BlackRock and NAB Private Wealth collaborate on low-cost ETFs

BlackRock has partnered with NAB Private Wealth to launch a suite of iShares ETFs which looks to target the cohort of younger investors who don’t have the means to access advice.

Insights from the wealth management arm of the big four bank found “strong demand” for low-cost investment options to build globally diversified portfolios.

The three new listings include two products that focus on multi-asset ESG portfolios (balanced and high growth options) and another that focuses on technology megatrends.

BlackRock Australasia head of wealth Chantal Giles tells Professional Planner insight from its adviser community led to the creation of the products.

“We’ve always had feedback from advisers that for low balance clients and intergenerational wealth transfer and those sorts of things, they don’t have an easy solution.”

She added there are plenty of diversified funds in the market, but ETFs have access at a lower price point.

“It’s democratising access to these multi-asset portfolios for long term investing,” she says. “It will be a tool for advisers but it will be a complementary product to other products we have in the market that are better suited for higher balanced individuals and clients.”

Giles says targeting investment education around ETFs is part the global firm’s mission to help improve financial wellbeing.

The lack of digital advice in Australia, particularly the regulatory complexity created by trying to give product advice, means the best alternative is offering products with a low barrier to entry.

“Globally, the US and EAMA [Europe, Asia and the Middle East] are much further along the journey on robo-advice and model portfolios, but we see a trend to using multi-asset ETFs because they’re really simple,” Giles says. “They can have micro-saving – smaller amounts of money going into them regularly – and that simple trade. It [also] takes out any of the rebalancing and strategic asset allocation.”