Banks have featured heavily in the financial press over the last few months as they prepare for the opportunity expected because of the anticipated intergenerational overhaul. Lloyds is an example of a bank that has launched its plans to make insurance and wealth management a core offering following its 2018 announcement of a joint venture with Schroders, and it will soon announce an execution-only service.
Coutts (part of NatWest) announced in February their plans to launch a £30bn wealth management business, and Royal London, one of the only providers not offering advice themselves, have recently purchased a majority stake in Wealth Wizards from LV= which is a direct-to-consumer robo-adviser.
Finally, last week saw the launch of the long-awaited, 0.79 per cent all-in, hybrid financial planning service from Vanguard, which has been on the cards since 2017.
How are young people being impacted by the ever-changing ecosystem of the industry?
More young people are being drawn into the world of investment than ever before, with stories like GameStop piquing their attention earlier this year. DIY platforms such as interactive investor reported a 2500 per cent surge in the number of 24–30-year-old investors using its platform in the final two weeks of January. This has led to growth in the total spend on debit and credit cards to investor brokerages on DIY platforms doubling in 2020 and is now 400 per cent higher among 19–29-year-olds.
Earlier this year, Freetrade added over 40,000 accounts in one day – 10 times its daily average. Of these accountholders, 80 per cent are under the age of 35. Engaging with the younger generation is a great opportunity now, particularly when we learn that from a recent study by Prudential UK called Family Wealth Unlocked that two-thirds (67 per cent) of people whose parents have a financial adviser also use the same adviser.
The valYOU Proposition – Creating a number of stories, not a story of numbers
Comparison is the killer of contentment. We know that this area of advice is very holistic and at times emotional, an integral part of this type of financial planning for which there is no algorithm.
So how is the market innovating its tools in allowing this industry of financial architects to elect a suitable suite of weapons to facilitate this ‘stories-under-management’ style of planning being as holistic as possible?
