Earn passive income on your investments
Learn about share lending at Freetrade.
Capital at risk. Participating in share lending carries risks. Share lending returns vary depending on borrower demand. Read more about the risks.
The illustration assumes a portfolio with £1,000 in shares on loan and a monthly yield of 1%.
Introducing share lending
Freetrade’s share lending programme allows you to generate additional income from shares that you own.
If you opt in, we will loan out your shares to borrowers when there is demand for them in exchange for a fee and collateral worth more than the value of your shares.
We only lend shares held in a GIA or SIPP. Shares held in an ISA aren’t eligible to be loaned.
You’ll keep 50% of all fees earned when your shares are on loan. The other 50% will be retained by Freetrade and our partners who help us operate the share lending programme.
You’ll still be able to sell your shares as normal, but you should be aware that there are some risks.
If you opt in, we will loan out your shares to borrowers when there is demand for them in exchange for a fee and collateral worth more than the value of your shares.
We only lend shares held in a GIA or SIPP. Shares held in an ISA aren’t eligible to be loaned.
You’ll keep 50% of all fees earned when your shares are on loan. The other 50% will be retained by Freetrade and our partners who help us operate the share lending programme.
You’ll still be able to sell your shares as normal, but you should be aware that there are some risks.
01
You will not be able to vote shares on loan
You can contact customer service if you want to vote your lent shares.
02
You may receive a manufactured dividend
We'll mark manufactured dividends in your annual tax certificate to help when preparing your tax return.
03
Shares on loan may be used for short selling
Short selling can put downward pressure on the share price.
How does share lending work?
Keeping your shares safe
There is a risk that the borrower does not return your shares, however we put in place arrangements to keep your shares safe
Opt-in and opt-out
We’ll only loan your shares out if you opt in to our share lending programme. If you opt-in and decide it’s not for you, you can opt out at any time through the profile screen in your app.
High quality collateral and borrowers
We hold government bonds worth more than the value of your shares and only loan your shares to high quality borrowers. We hold the collateral in accordance with the FCA’s client asset rules so that it will belong to you even if we were to go insolvent.
Freetrade will make you whole if a loan fails
In the event that a borrower did not return your shares, we would sell the collateral that we hold for you and repurchase your shares. In the unlikely event that the collateral was insufficient to repurchase your shares, we would make up the difference ourselves so that you don't lose out.
How much could you earn?
The amount of income you earn depends on the rates that borrowers are willing to pay for your shares and the number of shares you have on loan.
The rates paid by borrowers and the demand for shares vary from day to day.
In the table below, you can see a worked example of the amount of monthly income you could earn if £1,000 of your shares were on loan.
The rates paid by borrowers and the demand for shares vary from day to day.
In the table below, you can see a worked example of the amount of monthly income you could earn if £1,000 of your shares were on loan.
An illustrative example of monthly share lending income
Value of shares on loan and returns will vary with demand.
FAQs
Here you'll find answers to the most frequently asked questions. If you have a question that's not listed, please contact support.
What is share lending and how does it work at Freetrade?
Do I have to participate in share lending?
How much could I earn?
What does Freetrade earn?
What shares are lent?
How do you decide whose shares to lend?
Who is borrowing my shares?
What are the risks?
What is collateral?
Do I receive dividends if I participate in share lending?
Can I vote if I participate in share lending?
What if I don’t want to lend my shares anymore?
Do I benefit from FSCS protection?
Where can I see historical share lending yields?
Freetrade is covered by the FSCS. Eligible customer investments may be covered up to £85,000 in the event of our insolvency.
To learn more, read our full Share lending terms, FAQ section on the Freetrade share lending programme, and a deep dive into how Share Lending works at Freetrade.
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£4.99
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£59.88 billed annually
Accounts include
Stocks and shares ISA
Junior stocks and shares ISA
NewPension (SIPP)
NewGeneral investment account
Benefits include
Commission-free investing in Freetrade’s full universe of stocks, ETFs, and investment trusts
FX fee of 0.59% on non-GBP trades
2.5% AER on up to £2k uninvested cash
Mutual funds and gilts
New
and more...
Plus
£9.99
/Mo.
£119.88 billed annually
Accounts include
Stocks and shares ISA
Junior stocks and shares ISA
NewPension (SIPP)
General investment account
Benefits include
Commission-free investing in Freetrade’s full universe of stocks, ETFs, and investment trusts
FX fee of 0.39% on non-GBP trades
3.5% AER on up to £3k uninvested cash
Mutual funds and gilts
New
and more...
Accounts include
Stocks and shares ISA
NewJunior stocks and shares ISA
NewPension (SIPP)
NewGeneral investment account
Benefits include
Commission-free investing in Freetrade’s full universe of stocks, ETFs, and investment trusts
FX fee of 0.99% on non-GBP trades
1% AER on up to £1k uninvested cash
Mutual funds and gilts
New
and more...
Standard
£5.99
/Mo.
billed monthly
Accounts include
Stocks and shares ISA
Junior stocks and shares ISA
NewPension (SIPP)
NewGeneral investment account
Benefits include
Commission-free investing in Freetrade’s full universe of stocks, ETFs, and investment trusts
FX fee of 0.59% on non-GBP trades
2.5% AER on up to £2k uninvested cash
Mutual funds and gilts
New
and more...
Plus
£11.99
/Mo.
billed monthly
Accounts include
Stocks and shares ISA
Junior stocks and shares ISA
NewPension (SIPP)
General investment account
Benefits include
Commission-free investing in Freetrade’s full universe of stocks, ETFs, and investment trusts
FX fee of 0.39% on non-GBP trades
3.5% AER on up to £3k uninvested cash
Mutual funds and gilts
New
and more...
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