Vanguard has seen its number of new clients in the UK spike by 83 per cent in the year it launched its advice proposition.
During 2021, according to the company, 183,400 people became clients of Vanguard Personal Investor. This is up from 100,000 in the year before.
Vanguard Personal Investor - which now offers both DIY and advised services - had 361,000 clients and assets of £11.8bn at the end of December.
The company launched its advice service in April 2021 charging an 'all-inclusive' ongoing fee of 0.79 per cent.
Vanguard launched its direct-to-consumer DIY service in May 2017.
Over time we will also cater to people in retirement.Vanguard said the success of its DIY and advised services since their respective launches has been part of the reason behind its decision to expand into Germany this year.
A Vanguard spokesman said: "We’ve started with an advice service designed specifically to help investors who are saving for retirement.
"For many people, a secure retirement is their main purpose in investing, and, in the first instance, it’s the area where we felt we can be of the most help to the most people.
"Since launch, we’ve been serving clients, building relationships with them, and importantly gathering feedback on the kind of additional features investors are interested in. Over time we will also cater to people in retirement, and those with other investing goals."
When it launched its advice service in the UK, Vanguard said its aim was to grow the overall advice market and not to take clients off existing advisers.
The service is targeted at clients with assets of £50,000 or more.
Earlier today (January 13) Vanguard chief executive Tim Buckley told FTAdviser's sister paper the Financial Times that the company would cut $1bn (£730m) from its investment fund fees by 2025 after reducing its charges by $140m (£102m) last year.
damian.fantato@ft.com
