Dodl: AJ Bell enters race to the bottom (prices) against Freetrade
“With a low annual charge of 0.15%, no trading commissions and all the main tax efficient products, Dodl will be amongst the cheapest and best value investment platforms in the market”.
AJ Bell is entering the low-cost retail investing space with the upcoming launch of a mobile trading app going by the name of Dodl.
The online trading company, which operates consumer platform Youinvest, is diversifying the business by adding a platform that offers commission-free trading, a very trendy concept that spread among brokers across the world.
“Amongst the cheapest and best value investment platforms”
Dodl will offer users an annual charge of 0.15 percent and no commission for buying and selling financial instruments or assets, with a £1 per month minimum per account.
Customers will be able to choose between opening an individual savings account (ISA), a lifetime ISA, and a pension and general investment account.
The mobile-only trading platform caters to “the vast majority of investment risk appetites”, according to the announcement, which means that the offering will include a range of popular shares in UK listed companies, and some US companies in the near future, as well as funds grouped by themes, including technology, robotics, healthcare and responsible investing.
“Dodl by AJ Bell is for anyone looking for a low-cost, easy-to-use investment app to help them meet their investment goals such as saving for a house deposit, holidays or retirement,” said AJ Bell Chief Executive Officer Andy Bell, who added the trading app will be launched early next year.
“With a low annual charge of 0.15%, no trading commissions and all the main tax efficient products, Dodl will be amongst the cheapest and best value investment platforms in the market”.
Dodl competes against Freetrade
AJ Bell’s Dodl is clearly looking to compete against Freetrade, the UK-based investment platform that is currently on its seventh crowdfunding round and is raising eight times its targeted amount of £1 million.
Freetrade is currently being valued at £650 million in a time the trading platform prepares its European expansion.
In the next few weeks, the investment platform will start rolling out access to European stocks. As a part of this, the firm connected FCP to the European market infrastructure, which will enable to launch in Sweden and the rest of the EU.
Freetrade has established an office in Sweden, from where it will oversee the European expansion. For the sake of the firm’s strategic growth in Europe, Freetrade announced the appointment of Karl Broomé as Managing Director for Sweden, as well as Annica Lundblad and Torbjörn Ericsson as non-executive directors.
Freetrade has experienced phenomenal growth during the Covid-19 pandemic and, since the broker’s last crowdfunding round in May 2020, total registered users on the platform have increased from approximately 150,000 to over 1 million, representing a nearly 600% increase in 18 months.
