From 20th February 2016 all NatWest customers will be able to self-select an investment fund through NatWest new service, NatWest Invest.
Customers can invest as little as £500 and choose the fund that they feel best suits their needs and the level of risk they wish to take. They can link their investment to a financial goal and track their investment performance online 24×7 using their normal online banking log in details. Charges and fees are intended to be simple; customers will be charged a maximum of 0.95% of the funds invested per year.
NatWest Invest will provide a service to the bank’s customers who do not wish to pay for advice and prefer to make their own decisions.
As customers can invest as little as £500 it will also provide a valuable opportunity for those who may not be able to afford advice or for whom paying advice fees would not make financial sense. For this group of customers NatWest are dipping their toes in to “robo-advice” by developing an online automated advice service which they plan to launch later in 2017.
Commenting on the launch of NatWest Invest, Chief Executive of Personal and Business Banking, Les Matheson said:
“At NatWest we are very focussed on meeting our customers’ needs and it is clear that their expectations are changing. They are increasingly choosing to bank with us digitally and we have responded to this change by launching an online investment service which customers can access through their existing online banking. We’re focused on helping our customers to get on in their lives and to achieve their financial goals. They can link their investment to a goal, such as; saving for a deposit for a house, and easily track their progress.â€
The NatWest Invest funds are available as an ISA, so the bank’s customers can use their ISA allowance or transfer funds from an existing ISA. Here’s the details of the funds available:
- Fund 1 – Designed for conservative investors – those willing to accept a small degree of investment risk to achieve relatively stable returns. Risk: Short term, minor fluctuations in value. Losses to capital may occur. Recommended investment timeframe: medium to longer-term.
- Fund 2 – Designed for cautious investors – those who prefer a modest degree of risk to achieve potentially improved returns. Risk: Modest, with frequent fluctuations in value, losses to capital may occur. Recommended investment timeframe: medium to longer-term.
- Fund 3 – Designed for balanced investors – those balanced in their risk tolerance, prepared to accept risk where it could result in improved long-term returns. Risk: Frequent and at times significant fluctuations in value, losses to capital may occur. Recommended investment timeframe: longer-term.
- Fund 4 – Designed for assertive investors – those prepared to risk periods of poor performance to achieve potentially higher longer-term returns. Risk: Frequent and considerable fluctuations in value, losses to capital may occur. Recommended investment timeframe: longer-term.
- Fund 5 – Designed for adventurous investors – those who accept lengthy periods of poor performance to potentially achieve much higher longer-term returns. Risk: Large fluctuations in value, losses to capital may occur. Recommended investment timeframe: longer-term.
NatWest offers the option to set up savings goals aligned to instant access savings and ISA accounts in Online Banking. In 2016, customers with a savings goal saved 70% more than those without one and 7 in 10 customers who set a savings goal went on to achieve it.
We’ll post more information on NatWest Invest when the service is available.