Platform Fee Vindicated

EasyEquities: Group's Inflows Increase by 63% to R5.3bn

- Moneyweb

The contentious decision by EasyEquities to implement what is effectively a platform fee for dormant (buy and hold) accounts has been vindicated, with net inflows into the group's various business units increasing by 63% to R5.31 billion in the six months to the end of February.

In the same period last year, it managed R3.3 billion.

It saw a record R1.4 billion in deposits in February, which surpassed its previous record (August 2024) by more than R100 million.

In March—outside of this reporting period and the tax-free savings account (TFSA) contribution deadline for the tax year—it managed to attract R1.7 billion in deposits.

Purple Group (majority owner of EasyEquities) introduced the R25 Thrive fee in November 2023; it was designed to ensure that EasyEquities account holders deposit more than they withdraw in a month.

The implementation of this was arguably ham-fisted as it was designed as a "rewards" programme but was effectively a platform fee that required a deposit greater than any withdrawals.