While other banks shut down under-performing robo-advisors, Royal Bank of Canada is doubling down on its strategy, opening up the automated investing service to customers with as little as $100 to spare.
Rajan Bansi, senior director, Investments & Advice, RBC InvestEase, says the change reflects learnings since the national launch of RBC InvestEase last November.
"We know there are Canadians who want to invest, but don't feel they have enough money or knowledge to take that first step," he says. "RBC InvestEase's no-minimum requirement, means you're backed by the expertise of our Portfolio Advisors and our smart technology, and don't need to worry about any minimums."
The shift in policy follows a recent RBC survey of non-investors which uncovered an appetite for investing among cash-poor customers.
Bansi says that RBC InvestEase is keeping everything as simple and convenient as possible, and all online. "You go to our website, answer a few questions about yourself and then you receive a commitment-free online portfolio recommendation," he adds. "If you like what you see and click 'accept', we open your account with whatever amount of money you want to deposit. As soon as your contributions reach $100 or more, we start investing on your behalf."
Investec, ABN Amro and UBS are among a number of high-profile players to have recently withdrawn from the robo-advisory market after failing to attract fewer customers than expected.