A third of investment app users (35%) check their balance every day and nearly one in ten (9%) return multiple times a day[1], reveals research by comparison site InvestingReviews.co.uk and market researchers Behind Login – raising fresh concerns over the gamification of trading apps.
The Investing Reviews Annual Report 2023 reveals that some 45 trading platforms are available to UK consumers, with numbers growing rapidly in recent years to create a saturated market.
An FCA investigation found that many trading platforms use design tricks like points, badges and rewards to encourage investors into trading more frequently and pushes them to take greater risks[2].
Research by InvestingReviews.co.uk found that a significant proportion of trading platform users check their balance frequently. Investors aged from 35 to 44 log in most frequently, checking in more than 19 times a month on average.
Table: Platforms where users check in most frequently
| App | Proportion checking at least daily | Proportion multiple times a day |
| Etoro | 46% | 20% |
| Freetrade | 44% | 15% |
| Trading 212 | 47% | 11% |
| Interactive Investor | 25% | 7% |
| HL (Hargreaves Lansdown) | 25% | 7% |
| Fidelity | 30% | 5% |
| Moneybox | 33% | 3% |
| AJ Bell YouInvest | 30% | 0% |
| Wealthify | 18% | 0% |
| Vanguard | 11% | 0% |
Source: InvestingReviews.co.uk
Trading 212, Freetrade and eToro are the most popular platforms for smaller portfolios of £1,000 or less. These companies commonly have low barriers to entry, while some have no platform fees and provide incentives to sign up.
Almost half of Trading 212 (47%) and eToro users (46%) and two fifths of Freetrade customers (44%) check in at least once a day, compared to only a quarter of Hargreaves Lansdown users.
Investment platforms spent £45 million on advertising in the UK in 2022, according to Nielsen data, with eToro spending more than half of that figure – £22.7 million[3].
Nearly half of trading platform users (46%) have three assets or fewer in their portfolios, with a quarter (26%) having less than £1,000 invested.
Table: Types of asset held on investing platforms
| Type of asset | |
| Stocks & Shares | 53.7% |
| Managed Funds | 15.8% |
| Passive Funds & ETFs | 19.8% |
| Foreign Exchange (FX) | 3.0% |
| Cryptocurrency | 7.7% |
Source: InvestingReviews.co.uk
InvestingReviews.co.uk is calling for urgent action to crack down on trading apps that encourage risky behaviour.
Simon Jones, CEO of InvestingReviews.co.uk, said: “App creators have become experts at using users’ responses to encourage certain actions, but trading platforms are one place where consumers need to be protected from these design tricks.
“The low barriers to entry in the saturated investment market means that users with little experience can quickly get encouraged to risk their hard-earned money on products and trades they don’t fully understand.
“It’s incredible to think that a fifth of some platform’s users are logging into their app multiple times a day, and almost half of users of some of the most popular apps are checking in at least daily.
“If you’re using trading apps for your investments, remember that you’re playing with real money, and don’t let yourself be manipulated by simple tricks like flashing lights and league tables.
“We call on the FCA to clamp down on the worst practices and provide solid guidelines so the industry can clean up its act.
“Platforms should be required to offer education on investing and trading to prevent inexperienced users from gambling with their life savings.”
