Charles Stanley Direct has announced a plan to upgrade its App as part of preparations for the launch of its whole of market fund trading service in 2018.
The App was originally launched in October 2017 and has had over 10,000 downloads since then.
The upgrade introduces full fund and stock search, plus indices and sectors and also introducing fingerprint authentication for Android plus face-ID recognition for iPhone X users.
Magnus Wheatley, managing director of Charles Stanley Direct, said: “The next stages of evolution for the App will further engage our clients and we believe that for many of our users, the App could become their primary interaction with our service.
“The goal here is to have the market-leading App in the direct to consumer space by the end of 2018, placing the power of Charles Stanley Direct into the palms of our clients with the best possible interface. These are exciting times for Charles Stanley Direct.”
Patrick Connolly, head of communications at Chase De Vere, said this looks like a positive move for Charles Stanley Direct.
He said: “It is imperative that financial companies, whether that is advisers, distributors or product providers, ensure that they are delivering services that their target customers want, in the way they want to receive them.”
The development of its App brings Charles Stanley Direct closer to the business model of Hargreaves Lansdown in terms of focusing on technology as part of its customer offer.
Back in May, Hargreaves Lansdown’s share price fell by nearly 8 per cent following the launch of Vanguard’s low-cost direct-to-consumer service.
While the Bristol-based broking and advice firm’s share price recovered, it was the business worst affected by the launch of Vanguard’s proposition.
Vanguard’s direct-to-consumer online service charges an annual account fee of just 0.15 per cent.
The service will have a minimum lump sum investment of £500 or a minimum monthly contribution of £100.
There will be no account fee above the first £250,000 invested, meaning this fee is effectively capped at £375 a year.
david.thorpe@ft..com