HSBC has entered the retirement advice market, initially focusing on customers with a higher level of investable assets.
Caroline Connellan, HSBC’s head of UK wealth, said in a statement that the group recently started offering a specialist retirement advice service that helps customers better plan for their retirement.
“This service provides customers with advice on how to use their pensions – whether consolidating existing pensions or making important choices about taking income.
“We are initially focused on where there is the most customer demand, which is from customers with a higher level of investable assets,” she continued, adding that they currently have a small number of highly-trained advisers providing the service.
“We are planning for how we can make this available to more customers in the near future.”
Ms Connellan said HSBC has 720 regulated advisers or relationship managers, which makes it one of the largest adviser firms in the UK.
Despite initially aiming for those with higher levels of investable assets, they also have one of the lowest qualifying entry points for financial advice in the UK market, at £50,000 worth of investable assets.
The statement explained that relationship managers currently offer advice on all at-retirement options, including purchasing annuities and investing via its HSBC flexible retirement account, which has an all-inclusive cost of approximately 0.7 per cent and gives access to the risk-profiled HSBC World Selection fund range.
ruth.gillbe@ft.com
