BlackRock and digital wealth manager Bux are launching risk-adjusted ETF savings plans, ETF Stream can reveal.
The savings plans, available on the Bux platform and set to be launched later this year, will offer retail investors access to BlackRock ETFs grouped across the risk spectrum – from defensive to growth – in “off the shelf” portfolios.
BlackRock declined to comment.
The new offering expands on the partnership between Bux and BlackRock. In January this year, the pair launched thematic-based ETF savings plans across eight European countries.
Investors can purchase the plans with a minimum investment of €10 a month and a €1 commission fee per trade.
Yorick Naeff, CEO of Bux, told ETF Stream the launch was to help retail investors grow their savings in a more “orderly fashion” as the group looks to capitalise on the retail investment boom across Europe.
“The retail investment space in Europe is still very small but we believe this is changing,” Naeff said. “Pension systems are changing, house prices are skyrocketing and inflation and interest rates are higher than for decades.
“There is an intrinsic need for people to start investing and diversify their own money, we want to be the go-to platform for people to start that journey.”
BlackRock estimates the number of ETF investors in Europe to grow by 32% – or 6.6 million – over the next 12 months as investors cotton on the cost-effective benefits of investing with ETFs.
Last April, BlackRock predicted the number of investors contributing to ETF savings plans in Germany alone is set to hit 20 million by 2026.
Naeff said he believes the level of investing knowledge among retail investors is also growing, hence the need to launch an execution-only platform at a lower price point.
The ETF savings plans will look to rival the passive model portfolio services of Nutmeg, Moneyfarm and Scalable Capital. Earlier this year, Munich-based Scalable Capital said it reached one million monthly ETF and stocks and saving plans in Europe.
“The level of sophistication is increasing as investing becomes top of mind,” Naeff added. “Setting this up at a significantly lower price point in an execution only application we can gain market share from mutual funds and robo-advisory firms.”
