ING Investment Management (ING IM) has launched FitVermogen.nl, an execution-only platform to offer funds directly to retail investors. The Dutch provider told SRP that from next week a first protected fund which is not offered on a advised basis will be available on the platform.

The Eurostoxx50 linked ING (L) Invest First Class Protection Fund – which had €145m assets under management (AUM) as of December 31 – protects 90% of the level of the fund for a period of 365 calendar days.

“[The fund] is already on the shelves at the large banks but from Monday it will also be available via FitVermogen,” said Robert Snoep, retail sales Netherlands at ING IM.

The move to the execution-only platform comes soon after the ban on commission was implemented in the Netherlands on January 1. Many see the commission ban as a good test case to see whether the demand from outside the distribution network remains the same.

ING IM has moved quickly to be ahead of the curve after the ban came into effect. “We are launching a rebate-free version of the protected fund which will also be added to FitVermogen,” Snoep said.

The commission-free product, ING (L) Invest First Class Protection - N Cap EUR, has a number of sub-funds including Protected Mix 70, Protected Mix 80 and Protected Mix 90.

Ivar Roeleven, head of investment funds Europe at ING IM, has seen a shift within the needs and goals of the consumer. “This group is looking at ways to achieve capital gains,” Roeleven said with regard to the launch of FitVermogen. “We want to offer them a platform where people can get started themselves.”

Rebranding
Last year ING announced that its insurance and investment management businesses are to continue under the name NN.

The rebranding – under pressure from Brussels – will start once a flotation, which will see ING Insurance International and ING IM separated from the parent company, has been completed.

NN has its own range of funds which are for institutional investors only and are therefore not available on the Fitvermogen platform.

One of the NN funds, the capital-protected NN Continu Click Fund, saw its AUM increase tenfold in the last seven months – from €39m in May 2013 to €398m in December.

The large increase came because, for reasons of efficiency, ING IM recently implemented a harmonisation/rationalisation of its unit linked range in close collaboration with NN. Former Postbank, ING Bank and RVS funds are now merged with the NN range, Snoep said.

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