Santander enters robo-advisory market
Santander UK has launched a direct-to-consumer investment platform, offering access to Santander Asset Management funds plus 2,000 funds from major asset managers.

Santander UK has launched its direct-to-consumer investment platform.

The platform will offer access to Santander Asset Management funds and around 2,000 funds from major asset managers.

The platform, which is provided by FNZ, will have an annual management charge of 0.35 per cent.

Initial lump sum payments are a minimum of £100 per fund, with no maximum amount, as well as for additional lump sum payments. Regular payments can be a minimum of £20 per month by direct debit, the bank says.

The platform can be accessed via Santander.co.uk and customers can view their mortgage, savings, insurance and current account in one place. Users can also consolidate their investments held with other providers onto the Investment Hub.

Santander wealth management and private banking managing director Alan Mathewson says: “A crucial element of our wealth proposition is to make the investment market more accessible – a key focus of our work following the Financial Advice Market Review.

“Online investing is likely to represent 25 to 30 per cent of the UK retail investments market over the next couple of years. As a scale challenger bank, we want to be at the forefront of this trend as we continue to develop our proposition for customers in a simple, transparent and more affordable way.”

The new offering comes as the bank has embarked a strategy to expand its face-to-face advice service.

In January, Santander said it would return to the investment advice market less than two years after being hit with a £12.4m fine by the FCA.

The news comes after yesterday’s announcement of the launch of Santander’s private bank business in the UK.

The bank, which already has private banks in other countries, will launch the new service later this year and offer “bespoke” services to clients who have £500,000 in savings or investments or an annual income of £250,000.