Six Park lowers its minimum investment to help more Australians invest
Online investment management service Six Park has lowered its minimum investment to $2,000 to help even more Australians access affordable professional investment.
This follows a previous lowering of the minimum investment amount from $10,000 to $5,000 in March 2020.
The move comes at a critical time in the world of investing: the appetite for investing is at an all-time high and so is the need for accessible and affordable investment guidance, says Six Park co-CEO Pat Garrett.
“This is also clear to our growing number of partners, who come from a diverse range of backgrounds, including financial advisers, accountants, and wealth coaches. All of these partners recognise the importance – and indeed the responsibility – of providing people with an alternative to DIY investing, which can be stressful, expensive and incredibly difficult,” said Garrett.
“We expect to see the enthusiasm Australians have for investing to continue – especially with low interest rates and an increasingly inaccessible property market – and as an industry, it’s important we respond to that and recognise that people need affordable help and effective ways to invest their money and navigate the risks involved, no matter how much they have to invest.”
Smaller investors face a range of challenges that robo-advice is well-placed to address, Garrett said.
“Setting up and managing a diversified portfolio – and doing it well – is a lot harder and more expensive than many people realise. It can also be hard to diversify with smaller amounts, and many DIY platforms aren’t easy to use.
“Australians want support to invest, and we’re proud to be providing our partners with affordable solutions for their clients that solve some of the most common problems they’re likely to face.
“Most advisers have highlighted the opportunity of using Six Park’s services for these investors over the unspoken reality of turning low-balance investors away or sending them off with some ad hoc advice on exchange-traded funds without the investor receiving ongoing professional oversight and rebalancing in line with their risk profile.”
A Vanguard report on Australian attitudes and approaches to investing released earlier this year showed that 35% of Australians believed they needed more than $10,000 to start investing.
“This is a concerning misconception because it means many Australians are missing out on the opportunity to make their money work for them.
“By broadening access to our portfolios we’re also maximising opportunities for our partners to engage with more clients and connect with them earlier in the financial journey. With advisers, we’ve seen this play out when considering how to best help the children and grandchildren of clients who want to start their investing journey.”
The lower entry level is also expected to attract younger investors, who currently make up about 1 in 5 of Six Park’s investors according to a recent client survey.
“There’s a clear appetite from young investors to not just start investing, but to invest with professional support,” Garrett said.
“By offering a diversified, affordable option at a lower investment point, we’re already seeing younger investors who are excited about getting started sooner or including professional management as part of their overall investment mix.”
Clients investing between $2000 – $5000 will be invested into four exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – a carefully chosen subset of the globally diversified ETFs used in Six Park’s standard portfolios, designed to optimise diversification and returns while minimising fees at that investment level.
Once clients reach $5,000 the funds are traded into a full portfolio across eight ETFs. Clients with account balances under $5,000 will pay $6.25 in fees per month.
Six Park is also offering three months without management fees to all new clients, including clients of partners, until October 31.
For more information: www.sixpark.com.au/financial-professionals
