Stake Unlimited for free: have a poortfolio total of USD$5K in the platform before March 11.

Get Stake Unlimited for free

‘Founding Members’ save subscription fee with catch

An announcement this week from Stake has given the Unlimited Pack free for life to any Stake customer with a total USD$5K in the platform before March 11. This required value can contain any combination of stock holdings or cash balance in your US Wallet. It does not include any cash in your Macquarie CMA connected to Stake.

While this is a welcome announcement for many investors, some smaller account holders may feel a little left out. In AUD terms this comes out to approximately $7,700 which may be to high for some to reach within a few weeks. Not having to pay for the additional features coming to Stake will be seen as a big win for many. Stake has advised us that a large number of Stake customers are already qualified to receive the ‘founding member’ perk.

Den of Dividends has been in discussions with Stake for some time regarding the proposed change of funding model. While we have suggested some additional ‘perks’ for long time customers, the change announced this week exceeds anything we put forward. Our suggestions mostly looked for access to additional functions or higher limits to any limited functions before additional costs were incurred. To be clear, we had never discussed Stake Unlimited for free to founding customers.

Announcement

Recently we announced some enhancements to Brokerage Packs. Today, we’re announcing a plan to further acknowledge and reward our existing customers – our founding community – in the transition toward this new model.

By 9am on Wednesday 11th March, 2020 all Stake customers who have US$5k or more in their Stake account will receive lifetime access to Stake Unlimited.

That’s right. With a value of US$5k (cash and stocks) and above in your account, you’ll be migrated to the US$9/month Stake Unlimited pack free of charge for life.

Will I get access to new features added into Stake Unlimited over time?
Absolutely. If you have US$5k or more in your Stake account by the date above, you’ll get all ongoing additions and enhancements as we release them.

What happens if I want to be on Stake Black?
You can. However, this offer extends only to Stake Unlimited, so to access Stake Black you’ll need to pay the monthly fee (after July 1, 2020).

Can I try Stake Black and then move back to my Stake Unlimited access?
Yes. If you’ve taken up the above offer, you can get back onto Stake Unlimited, free of charge, even if you’ve tried Stake Black for a period of time.

What happens if my account drops below US$5k after March 11th?
Nothing. If you have an account value of US$5k or more (cash and stocks) as at 9am on Wednesday 11th March, 2020 you will receive this offer. Once you’ve received this offer, your account balance can change as per normal.

What happens if I have that money in my Macquarie Cash Account?
Only money that is in your Stake USD wallet by the above time and date will count toward the US$5k threshold.

What happens if I already have an account value of US$5k?
You’re in! Just ensure that your account value stays at this level or above until the above time and date and you’ll receive this offer.


We’re excited to be able to reward our community that has been with us from the beginning in this way and we’ll be reminding you on email over the next two weeks to be sure you take advantage.

Click here to read more detail on the Brokerage Packs. Or, if you have any more questions about the above, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

The good …

It is pleasing to the Den of Dividends team that the outcome of Stake Unlimited for free is happening. The original announcement for the new subscription model was badly handled. This should bring most customers onto a ‘better than before’ status.

Additional features that are coming such as the advanced order types like Good til Cancelled (GTC) are helpful. The addition of automated DRP and options trading will make the platform even better.

… the bad

Only investors with the required $5K in holdings/cash on the US-side of the platform will get this benefit. There may be some long-term investors through Stake who have not been able to grow their portfolio to that size. Other customers may have been hit in the global market correction this week, and now have a portfolio below $5K.

If your portfolio in Stake is below $5k and invest with a long-term strategy, Stake Unlimited for free is compelling. We encourage you to fund your account before the deadline to take advantage of this one-time offer. The USD$108 annual fee for the Unlimited Pack will be better spent on further investments in the future. You should not try to stretch your financial position to reach this level.

If you fund your account to try and bring your portfolio up above the $5k requirement, we suggest caution. With markets in a correction then leaving it as cash in your US Wallet until the 12th seems prudent. If you continue to invest and the market falls further you may again be under the required value.

… the ugly

If you cannot afford to fund your Stake account to gain the Stake Unlimited for free benefit, then don’t. Financial prudence is key here, there is no point investing if you do not have emergency funds or it places your budget under pressure. If you only place small trades then you should probably stick with the Starter Pack. The free option is still a best-in-market offer and will likely be for some time.

We continue to ask Stake to provide discounts for annual Unlimited Pack payments up-front. The usual discount rate we see is 20-25% for annual payment. This translates to 2 or 3 months free if you pre-pay. We are also asking for additional payment options like Credit Cards to pay the subscription fees.

