Stockspot reduces fees to $1 to mark $1.2b AUM milestone

Online investment advice and portfolio management platform, Stockspot, has announced a raft of changes to mark 12 years since it launched and hitting $1.2 billion in assets under management (AUM), including lowering its monthly fee to just one dollar.

Eligible for client balances up to $20,000, investors can access “professionally advised and managed portfolios” that are personalised and tailored to specific goals, concepts and risk profiles at a significantly affordable pricepoint, which is the third time Stockspot has reduced its fees since it launched. The portfolios leverage a variety of exchange traded funds (ETFs) based in shares, bonds and gold to develop a broad spectrum of exposure from conservative to growth.

The other improvements introduced earlier this week also include:

• Investment themes available earlier, with the entry point lowered from $50,000 to $20,000 so clients can customise portfolios sooner;
• Two new crypto themes, giving clients the option to add Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs to their investment portfolios;
• Higher limits for fee-free kids’ accounts, now ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 per child; and
• Lifetime Platinum and Diamond benefits.

The changes come at the same time as a Stockspot survey of 400 Australians indicated that financial illiteracy (64 per cent) and high fees (39 per cent) were the largest barriers to investing, with 37 per cent of respondents that don’t invest at all. Property was highlighted as “the main path to wealth” for 73 per cent, but 88 per cent say it’s become too expensive. Just under 80 per cent of respondents said they would consider investing if it cost one dollar a month.

“Owning property feels out of reach for many young Australians. But wealth building doesn’t have to stop there. For less than the cost of a train ticket, anyone can now access the same professional strategies the wealthy have
always enjoyed,” Chris Brycki, Founder and CEO of Stockspot, said.

“This is the third time we’ve cut fees since launching in 2014, while many competitors have gone the other way. We’ve always backed Australians to keep more of their returns rather than lose them to fees.

“Investing isn’t just for people with high incomes or property portfolios. It’s for the nurse in Brisbane, the teacher in Wagga, the tradie in Perth. Fees are the one certainty investors can control – and now they’re lower than ever.”

According to Stockspot, its diversified portfolios have consistently outperformed its counterpart options, with new modelling suggesting that a $10,000 investment over 10 years at 7 per cent per annum, a client paying one dollar a month would end approximately $770 (7.7 per cent) better off than paying more in monthly fees to other providers.