CMC Invest Junior Cash ISA Customer Reviews & Expert Rating

Yes, Beanstalk won best investing account (as voted for by customers) in the 2025 Good Money Guide Awards. Beanstalk is a super simple way to start investing in an ISA. You can either invest as an adult of in a Junior ISA for your children, which you can split between cash savings and the stock market.

Beanstalk Junior Stocks and Shares ISA

Beanstalk has won "Best Junior Stocks and Shares ISA" in our 2024, 2023 and 2022 awards. They offer one of the easiest ways to invest for your children and you can quickly move money between cash and the stock market to manage the amount of risk/reward you want to take.

Julian Robson, founder and CEO of Beanstalk said after winning the award: We’re thrilled to have won the Best Junior ISA Award from the Good Money Guide Awards for the third consecutive year. It’s a fantastic recognition, reflecting our unique and valuable proposition for parents and grandparents who want to invest in their children’s future. Our focus is on encouraging long-term investment over cash savings, as that tends to yield better returns. We aim to support first-time retail investors with a simple solution to put money away for 18 years, and it’s great to see the UK retail investment market thriving.

Beanstalk provides a simple yet effective way to invest for your children's future. Friends and family can also make deposits directly into your child's account via the app. The investment options are split between cash and the stock market enabling parents to adjust the level of risk they are prepared to take. It's a good option for parents who want to investment for their children, but don't want to pick individual investments.

Why is Beanstalk so good? Well...

We quite often go to the ponies as a family, and if there is more than a single page of horses on the card for a race we always let the children have a little bet to cover more of the field. A while ago we were at Sandown, it was the last race of the day, and Hugo, my youngest, chose a horse based on the only sensible strategy available to a two-year-old, he picked one at random. As luck would have it, it was a rank outsider, a 13-year-old with an exceptional track record that was now a little bit long in the tooth. But, he wished and he hoped and Wishing and Hoping romped home to win at 50-1, after leading the pack the entire race.

ITV Racing caught us trackside on the TV as the owner burst into floods of tears and the trainers were whooping away. That’s us on the left clapping the trainers…

We didn’t get 50-1, we got 34-1 because we only bet with the bookies at the track, in particular, we like a chap called Barry, who wears a Fedora.

A tidy return nonetheless, but what to do with it? Usually, we’d all go out to dinner to celebrate, but because it was Dry January, we just went home. And because we’re trying to be more responsible parents, we thought we’d invest his winnings. Let it ride as it were, on the biggest bet out there, the stock market.

Previously, we invested one of my other children’s birthday money through GoHenry, but as Hugo is too young to get pocket money, I chose Beanstalk for him.

But was it a good time to be investing in your children’s future? I hear you ask. The stock market was coming off five-year highs, we may have been in a recession, the world is nearly at war and the tech giants who have historically created massive shareholder returns are laying people off left right and centre.

Well, here’s the thing, there is always a disaster around the corner, and actually now is the best time to start investing, because it is in fact, now. When it comes to long-term returns (Hugo can’t access money in his JISA until he is 18), the best time to invest is as soon as possible.

When I interviewed Julian Robson, the co-founder of Beanstalk, he told me that one of the inspirations for setting up the Beanstalk JISA was a chart that was on the wall in his old boss’s office. It was a chart of the stock market going back to the 1900s. His point was that if you look at a long-term chart of the stock market, you can’t see 1987’s Black Monday, The 1930’s Great Depression, or any other major stock market crash. In general, it just goes up.

Here is a good example of the Covid market crash that Cem Eyi (Beanstalks other co-founder highlighted on LinkedIn recently (the fund is Fidelity World Index).

What does Beanstalk invest in?

When you invest in a Junior stocks and shares ISA with Beanstalk, you are essentially making two investments (three if you want to include your child’s future), the Legal & General Cash Trust fund and the Fidelity Global Index fund. The first tracks interest rates and keeps your money as cash, the second tracks the stock market, and holds big profitable companies like Apple, Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson (you can see the full portfolio breakdown here). It’s a standard diversified portfolio.

How much does Beanstalk cost?

