Scalable Capital has reached one million monthly ETF and stock savings plans amid booming retail demand for investment products.
Founded in 2014, Scalable is active in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK and has €10bn on its platform.
Investors tend to be most numerous in the 26-35 years old category, accounting for 43% of plans followed by the 36 to 45 age range.
More than 90% is invested in ETFs and just under 10% in individual stocks, with the most popular investments among clients being ETFs tracking a broader index such as the MSCI World.
Scalable offers access to 2,400 ETFs from more than 30 available issuers in total and about 7,500 global stocks.
Erik Podzuweit (pictured), founder and co-CEO ofScalable Capital, said: "Against the backdrop of rising inflation and the widening pension gap, easy and affordable investment offerings like those fromScalable Capitalare essential for retail clients."
The rise of digital platforms is one of the most important trends in the European ETF market. According to forecasts from BlackRock and extraETF, the number of ETF savings plans could rise to20 million in Germanyby 2026, up from 4.9 million at the start of 2022 and 1.9 million by the end of 2019.
The digital wealth manager said plans are commission-free with plans available from €1 per month although its average customer puts in c. €470 per month.
The company, which launched originally as a pure ‘robo-adviser’, is split between a brokerage, white-label and wealth division.
The firm's wealth service is available in Germany and Austria only at present, and also offers customers an ETF portfolio automatically managed from €20 a month and no initial minimum investment.
One in two of its brokerage customers also invests regularly via a savings plan, the company said.
"Particularly with regard to retirement planning and the often long time horizons associated with it, it makes sense to invest part of one's wealth in ETFs and stocks," Podzuweit, added.
"This has evidently become more and more clear to decision-makers in politics, as they aim to incentivise investing. However, private pension provision and investing will continue to be essential to close the pension gap.”
This article was originally published on AltFi
Related articles
