Investec Wealth & Investment has opened an interactive investment service for clients looking to invest £10,000 or more.
Click & Invest is an actively-managed online investment service that draws on the experience of Investec's fund managers.
Given the relatively low minimum amount of money people need to have to be able to use the service, Investec is targeting individuals who would not usually be able to access traditional wealth management services.
Assets held in the fund are reviewed on a monthly basis with the intention of outperforming the market.
Investec W&I charges 0.65 per cent on the first £100,000 invested, 0.5 per cent on the next £150,000 and 0.35 per cent on any sum topping this.
The service will have a minimum lump sum investment of £500 or monthly contributions of £100. Fees are capped at £375 a year.
Jane Warren, chief executive of Investec Click & Invest said the service is based on the same principles and expertise offered by Investec Wealth & Investment.
"The service is simple, intuitive and transparent, offering clients the convenience and ease of an online service, with the knowledge that their money is being actively managed by our team of experts, not algorithms," she said.
“Click & Invest appeals to a wide range of investors, from novices to the more experienced, all of whom have the comfort of knowing that we have been looking after clients’ investments for over 180 years.”
But Paul Jones, director of McKenzie Financial Planners, had a different take on the effectiveness of the Investec proposition.
He said: “The jury is out on whether clients will engage with robo-advice or still prefer some form of human contact.
"I think that as people get used to the concept of a professional offering initial words of wisdom, pointing people in the right direction, followed by the convenience of an online-managed solution take-up will be high.”
Investec's move follows a similar step by fund manager giant Vanguard, which last month launched its direct-to-consumer online investment service, charging an annual account fee of just 0.15 per cent.
The service will have a minimum lump sum investment of £500 or a minimum monthly contribution of £100.
There will be no account fee above the first £250,000 invested, meaning this fee is effectively capped at £375 a year.
On top of this investors will be charged an ongoing charge for the funds, which across Vanguard’s proposition averages out at just 0.14 per cent.
