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A top Citi wealth exec details how no-fee trading will help it compete with the likes of Robinhood and Merrill Lynch (C)

Two blue signs and a golden sign, all with the Citi logo, are seen reflected in front of a bank branch in San Francisco.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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David Poole is overseeing his first major product roll-out — no-fee trading — since Citi hired the digital wealth-minded executive from Bank of America late last year to run US consumer wealth management.

The competition he is up against to reach new customers, and the high expectations customers have for their own digital experiences, have never been more intense.

Citi is launching the offering, called Citi Self Invest, in an effort to attract new, casual stock traders and serve its own wealthy clients alike. Research has shown that around half of high-net-worth clients with sophisticated financial situations have some type of self-directed investing account, Poole said.

"I don't think it necessarily is a complement to our digital strategy; I think it's the broader wealth continuum," Poole told Insider in a recent interview. "It's enhancing a core part of the continuum."

The do-it-yourself trading market, popularized by startup Robinhood nearly a decade ago, is crowded. No-fee trading is already available at each major US bank and brokerage. (Highlighting its vast user base, Robinhood is set to reserve an unusually large chunk of newly minted shares to its own traders when it goes public on Thursday.) 

Beyond brokerage, the wider wealth management industry has become far more competitive. While Citi is the third-largest bank in the US, known for its credit card business and branches on every block, it has set out on a quest in the last year to meaningfully expand its wealth services.

David Poole, a Citi executive, wears a suit and tie in front of a neutral gray background.Citi

Citi, based in New York, is not alone. Rival JPMorgan is in the middle of significantly growing its financial advisor ranks and menu of digital wealth tools, and Goldman Sachs debuted its first self-directed investing tool this year. The banks are looking to compete with wirehouse giants including Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

There are also now more independently-run wealth firms in the US than ever before. It's all in a bid to capture trillions of dollars in a wealth transfer between generations in the coming years and offset losses banks have generally seen from more volatile business units like trading.

Citi has started rolling out Self Invest for Citi clients and will open to other customers later this year, Poole said. His team also has plans to add mutual funds to the current lineup of stocks and exchange-traded funds.

And though he is always examining new products and opportunities, Poole said has no imminent plans to add cryptocurrency products or to make an acquisition to help boost tech capabilities. Poole declined to specify the size of the self-directed user base.

The bank and its rivals are looking to capitalize on newfound interest in investing, especially among younger people, said David Goldstone, head of research for the firm Backend Benchmarking.

"Companies across the board are looking to expand their digital investing services to round out platforms to attract and retain different types of investors and savers," he said. 

Poole is also responsible for US financial advisors, a base he said the bank is looking to meaningfully grow across the country, though he declined to specify growth targets. A Citi spokesperson said the firm does not disclose the assets under management in its robo-advisor, which launched early last year, or for the US wealth business. 

Citi Chief Executive Jane Fraser, who took over in March, has said the firm is focused on growing its financial advisor population in the US. Poole declined to specify how many advisors and other employees he is looking to hire.

"It's still being worked through, but we are anticipating significant growth," Poole said.

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