I came across this item a week or so ago, given the rising costs of execution only services with local brokers in this country and with the impact of MiFID II on such costs i am seriously considering getting out and moving to this service by HSBC.
[broken link removed]
The key question is how?
Below is the story that goes with the headline from Ignites
An investment service that was previously only available to HSBC's premier banking customers has been opened up to online retail customers.
The UK bank says its retail banking customers will now be able to access their investments through their online banking account via a service dubbed My Wealth Dashboard.
Customers will also have access to a wider range of research, enabling them to make more informed investment decisions.
This service was only available to customers with a premium account up until the announcement.
The move comes as a part of an update to HSBC's direct-to-consumer [broken link removed]for UK retail investors.
The bank has updated its Global Investment Centre this week, which enables customers to invest in over 300 funds from HSBC and other providers from as little as £100 (€111).
Funds from a number of major asset managers are available, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Allianz Global Investors, M&G and Schroders, covering a range of asset classes.
The platform will charge investors a fee of 0.39 per cent and allow them to track the performance and value of their investments online in real time.
Those logging in to their online banking accounts will be able to view all their investments through the Global Investment Centre.
The bank says it has also made it easier for customers to navigate between their investments and day-to-day banking.
The revamp comes ahead of the debut of the bank’s robo-adviser, which is expected to come to market in early 2018.
Dean Butler, head of UK retail wealth at HSBC, says the platform's refresh is “a signal of [our] intent to ensure that we provide a comprehensive wealth experience for all our customers”.
Mr Butler says the updated platform and the forthcoming robo-adviser will help “complement our existing wealth services” by ensuring they are better “tailored to meet customers’ individual needs”.
However, Jeremy Fawcett, head of consultancy Platforum, says the success of online investment platforms offered by banks depends on how well integrated they really are with the company's online banking services.
“It is having the two arms actually integrated rather than just appearing to be integrated that is key,” says Mr Fawcett.
Mr Fawcett says that while being able to do online banking, view investments and access information through one portal is a very attractive proposition for customers, being able to buy and sell funds in the same portal as paying bills would be even more so.
Yet he cautions that it can be challenging for many banks to do this as there is a “lower bar” in know-your-customer requirements for investment clients compared with opening a bank account, making it difficult to join the two services up.
Mike Barrett, consulting director at The Lang Cat, adds that while banks have a customer base that many robo-advisers "would kill for", online investment services through banks may still struggle to attract customers.
Mr Barrett says the lack of a self-invested personal pension through the HSBC platform may limit its attractiveness to consumers, as well as the lack of some well-known UK fund managers such as Vanguard, Fundsmith and Woodford.
Other banks are also trying to entice customers to invest online.
Last week Royal Bank of Scotland launched a robo-adviser under the NatWest brand with a minimum investment threshold of £500.
[broken link removed]
The key question is how?
Below is the story that goes with the headline from Ignites
An investment service that was previously only available to HSBC's premier banking customers has been opened up to online retail customers.
The UK bank says its retail banking customers will now be able to access their investments through their online banking account via a service dubbed My Wealth Dashboard.
Customers will also have access to a wider range of research, enabling them to make more informed investment decisions.
This service was only available to customers with a premium account up until the announcement.
The move comes as a part of an update to HSBC's direct-to-consumer [broken link removed]for UK retail investors.
The bank has updated its Global Investment Centre this week, which enables customers to invest in over 300 funds from HSBC and other providers from as little as £100 (€111).
Funds from a number of major asset managers are available, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Allianz Global Investors, M&G and Schroders, covering a range of asset classes.
The platform will charge investors a fee of 0.39 per cent and allow them to track the performance and value of their investments online in real time.
Those logging in to their online banking accounts will be able to view all their investments through the Global Investment Centre.
The bank says it has also made it easier for customers to navigate between their investments and day-to-day banking.
The revamp comes ahead of the debut of the bank’s robo-adviser, which is expected to come to market in early 2018.
Dean Butler, head of UK retail wealth at HSBC, says the platform's refresh is “a signal of [our] intent to ensure that we provide a comprehensive wealth experience for all our customers”.
Mr Butler says the updated platform and the forthcoming robo-adviser will help “complement our existing wealth services” by ensuring they are better “tailored to meet customers’ individual needs”.
However, Jeremy Fawcett, head of consultancy Platforum, says the success of online investment platforms offered by banks depends on how well integrated they really are with the company's online banking services.
“It is having the two arms actually integrated rather than just appearing to be integrated that is key,” says Mr Fawcett.
Mr Fawcett says that while being able to do online banking, view investments and access information through one portal is a very attractive proposition for customers, being able to buy and sell funds in the same portal as paying bills would be even more so.
Yet he cautions that it can be challenging for many banks to do this as there is a “lower bar” in know-your-customer requirements for investment clients compared with opening a bank account, making it difficult to join the two services up.
Mike Barrett, consulting director at The Lang Cat, adds that while banks have a customer base that many robo-advisers "would kill for", online investment services through banks may still struggle to attract customers.
Mr Barrett says the lack of a self-invested personal pension through the HSBC platform may limit its attractiveness to consumers, as well as the lack of some well-known UK fund managers such as Vanguard, Fundsmith and Woodford.
Other banks are also trying to entice customers to invest online.
Last week Royal Bank of Scotland launched a robo-adviser under the NatWest brand with a minimum investment threshold of £500.