XTB the Polish multi-asset broker becomes the latest firm to expand into UK retail investment products
XTB ISA
The ISA market in the UK is about to get a new entrant. XTB, the Polish fintech and CFD broker is now authorized to offer Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) to UK investors. This marks a major expansion for the company and one that goes beyond its core CFD and forex trading roots.
Opening the door to the potentially lucrative UK ISA market, which has more than £700 billion in AUM. After announcing plans to move into ISAs earlier this year, XTB has now secured the necessary regulatory approval from the UK authorities. It aims to launch its inaugural ISA products to UK clients during the third quarter of 2024 or early autumn.
What are ISAs?
ISAs allow UK private clients to invest up to £25,000 annually in tax-efficient savings vehicles via stocks and shares, funds and ETFs or cash deposits, without incurring taxes on any gains or income generated by those investments.
ISAs are a popular way for retail investors to build long-term wealth, and as of June 2023 11.80 million people in the UK had ISA accounts.
What asset classes will XTB offer to its ISA clients?
XTB’s initial ISA product suite will focus on investing in stocks and shares alongside passive exposure through ETFs, according to the firm.
This is in line with XTBs strategic vision of expanding their business through the roll-out of new investment products, beyond CFDs and forex trading.
Joshua Raymond, the CEO of XTB’s UK entity, said:
“Our entry into the ISA market would mark yet another milestone for our product rollout in the UK…to complement what is already a broad offering including ETFs, stocks, Investment Plans, and CFD products.”
With over 300,000 active traders globally and an aggressive growth strategy, XTB’s foray into ISAs should offer the firm the chance to compete for a bigger slice of the UK’s retail investor market.
We are seeing more margin trading brokers expanding their product ranges, as they try to cross-sell services to their existing client base, as well as attracting new customers, in a bid to defray the high cost of client acquisition, in the increasingly competitive UK market.
XTB investing plans
Polish multi-asset broker XTB is to introduce a new long-term passive investing product to its UK client base Investment Plans, as the new product is known will allow users to build a personalised portfolio of ETFs that are specifically aligned with their attitudes towards risk and their asset allocation choices.
Investors can choose the ETFs that they want to invest in and the amount of capital they want to allocate to each one.
As the portfolio grows and develops the allocation can be adjusted to keep it in line with the original investment objectives and XTB will alert clients as and when this becomes necessary.
Investment plan fees
Investment plans can only be created via the XTB app clients simply need to log in to their app and go to the save tab to start constructing an investment plan.
XTB is offering zero commission investing for those who invest less than €100,000 or equivalent per month.
Those clients that invest more than €100,000o will pay a commission of 0.20% subject to a minimum ticket charge of £10.00.
There are also FX fees of 0.50% to pay if you trade in ETF that’s not denominated in your account’s base currency. For example, a sterling-based investor buying a US-listed ETF priced in dollars.
XTB clients will be able to make regular monthly deposits into their Investment Plans, and those funds will be allocated among the ETFs they have selected, in the weightings they have chosen.
Clients looking for long-term investments
XTB recently expanded access to fractional share trading for its UK clients, in the face of growing demand for trading in physical stocks and ETFs.
XTB UK’s Joshua Raymond said that 61% of the firm’s clients were now investing in real stocks and ETFs and not just leveraged products.
As part of that process, XTB now offers more than 3000 stocks from across 16 major exchanges alongside 300 ETFs all of which can be traded fractionally.
XTB had previously rolled out fractional share trading in European markets including Poland, Spain and Portugal.
XTBs recent initiatives show that brokers are listening to their client bases and are introducing the services they want access to expanding beyond traditional margin trading and investing and physical share trading.
There has been no mention of it as yet but might we see an XTB ISA for UK customers in the not-too-distant future I wonder?
With over 35 years of finance experience, Darren is a highly respected and knowledgeable industry expert. With an extensive career covering trading, sales, analytics and research, he has a vast knowledge covering every aspect of the financial markets.
During his career, Darren has acted for and advised major hedge funds and investment banks such as GLG, Thames River, Ruby Capital and CQS, Dresdner Kleinwort and HSBC.
In addition to the financial analysis and commentary he provides as an editor at GoodMoneyGuide.com, his work has been featured in publications including Fool.co.uk.
As well as extensive experience of writing financial commentary, he previously worked as a Market Research & Client Relationships Manager at Admiral Markets UK Ltd, before providing expert insights as a market analyst at Pepperstone.
Darren is an expert in areas like currency, CFDs, equities and derivatives and has authored over 260 guides on GoodMoneyGuide.com.
He has an aptitude for explaining trading concepts in a way that newcomers can understand, such as this guide to day trading Forex at Pepperstone.com
Darren has done interviews and analysis for companies like Queso, including an interview on technical trading levels.
A well known authority in the industry, he has provided interviews on Bloomberg (UK), CNBC (UK) Reuters (UK), Tiptv (UK), BNN (Canada) and Asharq Bloomberg Arabia.
