Stake investing app review

How we rated Stake's investment features

Stake lets you invest in thousands of US stocks and ETFs with its mobile and desktop apps. It has a range of features designed to help you along the way. Stake has 2 tiers to choose between: Stake and Stake Black. We’ve summed up the features of the different tiers available and some pros and cons of Stake.

Stake fees

Stake offers pretty low fees for investing in US stocks but some of the best trading apps are cheaper (or free). And there are a few little charges scattered around Stake that are worth being aware of.

With the free Stake account, there’s no platform fee, but there is a $3 commission to pay when buying or selling stocks and ETFs. For any high rollers who make trades worth more than $30,000 – the commission is 0.1%.

Another slight drag with Stake is that although the 0.5% FX fee is quite competitive, the $2 minimum fee isn’t ideal if you wanted to make smaller deposits to buy fractional shares. Rather than paying the FX when you make trades, you’ll pay it on deposits and withdrawals as the accounts are denominated in USD.

There’s also an additional 0.5% (£2 minimum) for instant deposits. And, a cheeky $2 withdrawal fee that’s buried in the smallprint as a “bank processing” fee (with $10 minimum withdrawals).

If you want a Stake Black account, you’ll need to pay a £8.50 monthly account fee (or £90 yearly), but will also get more advanced trading features.

Stake investment choice and stocks

Stake focuses purely on US-listed stocks and this is one of the biggest limitations with the trading app.

It may suit those who want to concentrate on US stocks and ETFs, there are more than 6,000 available, but investors looking to trade UK shares or investments from further afield will need to look elsewhere.

The lack of other asset types isn’t ideal, but Stake could still act as your one-stop-shop to invest in US stocks. Keep in mind your first minimum deposit must be at least £50.

Is Stake safe and legit?

Stake is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and executes your trades through a 3rd party broker called DriveWealth. One major downside with Stake is that it doesn’t come with Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection.

One upside is that for your US investments, because Stake’s US broker-dealer, DriveWealth is FINRA regulated and a registered member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) – your US securities are protected up to the value of $500,000 (and $250,000 for cash claims) should Stake fail.

Although as always when you invest, your capital is at risk.

Stake account types and products

Unfortunately, Stake offers UK investors access only to a general investment account (GIA). This is common practice among international platforms launching in the UK and is definitely a downside compared with most UK-based share dealing platforms.

So, you’ll need to look elsewhere if you want to make the most of a tax-efficient “wrapper” like a stocks and shares ISA for investments or a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) for your retirement portfolio.

With a Stake account, you can invest as much as you like. However, you should be aware that if your stock portfolio grows, any potential gains may be subject to tax.

In the 2023/24 tax year, you have a capital gains tax (CGT) allowance of £6,000 – any profit over this amount could mean handing over some of those hard-won investing gains to the taxman.

Similarly, if you hold any stocks or shares that pay dividends, anything over £1,000 could also be taxed. These allowances can change each tax year.

You should also brush up on US tax rules. When you sign up and submit your W-8BEN, you make a declaration that you’re not a US tax resident, so you don’t need to file a tax return there. However, dividends from US stocks will automatically be subject to a 15% withholding tax (WHT), but Stake will handle this on your behalf. But Stake does pass on some other small US taxes like a $0.01 SEC fee and a $0.01 TAF fee.

Stake ease of use

Stake scored fairly well in our ease of use assessment. The app has pretty positive reviews, however we’re not big fans of the fact that you can only get hold of customer support through an online contact form.

The app is well-designed and you’re also able to invest using either the mobile app or the web desktop platform. On the App Store, Stake scores 4.5 out of 5, but on Google Play it has a lower 3.9 out of 5 (as of January 2024).

Stake customer reviews

Unfortunately, Stake scores a pretty lowly 1.9 out of 5, with a “poor” rating on Trustpilot, but only from just over 100 reviews (as of January 2024).

For other user reviews submitted to Finder, Stake scores 3.7 out of 5.

Stake tools, resources and features

Stake offers a decent range of investing tools and analysis features but it’s not the complete package.

If you sign up for Stake Black, you do get access to more features but we’re not entirely convinced it’s worth the monthly fee. With Stake Black you get all the features of the free plan plus:

Price targets. You can see what experts are valuing stocks at.
Pro level data. Full financial data on every company.
Analyst ratings. See what Wall St pros are saying about each stock.
Instant buying power. Your funds from sell trades can be invested right away.

Here’s a quick view of the two brokerage packs that Stake offers:

Frequently asked questions

• Does Stake pay dividends?

  Any dividends you are entitled to are paid into your Stake account in USD. You can choose to invest the funds or withdraw them.

• How long does it take to withdraw funds from Stake?

  You should allow up to 4 business days for your withdrawn funds to appear in your account.