HSBC has rolled out a new discretionary investment service for portfolios of at least £150,000 ($240,304), the UK-listed bank said, unveiling products covering a range of risk appetites.

The bank said its Premier Investment Management Service has a suite of eight actively-managed portfolios in total. There are risk adjusted, unconstrained models designed for customers with various risk appetites including cautious, conservative, balanced, dynamic and adventurous.

The launch of the discretionary investment offering is a sign of confidence by HSBC that existing and potential clients want discretionary wealth management, even after some portfolios managed in this way fared poorly in the wealth management industry during the financial turmoil of 2008.

In late September, a senior Royal Bank of Canada executive said that clients disillusioned by heavy losses have been switching from discretionary wealth management services to oversee their own money, and they may not quickly shift back if markets revive. As reported in June, a report by Market Dynamics Research & Consulting found that more clients want to take a hands-on approach to overseeing their wealth. Many investors do not want to transfer all day-to-day responsibility to discretionary wealth managers, suggesting disillusion among investors after the heavy market losses of 2008.

Among other details of the HSBC service, the bank said the investment models contain a wider range of asset classes, including private equity and commodities. Also available are portfolios to suit the needs of socially responsible investment and higher income, as well as a trustee model.

The new service adopts the same portfolio management philosophy behind HSBC’s World Selection portfolios, which provide globally diversified multi-asset solutions throughout the market cycle, the firm said in a statement today.

The portfolios are managed by a team of investment professionals led by Alec Letchfield, chief investment officer, UK Wealth, at HSBC Global Asset Management.

“Highlighted as particularly important is a fair and transparent charging structure, so our new service has been designed specifically to meet this demand,” said David Wells, head of pensions, investments and savings at HSBC Bank.

HSBC Bank currently manages more than £16 billion in wealth management solutions for UK customers.

Depending on the minimum size of investments, the management charge, including value added tax, goes down for the larger fund sizes. For example, a portfolio of between £150,000 and £250,000 takes a charge of 1.5 per cent plus VAT; £250,001 to £500,000 carries 1.1 per cent and portfolios over £500,000 take a charge of 0.8 per cent.