Monzo partners with BlackRock to offer 11 ETFs
- Monzo will allow investors to buy 11 BlackRock iShares ETFs in Monzo app
Monzo has teamed up with BlackRock’s iShares arm for the launch of an Exchange Traded Fund service designed to attract more investors.
The digital bank with around 11million UK customers is now offering 11 ETFs from fund manager BlackRock’s iShares range.
Customers can invest in a few taps using the bank’s app starting from £1.
Monzo already allows investors to invest in three BlackRock multi-asset funds, through its ready-made Monzo Investments service, but the latest move will see investors have more choice in low-cost ETFs.
The new ETF offering will be rolled out to existing customers from today and will be available to new customers in the coming weeks.
Customers can invest in the 11 ETFs through an Isa or General Investment account.
ETFs pool investors’ money together to buy a basket of investments. They are traded on the stock market, priced daily, and easily bought and sold.
Most ETFs tend to be passive investments that track a set index, although there are increasing numbers of active ETFs that have managers who try to pick investments they think will outperform.
Monzo launched Monzo Investments at the end of 2023 which attracted 200,000 sign ups in two days
The ETFs Monzo offers are thematic ETFs focused on tech and global growth as well ones which track the FTSE 100 and S&P 500. These are:
- iShares Core S&P 500
- iShares Core FTSE 100
- iShares MSCI Emerging Markets
- iShares Core MSCI Europe
- iShares Core MSCI World
- iShares NASDAQ 100
- iShares Healthcare Innovation
- iShares Metaverse
- iShares Global Clean Energy Transition
- iShares Blockchain Technology
- iShares Automation and Robotics
BlackRock ETFs are available on many retail platforms, without the need to sign up to Monzo or any other bank.
But the idea behind it is that it will be easier and quicker for people to get investing if they can do it from their banking app, all under one roof.
Nearly half of people have put off investing because the overwhelming number of choices makes it impossible to know where to start, according to Monzo research.
Jane Sloan, head of iShares for Europe at BlackRock ,says: ‘This offering paves the way for millions of people to have the opportunity to grow their money with confidence, starting from as little as £1.’
Andy Smart, chief product officer at Monzo, said: ‘This new ETF offering is the next step in making investing even easier and more personal.’
When the digital bank opened the waiting list for Monzo Investments in September 2023, more than 200,000 customers rushed to sign up to the new investment service waiting list in two days.
The Monzo Investments platform fee applies for investors buying ETFs – this is 0.45 per cent for free users and 0.35 per cent if you’re on a Monzo Plus, Premium, Perks or Max subscriber plan – which range from £5 a month to £17 month.
For example, a £1,000 investment would have a fee of £4.50 a year for free users and £3.50 a year on top of the Plus, Premium, Perks or Max plan fees.
Vanguard by comparison, offers a wide range of low-cost index tracking funds, has an account charge of 0.15 per cent.
While AJ Bell has a £5 dealing charge for ETFs and a 0.25 per cent annual account charge. Trading 212 offers fee free trading for ETFs.