It costs 0.5% of the balance of your portfolio for a Beanstalk JISA, but if cost is your only concern, you can buy these funds individually with a DIY platform like AJ Bell (0.25%) and interactive investor (JISA is free with a £9.99 per month trading account). Regardless of who you invest with, you will still have to pay the 0.12-0.15%. charges levied by L&G and Fidelity for managing the fund. It's worth noting that Hargreaves Lansdown Junior ISA is now free, so much cheaper.

Why invest in a Beanstalk ISA?

Where Beanstalk earns its money is that you can very easily switch between what percentage of cash and stocks are in your child’s portfolio. There is a handy slider, which also shows what the historic returns would have been depending on the allocation.

So, if you think the market is going to crash, you can switch to more cash and interest, rather than stock market investments. But remember, a general rule of thumb when it comes to investing is that the younger you are, the more risk you should take. If you are old, the closer to retirement you are the lower risk your investments should be. So, when your child comes close to 18, you can tune down the risk so that you don’t get bitten by a shock stock market crash the week before they get their money.

I’m not suggesting for a second that you bet on horses to kickstart your children’s financial literacy, that would be idiocy. But, if you have a few pounds sitting around, pick up your phone, download the app, and start investing for your children’s future. If you’re looking to bet on a winner, that’s a sure thing.

Yes, Hargreaves Lansdown won "Best Junior Stocks & Shares ISA 2025" in the Good Money Guide Awards.

Since Hargreaves Lansdown removed the fees from of its JISA (Junior ISA) account it is now one of the cheapest ways to invest for your children.. This is good news as Hargreaves Lansdown is generally acknowledged to be not only the largest provider of direct-to-consumer investment services but also the most expensive.

As well as seeing record inflows in 2024 for the now free junior ISA investing account, HL also reports that over one-third of JISA are paid into every month and that the average account value of a junior stocks and shares ISA when it converts into an adult ISA is £18,829.

The Junior ISA is aimed at those under the age of 18 and is designed to encourage long-term saving on behalf of children and teenagers. Those goals have received a boost with Hargreaves Lansdown removing its fees on the Junior ISA.

Junior ISAs, which are often managed by parents, grandparents or guardians, on behalf of a young person, will now be able to trade or invest in funds and ETFs, UK and overseas shares, gilts and other bonds, free of charge.

If those deals are transacted online or as part of a regular savings plan via direct debit.

Charges will still apply if orders are placed over the phone with the Hargreaves Lansdown's dealing team, or via the firm's postal dealing service.

Hargreaves will also waive charges associated with account opening or closing, transfers of stock or cash, and the production of quarterly statements.

Though the firm will retain some credit interest to cover its administrative expenses.

UK and Irish Stamp Duty charges and the UK PTM levy will still apply to qualifying equity trades, as will purchase and financial taxes on certain French, Spanish and Italian securities.

Hargreaves Lansdown’s biggest rival is AJ Bell, who charge 0.25% on the value of shares held in a Junior ISA, though that fee is capped at £2.50 per month.

AJ Bell also has a custody fee of 0.25% per annum and a variable fee schedule for trading.

Regular online investments attract a charge of £1.50, as do dividend reinvestments and trades in unit trusts.

Online trades in equities, investment trusts, ETFs, Gilts and bonds are charged at £9.95 per trade.

Though that can fall to just £4.95 if the account traded 10 times or more in the prior month.

Telephone orders at AJ Bell are charged at £29.95 per trade.

AJ Bell's Lifetime ISA charges 0.25% of the value of shares held in the account, capped at a maximum of £3.50 per month.

Once again custody charges of 0.25% also apply.

Though if an investor is holding more than £250,000 in funds, within their AJ Bell Lifetime ISA, then the custody charge falls to 0.10%.

And if they hold £500,000 or more in fund investments there are no custody charges levied.

Over the long term, fees can negatively affect the performance of an investment portfolio. So for Junior ISA holders and those that manage the accounts, a no-fee solution is a very positive step.

And one that will hopefully encourage parents, grandparents and guardians to invest on their charges’ behalf, and to choose Hargreaves Lansdown as they do so.

Which, is no doubt what the no-fee offer is designed to encourage.

However, there is no cash Junior ISA at HL. Hargreaves Lansdown only has a stocks and shares junior ISA, but you can receive interest on your uninvested cash (essentially making it a cash ISA).

