Retail broker eToro will launch a new set of retirement plan products for its clients in France.
The broker will offer ‘plan épargne retraite‘ (PER) accounts to its clients, as well as life insurance products.
“We are delighted to support eToro, a globally renowned investment company, in the launch of its subsidiary in France and its savings offering,” said Corentin Favennec, Director of Partnerships at Generali Patrimoine.
“Our 100% digital PER and Life Insurance products, which complement each other, fit perfectly into eToro’s value proposition in serving the wealth of the French.”
PER accounts are tax-efficient investment accounts that are unique to France. They bare some similarities to SIPPs in the UK or 401(k) accounts in the US.
Investors can contribute to the accounts using their gross salary or make contributions to it from their take home salary.
There are a number of tax benefits that investors accrue from holding funds in these accounts, which can be accessed once you hit retirement age.
The life insurance products that eToro is offering probably have a similar structure. You invest in an account and if you pass away, those holdings can be passed on to your family in a more tax-efficient manner.
eToro set ups new French entity to launch local pension products
In order to offer these new products, eToro has also set up a new company in France called eToro Patrimoine – or ‘eToro Heritage’ in English.
The company is headed up by Chairman Julien Nebenzahl, who joined the broker just under 12 months ago.
“The launch of savings solutions for eToro users in France and the opening of a local subsidiary underline our desire to strengthen our presence in this key market for our business,” said Nebenzahl.
“With this new offering , we want to give individual investors the means to build a solid savings portfolio and grow their wealth over the long term.”
eToro has been slowly building up a more localised offering and adding to its set of investment products over the last few years.
Until recently the company only allowed users to deposit in USD and had a somewhat limited set of cash equities on its platform.
In the UK, the company has begun offering stocks and shares ISAs via a partnership with MoneyFarm. The company has also substantially expanded its access to different stock exchanges and added local currency deposits to clients across Europe.
eToro went public last week in a listing that saw a mix of new equity issuance and existing shareholders cashing out. The company’s current share price means the broker is valued at over $5bn.
