RBS unleashes robo-advice service via NatWest brand
Slowly and surely innovations from the fintech sector are filtering down to the mass-market
Wealthtech is coming to the UK high street as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has launched a robo-advice service for around five million customers under its NatWest brand.
The service will be available for clients with a minimum of £500 to invest. The total cost of advice, investment and platform fees will be at 0.95%.
Customers will be given an investment plan after completing an online questionnaire, which will include a selection of fund choices.
The fund range will reflect the risk-graded portfolios Natwest has on its execution-only services. In addition, the service will provide advice, giving customers recourse in the event they have been mis-sold to.
Last year, a spokesperson for RBS said: “The demand for face-to-face investment advice is changing. Our customers increasingly want to bank with us using digital technology.
“As a result, we are scaling back our face-to-face advisers and significantly investing in an online investing platform that enables us to help a new group of customers with as little as £500 to invest.”
RBS has been seeking a digital banking redress for some time and making a lot of job cuts in the process. In the latest announcement in August, the UK’s Unite trade union disclosed that RBS told staff that it will be cutting a further 40% of permanent roles from its London IT function by 2020.
The robo-advice launch by RBS is also a prime example of big banks moving into this space. And it’s been well covered before.
As reported this month, some key takeaways from the UK Robo-Advice Innovation Forum revealed how Santander and HSBC are both demonstrating robo-advice propositions.
There was also an opinion piece last month, which discussed how slowly and surely innovations from the fintech sector are filtering down to the mass-market.
