TD steps up its offering for DIY investors
TD Direct Investing has announced it is making fund investing more accessible to DIY investors following enhancements to its proposition. As well as unveiling its new ‘Fund Selector’ tool, the company is reducing its charges – sending a signal that it is serious about supporting investors and helping consumers to better navigate what is a complex fund world.
Stuart Welch, CEO of TD Direct Investing said: “Investors have been faced with a number of pricing changes in recent weeks. This is not about reigniting the price war; our changes are part of wider enhancements to the products and services we offer to clients. I would encourage people to look beyond rate cards to the value that they are being offered by their provider.”
In recent years, TD has invested heavily in its infrastructure to ensure its platform provides a robust and reliable service. Alongside this it has been working with clients to identify areas of improvement – from educational support to new tools – resulting in the development of the Fund Selector, a powerful tool that is completely responsive to individual investors’ needs.
The selector simplifies the journey for investors by narrowing down TD Direct Investing’s large universe, of over 1600 funds, into different segments and sectors (incl. geography, industry and most popular funds purchased by TD Direct Investing clients) together with ratings provided by Morningstar to assist clients in selecting those that support their needs and interest.
In tandem to the launch, the company has also reduced its platform fee to 0.30% for clients who hold funds up to £250,000 and then 0.20% for any funds over £250,000 subject to a maximum charge of £1,500.
Stuart Welch, CEO of TD Direct Investing continued: “Over the past years, I hope we have become known for an unwavering drive for transparency, willingness to protect client interests and lead from the front on clean funds. The concept of a platform fee is still relatively new for people, and it’s important that providers like us do everything we can to explain what people are getting for their money.”
“We were one of the first providers to confirm our approach to fund pricing and have continued to review our offering to ensure we are giving investors the best value. To emphasise this, we plan to introduce new tools and system improvements throughout 2014 to make investing with us more accessible and attractive.”
The announcement comes 18 months after the Retail Distribution Review (July 2012) when TD Direct Investing led the industry on providing complete transparency around clean funds.
The fund selector tool will be available free of charge, via the company’s public site
tddirectinvesting.co.uk/fundselector