What is execution-only investing?
Execution-only investing means a provider simply carries out the trade you have decided to make. It gives you no personal advice, makes no recommendation about what is suitable for you, and never trades on its own judgement. You choose; the provider executes. The decision - and the responsibility for it - stays with you.
This is the opposite of discretionary management, where you hand over authority and a manager buys and sells on your behalf without asking each time. It also differs from advised investing, where a regulated adviser recommends specific investments based on your circumstances. Execution-only sits at the do-it-yourself end of the spectrum: lower cost, more control, no hand-holding.
Because there is no advice, the safeguards work differently - you are expected to understand the product you are buying. That makes execution-only well suited to straightforward, diversified products like funds and ETFs, and to people who want to stay in control. Investing always carries risk: the value of investments can go down as well as up.
Key points
Execution-only means the provider carries out your decision - no advice, no discretion.
You choose what to buy or sell; the provider only executes it.
It is the opposite of discretionary management, where someone trades on your behalf.
Lower cost and more control, but the decision and the risk stay with you.
Your capital is at risk; the value of investments can go down as well as up.
How Bank AI relates
Bank AI is, and will remain, execution-only. We never manage your money on a discretionary basis and we never trade on our own judgement.
Today Bank AI reads your accounts (read-only) and tells you the move. When the coming-soon invest layer rolls out, it will propose an invest-or-save move and execute it only on your explicit one-tap approval, through a licensed, regulated brokerage partner. You approve every move, and your capital is at risk.
Execution-only FAQ
Does execution-only mean I get no advice?
Yes. Execution-only providers do not give personal recommendations or assess whether an investment suits your circumstances. You make the decision and they carry it out. If you want a recommendation tailored to you, that is advised investing, which is a different, regulated service.
Is execution-only the same as discretionary management?
No - they are opposites. Discretionary management means you authorise a manager to buy and sell on your behalf without asking each time. Execution-only means nothing happens unless you decide it and approve it; the provider only executes your instruction.
Is execution-only safe?
The model itself keeps you in control, which many people prefer, but there is no adviser checking suitability, so you are expected to understand what you are buying. The investments still carry risk: their value can go down as well as up. Sticking to diversified, well-understood products is one way people manage that.
Related concepts
- Concept
What is auto-investing?
Money invested automatically on a schedule or rule - what it is, and what it is not.
→ - Concept
What is fractional investing?
Buy a slice of a share or fund instead of a whole unit - invest by money, not by units.
→ - Concept
What is open banking / AISP?
Securely share your bank data with regulated providers under PSD2 - read-only, with your consent.
→
Stay in control of every move
Bank AI is execution-only - you approve every move. Connect every account today, read-only. Available on iOS. Your capital is at risk when investing arrives.
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