… and the workaround

There is also the option of only temporarily funding your account until after the 11th of March. Transfer the cash there now, and then withdraw it afterwards. You will lose FX fees both ways if you use this workaround. For some people this may be a best of both worlds strategy.

UPDATE 2/3/2020: Currently it will take AUD $7800 to meet the funding requirement from scratch at current AUDUSD rate of 0.6540c. You would pay USD $54.60 in FX margin fees to fund the account, and then slightly less while bringing it back. Just doubling the FX fee gives USD $109.20, close enough to the annual cost of Stake Unlimited. If you temporarily fund your account, you can have Stake Unlimited Free from the second year.

Our recommendation

We have been a little reserved in making a recommendation for a broker to access the US markets. We had started with Stake and generally liked what it had to offer. As we were poised to recommend Stake as a good platform, the new brokerage packs were announced. We saw the subscription model as a step backward for existing investors.

What was missing before was providing extra value for the subscription fee, and the impacts to founding members. Those impacts are now resolved for most people. With a commitment to continually adding features to the app and add value over time, we have no further doubts. We believe that Stake is the best platform available for Australian Investors to access the US markets. If you have not already, Sign up with Stake with referral code joeld269 to help us out a little.

Well placed for new competitors

We believe that the offer from Stake will be competitive going forward, even with additional competition expected this year from discount ASX broker, SelfWealth, and UK Fintech provider Revolut. The move by Stake to give Stake Unlimited for free and ‘lock-in’ their existing customer base is a shrewd move and will make it harder for new entrants to get a foothold.

DISCLOSURES:
The author is an active customer (both funding and trading) with Stake, and will qualify for founding member status.
The author has had in-confidence discussions with Stake within the last 28 days.
No payment or inducement has been provided by Stake for this article.
Den Of Dividends has not received nor agreed to any editorial control on this article.

The new updated brokerage packs as announced today by Stake. Unlimited and Fractional trades are back on the Free Pack.

Stake makes Unlimited and Fractional Trades free

Stake announced that unlimited and fractional trades on the Starter Pack this morning. This represents a change to the proposed subscription brokerage model. A marketing email was sent to Stake customers early this morning with the details of the change. There has not been a blog post covering the pack changes published at the time of this article.

The changes address the feedback of users who have been quite vocal on how the original changes affected them. Some strong comments left on the r/AusFinance subreddit and a number of other online forums like Whirlpool. Many users there were quite unhappy with the changes, with one user selling all holdings within Stake and cashing out.

While we here at Den of Dividends have been quite direct on the proposed changes. To Stake’s credit both CEO Matt Leibowitz and Stake representatives asked us for feedback. I personally met with a rep just prior to their launch into the crowded UK market this week. We put our case forward and floated some additional ideas.

The fees on Brokerage Packs do not take effect until July. Where customers do not specify a paid pack, they will be placed on Starter Pack.

Revised subscription model announced

The new updated brokerage packs as announced today by Stake. Unlimited and Fractional trades are back on the Free Pack.
The new updated brokerage packs as announced today by Stake. Image supplied

So what has changed? Unlimited free and fractional trades are back in the Free Pack at the expense of the Limit Order function. This is a fair swap considering the unlimited trades being reinstated. My preference would see limit orders remain on the Starter Pack but providing free trading limits what is possible. Australian timezones mean placing an order pre-market may result in a costly fill if the stock gaps up at open. Having limit orders available means that Starter users will not see that occur.

Although the existing Starter Pack gets a bit of love, the Unlimited and Black Packs have had little change. The paid packs need to add more value to drive the change in business model. Customers do not want to pay an ongoing service fee if it is not in their interest. But unless you add new features or benefits, it makes it hard to justify paying that monthly fee. Options Trading is being considered by the Stake team which helps that value proposition. Otherwise the only additional value today is being termed Analyst-grade market data on the Black Pack.

What is in the future?

The announcement email suggests that the Starter Pack will remain as unlimited free trades and fractional orders going forward. Reading between the lines, we understand that no additional features will be added to the Free Pack. All new features will be limited to paid packs to drive revenue.

Here is what we are now asking Stake to consider as new features in paid brokerage packs:

  • An annual option for paid brokerage packs at a discount. Additional options for payment method (credit card) instead of from the USD account;
  • Reduction down to the lowest possible FX spread through OFX transfers;
  • Options trading, with L2 (spreads/covered calls) in Unlimited Pack and more functionality (L3/L4) in Black;
  • Brokerage-processed DRP in Unlimited, with the ability to turn on reinvestment for each individual stock or in bulk;
  • Additional order types, including AMEND on Unlimited;
  • Adding of additional exchanges – ASX and NZX with cheaper brokerage would be attractive;
  • With the UK launch, London Exchange (LSE) access would possibly provide additional value.

