Lloyds (LON:LLOY) Bank has announced its collaboration with BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)'s iShares division to introduce an exchange traded fund (ETF) service, aimed at attracting self-directed investors. Launched on Tuesday, the UK-based lender's ETF Quicklist offers retail investors access to 16 UK-listed ETFs run by the world's largest asset manager, investing in common themes and markets.
The new service simplifies the investment process for customers, providing them with a narrowed selection from over 600 ETFs available on the bank's platform. The Quicklist will be reviewed quarterly by BlackRock to ensure that the ETFs still meet Lloyds Bank's criteria. Additionally, customers will not pay any trading fees if they invest in the ETFs through a regular investment plan, which can start from as low as £20 per month.
Manuel Pardavila-Gonzalez, managing director of Lloyds Bank Investments, emphasized the convenience and affordability of the new service. "Investing should be hassle-free, affordable and accessible to all customers and our new ETF Quicklist will provide an easy way to get started on their investment journey," he said.
Jane Sloan, EMEA head of iShares and index investing at BlackRock, echoed this sentiment. "Delivering investments online and through mobile banking brings the simplicity and affordability of ETFs to more people," she said.
The launch of the lender's ETF service with BlackRock follows a recent partnership between the asset manager and UK challenger bank Monzo. The digital-only lender is set to offer clients three multi-asset BlackRock funds. Ignites Europe reported last month that over 200,000 Monzo customers had joined a waiting list to use the BlackRock investment offering when it launches in the coming weeks.
The introduction of Lloyds Bank's ETF Quicklist aligns with a growing trend among fintech banks to provide investment offerings through their banking apps. This includes Monzo's partnership with BlackRock and Revolut's collaboration with Berlin-based fintech Upvest, which launched an investing platform on its app providing European clients access to 158 ETFs.
The move by Lloyds Bank also follows the bank's recent survey findings, which showed that half of Brits are too intimidated to invest, while 28% said affordable options would alleviate some of their concerns. A BlackRock survey in partnership with YouGov found the UK is set to be Europe's third-largest ETF growth market over the next 12 months, with the number of new retail investors using ETFs forecasted to increase by 56%.
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