Yes, Interactive Investor's JISA is a great way to invest for your children if you have a Plus investing account with ii as it's free to open as many JISAs as you have children, and you can invest in a huge range of shares, bonds and funds.

Fees: *ii JISAs are free for customers on the Plus plan, which is £14.99 a month. There's 1 free trade per month and you can buy and sell funds for £1.49. UK and US shares are £3.99 shares and other international shares are £7.99. There's also a Premium plan, which is £39.99 a month.

Special Offers:

• One free trade per month – One buy or sell order is free every month, after that, the cost is between £3.99 and £7.99 depending on what plan you are on.
• Free investing for your friends and family –  You can give up to 5 family members a free investment account subscription with Interactive Investor’s Plus plan. Each member can invest up to £100,000 in an ISA or a general investing account with free regular investing and no account fees. However, they will still pay normal dealing commissions when they buy and sell investments.
• Get £200 when you refer a friend to Interactive Investor – Recommend a friend or family member to ii and get a £200 reward. Your friend will get their first year’s service plan for free. To qualify, your friend must transfer or fund their account with at least £5,000 in combined cash/investments. However, your friend will not receive the usually monthly free trade.

Yes, the Moneyfarm junior ISA has the same portfolios as the standard GIA, ISA and pension account. So you can invest tax free for when your children turn 18.

Fees: Moneyfarm Junior Stocks and Shares ISA fees - platform plus management fees - are scaled between 0.70% for amounts between £500 and £50,000, then are tiered depending on the size of the investment: 0.45% for £50,000 - £100,000 and 0.35% for £100,000 - £1.5 million (then none). Average investment fund fees are 0.2% and the average market spread when buying and selling is 0.10%

Yes, AJ Bell offers a stocks and shares junior ISA where you can invest in the stock market for your children.

Fees: AJ Bell charges 0.25% of the value of your for a Junior ISA. Share account fees are capped at £2.50 a month. Dealing costs are £1.50 for funds and £5 for shares but drop to £3.50 where there were 10 or more online share deals in the previous month.

Special Offers:

• Recommend a friend, and you’ll both get £100 gift vouchers – When you recommend a friend to AJ Bell Youinvest that invests more than £10,000 in a SIPP or ISA, you and your friend can get One4All gift vouchers worth £100.
• Switch your share dealing account and receive up to £500 to cover exit fees – If you transfer your share dealing general investment account valued at more than £20,000 to AJ Bell they will help cover any exit fees charged by your current provider. They will cover £35 per investment moved and up to £100 for general exit fees, up to an overall maximum of £500 per person.
• Free subscription to Shares Magazine worth £220
  Get a free subscription to Shares (worth over £220 per year) by maintaining a balance of £4,000 or more across your AJ Bell investing accounts.

GoHenry is a great way to combine educating your children about the future value of money along side giving the financial independence with their pocket money app. When you invest in the GoHenry Junior ISA you are buying Vanguards LifeStrategy 60% Equity Accumulation Fund, which contains a mixture of stocks and bonds.

GoHenry's Junior ISA

GoHenry’s Junior Stocks and Shares ISA lets you invest for your child’s 18th birthday in Vanguard’s LifeStrategy 60% fund and can be opened by parents or guardians of kids under 16 who live in the UK.

I got quite drunk at the City Am awards the other night, and after Nick Ferrari told some amusing stories about Boris Johnson and made some Whatapps jokes and dinner had been cleared, I found myself aimlessly wandering around looking for someone to talk to. The same thing happens to me at conferences, it reminds me of nightclubs at university or Saturday night discos at school pretending to look for the loo. I really just wanted to go home, but before I did, I was delighted to see that Louise Hill, one of the founders of GoHenry, who won "Entrepreneur of the year", was still at her table.

So I strolled on over, didn't introduce myself, and started waffling about how GoHenry was one of the best apps in the world, anywhere, ever. I've been chasing an interview with GoHenry for a while now, as it's always nice to hear from the people who set up these game-changing apps to see what makes them tick.  Will Carmichael, who founded Rooster Money (before Natwest bought it), had some great stories about trying to predict the stock market based on what children spend their money on. Julian Robson from Beanstalk, also had some fascinating insight into why there is never a bad time to start investing, particularly the key advantage children have over adults when it comes to investing, that being time in the market, rather than timing the market.