We will be continuing our content on Stake going forward. This includes a comparison how the new packs compare for investors in Australia.

DISCLOSURES:
The author is an active customer of Stake at the time of this article being published.
The author has had in-confidence discussions with Stake within the last 14 days.
No payment or inducement has been provided by Stake for this article.
Den Of Dividends has not received nor agreed to any editorial control on this article.

Zero-commission trades get a Stake through the heart

After just over two years of providing zero-commission trades in the US market, Australian Fintech operation Stake (‘HelloStake’) has announced changes. The bomb dropped this week on their customers based in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Brazil amongst others. The threat? Pay up, or lose the features you have.

Stake Brokerage Packs announced, kills zero-commission trades for free.
Zero-commission brokerage provider Stake has this week moved from a free model to a subscription model.

Stake was launched in 2017 with the aim of providing cheaper and simplified US Market access for Australian investors. The business i funded by Forex margin on AUD/USD transfers, and skimming interest earned on cash balances. While not confirmed, Order Flow information is likely sold to high-frequency trading firms to buy against the orders from Stake. This happens with most brokers providing zero-commission trades for another source of revenue.

In a country where Stake’s competitors spruik themselves as ‘coming to Australia soon’ and have 90,000+ people signed up on a waitlist with no launch in sight, the local start-up has a small yet loyal following.

Subscription model for brokerage announced

The news dropped at 8am last Thursday morning (January 9th, 2020) in an email sent to all customers by Stake CEO, Matt Leibowitz. A blog post on the Stake website was also published with some additional details. This announcement confirmed that zero-commission trades were being withdrawn and replaced with a subscription-based model instead. The spin? Stake will be Introducing Brokerage Packs.

The announced changes are detrimental to existing customers. For those who have already paid the FX margin fees to fund their accounts in the US, you will incur further costs to trade. Additionally the featured being added are minor at best and could not be considered as a major feature. Community requests such as options trading, or new markets have not been promised at this time.

The major changes to the existing zero-commission trades offer are:

  • An undertaking to reduce the FX margin on transfers between AUD and USD funds (however no specifics on this was announced);
  • Free tier remains but limited to 2 trades per month (USD$5/trade thereafter);
  • No purchases of fractional shares; and
  • At-Market orders only (no limit orders available).
Stake's new brokerage packs limit  zero-commission trades on the free plan to just two per month, and encourages users to move to a subscription brokerage model.
Stake’s new brokerage packs heavily reduce the free level features and levy high per-trade commissions to encourage users to move to a subscription brokerage model.

Stake will force maintaining the existing unlimited zero-commission trades and fractional share orders on your account with a USD$9 per month subscription fee. This is being called the ‘Unlimited’ pack, and also gives ‘Priority access to new listings’ and ‘Priority Customer Support’.

An additional ‘Black’ brokerage level was announced, where for USD$19 per month you can take advantage of trading on your unsettled funds. We believe it likely that funds in flight between your AUD and USD accounts will be included in this too.

Customers unhappy as costs increase

The customer outrage on various forums was immediate – the r/AusFinance subreddit was particularly scathing on the changes which on the surface appear to be forcing investors into subscription model pricing, or else suffer a significant reduction in the service on the free level.

The main complaint online centred around the launch of the product without a sustainable business model forcing a change. Other complaints around no additional benefits for early adopters, and the very high cost of additional trades on the starter plan were noted. Two additional trades on Starter Pack will cost more than the monthly fee for Unlimited Pack.

Stake has commented that the changes are needs to maintain a sustainable business model and to roll out improvements to the service faster. The company has been criticised previously for a lack of new features and slow implementation. Poor reporting is another complaint, is sourced directly from their market clearinghouse partner, DriveWealth.

What comes next?

Being the only zero-commission trades brokerage for US Markets within Australia, Stake has pricing power to make changes until competition appears. While Robinhood has stated that they want to come to Australia, nothing has occurred yet other than amassing 90,000 people on a waitlist.

Requests for information from other brokers with zero-commission trades like M1 Finance and WeBull have inevitably come back with non-commital responses. Most of these are similar to ‘We are concentrating on improving our platform and serving the US Market at this time’.

Stake’s new brokerage packs and account restrictions will take effect from July. The company will be rolling out new features and updates almost immediately. The FX margin has not yet changed however Stake has promised that it will be reduced prior to the new fee structure. Maintenance on the platform is already occurring in preparation for updates and new features.

We will be following up this article in the near future with an opinion piece regarding these changes in the Stake business. We will also investigate alternatives for affected investors who wish to move to another broker as a result of these changes.

DISCLOSURE: The author is a customer of Stake and has holdings of NYSE and NASDAQ listed companies within their account at the time of this article being published.