JPMorgan aims to lower account minimums on new robo-adviser tool

NEW YORK: JPMorgan Chase & Co intends to lower the minimum account balance on its new digital investment product You Invest Portfolios to as low as $1,000, an executive said Wednesday.

The biggest US bank by assets launched its robo-adviser on Wednesday with a minimum account balance of $2,500 and an annual fee of 0.35%, or 35 basis points, of assets.

You Invest Head Jed Laskowitz said that during the year  they spent testing the product with a select group of employees and bank clients, customers frequently said that lack of funds was a major reason they did not invest.

"We wanted to get the minimums to as low as possible," said Laskowitz. "We hope to get to below $1,000 next year."

The low-cost investment platform matches customers with portfolios of the bank's exchange traded funds (ETFs) based on their risk tolerance and financial priorities. Customers pay an annual fee and receive rebates for any fees associated with the ETFs.

The robo-adviser tool is an offshoot of You Invest, a self-directed investment platform the bank launched 10 months ago.

Laskowitz did not say how many clients or assets You Invest has gathered so far. He said that 90% of its customers are first-time investors and that two-thirds of the assets on the platform are new to the bank.