Anyway, it was a brief encounter, and hopefully, we'll nail them down for a proper chat at some point.

I'm glad I did though because GoHenry has genuinely changed our lives as parents. It would be hard to say that about most financial apps, becuase they are all basically just tools. But what GoHenry has done is made our lives cheaper and easier and that's a big win.

We first started using GoHenry during lockdown, so that the children could earn money for doing chores, but that actually became a bit of a chore for us because if I'm completely honest the app itself is a bit slow, takes ages to log in and the UX is a bit tricky to navigate. So we fairly swiftly stopped allocating pocket money based on chores and now the children just get a regular £5 a week.

The issues with the app aren't such a big deal because they never use it, but love their cards. Amazingly they always know where they are, and haven't lost one yet. I'd say I login once a month, so I can cope.

But, more importantly, it's revolutionised our children's attitude to asking for things. Before GoHenry every time we went anywhere, ever, we would be pestered for tat in gift shops, sweets in the supermarket and pleas for things their friends have.

Sometimes we'd give in, and it would cost us a fortune. But now, if they want something, we just say, "of course, you can have it if you buy it yourself". Which triggers children to think about whether or not they actually need something. Or, if they want it more than they want something else because unlike (in their eyes anyway) their parent's unlimited supply of magic money, being able to see what they can afford and if they buy this they may not be able to buy something else, makes them think twice about what they want.

So it's made our lives easier because we're not asked to buy so many unnecessary things.

Despite raising the cost of having the pocket money card from £2.99 to £3.99 a month and in percentage terms of their account balances that is massive, it's worth every penny because we are certainly spending less than that overall. In fact, we hardly buy them anything, they do it themselves.

GoHenry can even make you money, well not you, but your children. If you get them investing with a JISA (for an additional 0.67% a year).

The key advantage of investing in a Junior ISA for your children is that once the money is in, it's in and you can't take it out. In fact, only your child can withdraw it when they are 18, and all profits are tax-free. Some may argue (Justin Urquhart Stewart did when I interviewed him) that 18 is the worst possible time to give children any money because they are so irresponsible at that age, but then they must grow up and make their own mistakes.

Is the GoHenry JISA safe? Yes, your funds are invested with Vanguard which is regulated by the FCA and protected by the FSCS.

What happens to the GoHenry JISA at 18? At 18 Junior ISAs automatically turn into adult ISAs and your children are free to withdraw their money.

Interest Rates & Returns

The main disadvantage of course, is that stocks and shares ISA can go down in value, which ours actually have. So, the GoHenry Junior ISA doesn't pay interest, instead, it makes money based on how well the stock market performs. But that's fine because we're not trading in the short term, that money will be locked away for a good few years in Vanguard's LifeStrategy 60% fund, which is one of the cheapest and most diverse funds about. The 60% represents the fund's exposure to main market stocks, which generally go up. The 40% is in bonds, which generate steady income.

What's also good about the Junior ISA is that if our children want anything ridiculous, we can force them to invest. For example, my daughter has been begging for a pair of Air Jordans which we've always said no to because they are over £100 and it's insane for an eleven-year-old to have shoes that expensive. So what we actually did was buy her a second-hand pair on eBay as a treat for dealing with the stress of finding out from Surrey Country Council what school she has been allocated. However, even though we bought them, we deducted the £69.74 from her pocket money and transferred it to her JISA.

Because, whilst your children will grow out of shoes, what you really want to see grow is their financial independence so they have enough money to travel the world on their gap year.

What does the GoHenry JISA invest in?

When you invest in the GoHenry JISA, you are buying the LifeStrategy® 60% Equity Fund – Accumulation fund, which is a fund invested in 17 different other funds that track various stock and bond markets. 60% of the fund is in equity funds, whilst the remainder is in fixed-income products such as bonds.

