New feature release: stock investing

We designed Plum to provide a simple, sustainable approach to investing.

And now, with the ability to buy and sell fractional company shares, we’re giving you a new way to diversify your investment portfolio.

Better still… we’re making unlimited, commission-free* trades available for all customers 🎊 There are up to 3,000 US-based businesses for you to browse, so it’s now easier than ever to balance your long-term investing goals with the flexibility to respond to short-term changes in market conditions.

Options like Amazon, Meta and Tesla mean you can invest your money in the brands you know and trust. Plus, we’re planning to add more variety to the choice available over the coming months, so stay tuned.

*Other fees apply.

What does it mean to trade stocks?

A share is a fraction of a business. The words ‘stocks’ and ‘shares’ are sometimes mixed up, but a share is an individual unit of ownership.

When a company issues stock, it will sell a fixed number of shares on the stock market, with buyers also able to trade fractional shares, which are simply portions of an individual share.

The stock market is a blanket term that refers to the general trading of company shares. Investors will typically trade shares on a stock exchange, which is an institution that connects buyers and sellers of stocks.

There are numerous stock exchanges around the world, with notable examples being the London Stock Exchange (LSE), New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) 🤓

What are the potential benefits of buying shares?

The chance for a higher return (and greater losses)

If you choose to invest in a single business that you trust, you can get the full effect of any gains or losses, when compared to a portfolio that is diversified with many different companies.

Back a business you believe in

With a wide range of US company stocks to choose from, you can invest in a business that aligns with your own values and cast your vote on decisions affecting its future direction.

Earn an ongoing return

If you own stock in a company that chooses to pay dividends to shareholders, you can consolidate a return on your investment without needing to sell any of your shares.

Who can use Plum for stock investments?

We’re making stock investing available for all our customers. So, provided you’ve signed up to Plum and created your investment account, our trading platform will be available to you with no additional subscription required.

You can buy or sell US stocks with Plum using a General Investment Account (GIA), but we don’t currently offer the ability to trade US stocks using a Stocks & Shares ISA (unlike an ISA, earnings are not tax-free with a GIA).

How to invest in stocks

If you’ve been wondering how to buy stocks then we can help with that!

It’s simple to buy and sell shares through the Plum investment app, meaning you can manage all your savings and investments in one place.

1. Set your own Rules

You stay in control of how much you want to invest. You can deposit manually from your bank account, or use our smart Rules to help you automatically set aside small amounts to fund your investments.

This principle is the essence of dollar cost averaging, a passive trading strategy in which you merely attempt to keep pace with the financial markets (rather than trying to beat them by investing a lump sum at a strategic time).

2. Choose your stocks

We have up to 3,000 individual stocks for you to choose from. Just decide how much you’d like to invest in a particular company and we’ll buy as many shares (or fractionals) as we can, according to the share price at the time.

3. Invest with low fees

The minimum trade amount is £1, but beyond this, you can place an unlimited number of investment buy and sell orders, commission-free (though an ‘FX’ currency conversion markup and regulatory charges still apply).

When can I trade US stocks?

For US stocks, market trading hours are between 2.30 pm – 9 pm (UK time), and any orders placed outside of these times will be queued and executed as soon as the markets open again. Queued orders can also be cancelled if not yet executed.

What are the fees if I trade US stocks?

We won’t charge you a commission on any trades that you make. However, other currency conversion charges and regulatory fees still apply.

For example, if you were to buy and then sell 1 share worth $100, a 0.45% currency conversion charge would be applied on each transaction. The total fees charged for these 2 trades would be around 90 cents.

How is my money protected if I invest in US stocks with Plum?

While the value of your investments will naturally fluctuate according to market forces over time, you can feel sure that your underlying investments (the company stocks/shares that you own) are safe.

Your US stock investments are safeguarded by a federally mandated, nonprofit organisation, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).

SIPC ensures that should anything happen to us (Plum) or our investment broker (Alpaca), your investments can be transferred back to you and not touched by anyone to whom we or our broker may owe money.

SIPC protection also extends to non-US citizens, covering accounts up to $500,000 (including $250,000 cash claims) per client, as defined by SIPC rules. This makes SIPC coverage similar to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”), which you may have heard about here in the UK.

What other investments are offered by Plum?

In addition to trading stocks, you can also use the Plum app to invest in funds. Investment funds are managed by a professional fund manager, who will seek to maximise returns while achieving a specific aim.

A fund’s aim could be to focus on a certain sector, such as Technology or Environmental (ESG), or be linked to risk tolerance. Alternatively, an index fund might attempt to mirror the performance of a particular stock index, like the S&P 500 in the US or the FTSE 100 in the UK.

If you choose to invest, please remember that your capital is at risk and you could lose money. The value of your investments can go down as well as up.

To learn more about the Plum investing app you can check out our website.

Plum is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).