Charles Stanley has launched a portfolio service for clients with portfolios of less than £150,000.
The Personal Portfolio Service, which is a range of five multi-asset funds, aims to be a more cost-effective alternative to Charles Stanley’s existing discretionary service.
The service has an annual fee of 0.5 per cent and has an ongoing fund management charge between 1.25 per cent and 1.34 per cent.
This means the overall charge sits between 1.75 and 1.84 per cent.
Clients receive ongoing advice to check whether the investment are still suitable for them.
Christopher Aldous, head of asset management at Charles Stanley, said: “We saw a clear gap in the market where we could help smaller clients who might not otherwise be able to afford a professional investment solution together with some advice.”
He said he thought this new offering “filled this void”.
Funds | Risk profile | Total annual return target (over 3-5 years) |
Multi asset 2 | Low | Inflation +1% |
Multi asset 3 | Medium Low | Inflation +2% |
Matterley Regular High Income | Medium Low | Inflation +2% |
Multi asset 4 | Medium High | Inflation +3% |
Multi asset 5 | High | Inflation +4% |
Charles’s Stanley’s chief investment officer, Jon Cunliffe, who heads up the firm’s asset management arm, will oversee the funds, which invest active and passive funds, ETFs, and individual bonds and equities.
The proposition has the same access to tax wrappers as a discretionary portfolio.
Mr Aldous said: “In a world of low interest rates, it is more important than ever investors take control of their finances in order to achieve positive returns.
“We have already seen significant levels of interest in this proposition and look forward to helping a wide range of smaller investors.”
There is currently no minimum investment threshold for the service.
Blair Cann, certified financial planner at M Thurlow & Co, said: “Companies are coming up with these portfolios and making a song and dance about them.
“I guess selecting funds in the old-fashioned way would cost firms like Charles Stanley a lot of money,” he said, adding this new service has a “one size fits all element to it”.
Mr Cann said he had “no doubt” that this would be a popular service because it offers asset allocation for people who might otherwise be charged quite a lot of money for a bespoke offering.
Yet he said the fee seemed to be on the expensive side, pointing out that this might be because Charles Stanley has greater overheads than the average small or medium-sized IFA.
“Charles Stanley said this is cost-effective, and I guess it’s cost-effective to Charles Stanley; I don’t think you can disguise the fact that this is an attempt to cut their costs.”
katherine.denham@ft.com