The breakdown at the time of writing is:

• 19.50% - Vanguard FTSE Developed World ex-U.K. Equity Index Fund GBP Acc
• 19.00% - Vanguard Global Bond Index Fund GBP Hedged Acc
• 15.20% - Vanguard U.S. Equity Index Fund GBP Acc
• 15.10% - Vanguard FTSE U.K. All Share Index Unit Trust GBP Acc
• 5.70% - Vanguard U.K. Government Bond Index Fund GBP Acc
• 4.90% - Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund GBP Acc
• 4.30% - Vanguard U.K. Investment Grade Bond Index Fund GBP Acc
• 3.30% - Vanguard FTSE Developed Europe ex-U.K. Equity Index Fund GBP Acc
• 3.10% - Vanguard U.K. Inflation-Linked Gilt Index Fund GBP Acc
• 3.00% - Vanguard Global Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF GBP Hedged Accumulating
• 1.60% - Vanguard Japan Stock Index Fund GBP Acc
• 1.30% - Vanguard U.S. Government Bond Index Fund GBP Hedged Acc
• 1.20% - Vanguard U.S. Investment Grade Credit Index Fund GBP Hedged Acc
• 1.00% - Vanguard Euro Government Bond Index Fund GBP Hedged Acc
• 0.90% - Vanguard Pacific ex-Japan Stock Index Fund GBP Acc
• 0.50% - Vanguard Japan Government Bond Index Fund GBP Hedged Acc
• 0.50% - Vanguard Euro Investment Grade Bond Index Fund GBP Hedged Acc

How much does the GoHenry Junior ISA cost?

The GoHenry Junior ISA costs 0.45% per year, based on the value of your child's account. There is also a 0.22% fee charged by the fund manager, Vanguard. You also need to pay the £3.99 pocket money app monthly fee.

The annual fees are the same are Hargreaves Lansdown, but more than AJ Bell's 0.25% (although you do have to pay £1.50 when you deal). Interactive Investor are also a cheaper option if you just plan on buying the same Vanguard fund once a month as their JISA is free with an adult trading account and you get one deal a month free (after that it costs around £5.99).

Alternative Junior ISA (JISA) Accounts

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JISA Provider	JISA Fees	FX	Good For	Customer Reviews	More Info
	0%	1% - 0.25%	All-Rounder	★★★★★★★★★★ (Based on 1,103 reviews)	See JISA Capital at Risk
	£0	0.02%	Market Access	★★★★★★★★★★ (Based on 1,125 reviews)	See JISA Capital at Risk
	0.25%- 0%	0.75% - 0.5%	Low Costs	★★★★★★★★★★ (Based on 1,375 reviews)	See JISA Capital at Risk
	0.6%	n/a	Portfolios	★★★★★★★★★★ (Based on 2,571 reviews)	See JISA Capital at Risk
	0.75%- 0%	0.7%	Plans & DIY	★★★★★★★★★★ (Based on 249 reviews)	See JISA Capital at Risk
	0.5%	n/a	Simplicity	★★★★★★★★★★ (Based on 1,127 reviews)	See JISA Capital at Risk
	0.5%	n/a	Interaction	★★★★★★★★★★ (Based on 3 reviews)	See JISA Capital at Risk
	0.3%	1% - 0.15%	Service	★★★★★★★★★★ (Based on 265 reviews)	See JISA Capital at Risk

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Who owns GoHenry?

GoHenry was recently acquired by rival platform Acorns and as is often the case in these situations it looks like the new owners are reviewing their acquisitions pricing structure.

GoHenry Co-founder and COO, Louise Hill, was recently asked about the tie-up with Acorns and the values of their new parent company which she said was to ensure the financial wellness of the everyday American by encouraging them to start investing early in a non-invasive way.

GoHenry was founded on the premise that educating children about money and personal finance was a societal good so their values seem to be aligned.

Together, Acorns and GoHenry have nearly 6 million subscribers globally (across five countries)."

However, Louise Hill seems keen to move beyond just offering services to young people and would like to expand the franchise to include the over-18s.

Now that they have been bought by the Americans, GoHenry has announced a price rise for its subscribers, who will now have to pay 33% more each month to use the pocket money app's pre-paid debit card.

GoHenry, the savings and debit card app focused on children and teenagers, has announced an increase in the subscription paid by its users.

Subscribers will now have to fork out £3.99 each month to use the pocket money card. That may not sound like a lot but it represents a +33% increase over the previous monthly charge of £2.99.

Price rises post-acquisition are not confined to GoHenry, Nutmeg which was acquired by JP Morgan raised fees under its new ownership.

However, Roostermoney, which was bought out by Natwest, recently scrapped a proposed £1.99 per month subscription fee for access to its pre-paid debit card and pocket money app.

