a rare tech-focused VC listed on the stock exchange. The company have shown exceptional growth in the short time since they first launched the platform last year. We could not be more delighted to support Adam, Viktor, Ian and their wider team as they enable Europe’s 100 million millennials to benefit from the world’s economic growth.”
