Barclays launches new Digital Advice Service
Barclays has announced the launch of a new digital advice service to tackle the advice gap and give more people the confidence and support to invest their savings.
The new service, called Barclays Plan & Invest, will create a personalised investment plan that’s tailored to a customer’s goals, with Barclays then offering a discretionary service, managing the investments on their behalf, the firm said in a press release.
Barclays has said that it has partnered with Scalable Capital, a digital wealth management firm, to launch the new service, which will give customers access to the bank’s pick of both active and passive funds through a managed portfolio. Their investments will be chosen and managed by the bank’s dedicated team of investment experts, previously only accessible to clients with considerable sums to invest.
Unlike many robo-advice providers, Barclays will adapt the investment plan to any changes in the market or the customer’s circumstances and check-in with them at least once a year, to make sure that the investments are still right for the customer and that they’re making the most of their tax allowances.
The new service will initially be piloted with Barclays current account customers who have at least GBP5,000 to invest and will be accessed through Online Banking, with dedicated support over the phone. The bank will continue to develop the service over the coming months, with plans to launch on the Barclays app later this summer.
The launch coincides with new research revealing that over half of Brits (56%) feel that they don’t currently have access to the expert support they would need to start investing, with 71% believing that they don’t have the skills or expertise to invest on their own.
Dirk Klee, CEO, Wealth Management and Investments, Barclays, said: “Over the last few months, we’ve seen a rise in the number of people wanting to invest for the first time and it feels more important than ever that we give people the right tools and advice to plan for their financial future.”
“We launched Plan & Invest after listening to our customers, who said they wanted an investment service that gave them the convenience and affordability of robo-advice, but with more of the personalisation of Wealth Management.”
“I firmly believe that everyone should have access to affordable advice and Plan & Invest is just the first step in our plans to open up the tools we use with our Wealth clients to more people,” Klee continued.
CLICK HERE to read further details about the plan.
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