The monthly fee was to have become applicable in May.

The new owners relented on the charge, if only for NatWest Group customers, including RBS and Ulster Bank account holders.

Clients at other banks can still use the Roostermoney app and pre-paid debit card, but they will have to pay a £1.99 per month fee to do so.

Roostermoney was launched in 2016 and the app allows parents to load pocket money onto a pre-paid Visa debit card, which can be instantly frozen if it's lost.

Parents can also block payments to specific merchants and the app provides real-time spending and balance notifications to both parents and children.

Kids spending habits on pocket money apps

The Good Money Guide’s Jackson Wong, recently wrote about Roostermoney's Pocket Money Index, which tracks the spending habits of more than 125,000 young people, asking could the index help us to predict stock market moves, you can read it here

Educating youngsters about money and personal finance is a very good idea and one that will help them no end in later life, when managing your finances, saving and investing for the future becomes increasingly important.

Seeing those juveniles as cash cows, however, is another thing entirely.

Hopefully, stiff competition between providers will keep such price rises to a minimum.

Hargreaves Lansdown, the country’s largest direct-to-consumer savings and investing platform, recently removed trading fees within its Junior ISA, for example.

Yes, we rate Wealthify as a good stocks and shares ISA for your children as you have the choice of an ethical investment plan. But as you are investing in ethical elements of the stock market, there is a risk that the value of your child's portfolio could go down.

Pricing: Wealthify charges a straightforward management fee of 0.6% for its Junior ISA, alongside the underlying costs of the investment funds used in the portfolio. It's a bit annoying that this is not displayed clearly on the JISA page, however, a full breakdown of fees are shown for each portfolio. I do feel as though this should be a bit more transparent as 0.6% is higher than some other providers.

There is a £1,000 minimum deposit, which is relatively high compared with some Junior ISA providers.

Market Access: The Wealthify Junior ISA is a managed investment service rather than a DIY investing account, so you cannot choose individual shares, ETFs or funds yourself. The pre-made portfolios rebalanced by experts can contain up to 20 investment funds from providers including Vanguard and Royal London, giving exposure to hundreds or thousands of investments across global markets.

App & Platform: Very easy to use, I've always liked it, especially the chart which shows you how much your child's portfolio can grow to.

It's designed to make investing for children simple and largely hands-off. You can open and manage the Junior ISA online, monitor its performance and make one-off or regular contributions. Its Friends & Family feature is particularly useful, allowing other people to contribute directly to the child's JISA.

Customer Service: Excellent support from real people in Wales by phone and secure message, plus an extensive online help centre and FAQs.

Research & Analysis: There is some educational content explaining Junior ISAs, investing, risk and ethical investing, but relatively little in the way of DIY investment research tools.

However, Wealthify isn't aimed at investors who want detailed market research, stock analysis or investment-screening tools. Instead, its investment team selects, builds and manages the portfolio according to the investment style you choose.

Yes, we rate Freetrade's JISA as an excellent way to invest for your children based on low fees, a wide market range and an easy-to-use app.

Pricing: Excellent - there are no account fees, no dealing commission, but the FX rate for converting GBP into USD is 0.99%. But fair enough, they have to make some money somewhere.

Market Access: Excellent - lots of UK, US and international shares to buy for your kids, which means you can buy brands like Nike, Apple and Snapchat, that they can follow.

For those who just want a set-and-forget investment strategy for their kids, there are also some ready-made portfolios with different levels of risk provided by Vanguard. Plus, if you are of the digital asset persuasion, you can also invest in cryptocurrency for your children through crypto ETNs.

App & Platform: Super simple to use, I set up a new JISA in under 2 minutes whilst testing it.

The only downside is that only the registered contact can make deposits, so there is no link to send to grandparents, family, and friends for contributions. App charting is good and you can also see what is popular among other investors who use Freetrade.

Customer Service: There is of course, an AI chatbot (Freeda) on the app, which did answer my question about the contribution link. When I was testing customer service and asked to be put through to a human agent, I was given a time frame of 2-3 days, which really should be better.

Research & Analysis: There is a quite cool insights tab that shows you where you are invested and can help you build a diversified portfolio. On the share price screens, you get some basic fundamental info like market cap and dividend yield, but to get the analyst ratings and more data, you need to upgrade to a paid plan.