Green Investment Funds

Green Services

There are a number of services and providers that will provide ethical green investments, pensions and mortgages.

This page will give an overview and list of some of the providers who provide these services.

1. Green Investments

There is a huge range of ethical life and green investment funds to choose from.  

Many providers offer an ethical or socially responsible investment fund of some sort.  Some greener than others.

Scroll down to see information on green investment returns.

There are over 140 green investments and ethical life funds available in the market today, available from the following life fund providers:

• Abbey Life Assurance Company Ltd
• Aegon Scottish Equitable plc
• AXA Sun Life  
• Canada Life Ltd
• Clerical Medical
• Engage Mutual Assurance
• Equitable Life
• Family Investments
• Friends Provident Plc
• Halifax Life Ltd
• Henderson Global Investors Ltd
• Legal & General
• Lincoln Financial Group
• Merchant Investors Assurance Company Ltd
• Norwich Union
• Phoenix Life Ltd
• Prudential
• Scottish Life (Royal London)
• Scottish Widows plc
• Skandia Life Assurance Company Ltd
• St James's Place UK plc
• Standard Life Assurance Company
• Windsor Life Assurance
• Winterthur Life UK Ltd
• Zurich Assurance Ltd

There are also over 140 unit trust and green investment trust based funds for use with ISAs and Pension Fund, many offered by investment management arms of the companies already mentioned as well as the following:

• Allchurches Investment Management Services Ltd
• Capita Financial Managers Ltd
• CCLA Investment Management Ltd
• COIF
• Credit Suisse Asset Management Funds (UK) Ltd
• F&C Fund Management Ltd
• Family Investment Management Ltd
• First State Investments (UK) Ltd
• Insight Investment Funds Management Ltd
• Jupiter Unit Trust Managers Ltd
• Marks & Spencer Unit Trust Management Ltd
• Marlborough Fund Managers Ltd
• Neptune Investment Management Ltd
• Old Mutual Fund Managers Ltd
• Rathbone Unit Trust Management Ltd
• Royal London Asset Management Ltd
• Sovereign Unit Trust Managers Ltd
• SVM Asset Management 

Investment Return

Are green fund charges higher?

Given that there is a greater level of research and screening done to decide which area to invest client funds in and the fact that more information is supplied to investors about their screening criteria and investment choices, the fund charges are higher.

How much higher?

We suggest that you would expect to pay no more than between an addition 0.5% and 1.0% per year for the choice of investing with your conscience on returns and charges.

What does that mean?

The higher charge means that your investment return is marginally lower each year than a comparable return for a non-ethical fund.

Is performance poor?

On the contrary, socially responsible investment is much more widespread now than it was.  Most insurers and investment houses offer access to green and ethical funds.

Ethical funds are mainstream now and fund performance is comparable with any other sector.  It has risks and rises and falls as does any other area.

Green is growing

We are more aware socially than we were three years ago, yet alone 5 or 10.  Socially Responsible Investments SRI is a growth area.  You only have to think about the following areas to know that there are huge opportunities for investment: 

• Clean energy
• Environmental services
• Green transport
• Sustainable living
• Waste management
• Water management

Ethical investment is here to stay and it will continue to grow in both popularity and results.

2.  Green Pension Advice

There is a huge range of ethical green pension funds to choose from.  

Many providers offer an ethical or socially responsible investment fund of some sort.  Some greener than others.

There are over 175 ethical green pensions available in the market today, available from the following pension providers:

• Abbey Life Assurance Company Limited
• Aegon Scottish Equitable plc
• AXA Sun Life
• Canada Life Limited
• Clerical Medical
• Co-operative Insurance Society Limited
• Equitable Life
• Friends Provident Plc
• Halifax Life Limited
• Henderson Global Investors Ltd
• Legal & General
• Lincoln Financial Group
• Merchant Investors Assurance Company Limited
• Norwich Union
• Prudential
• Scottish Life (Royal London)
• Scottish Widows plc
• Skandia Life Assurance Company Ltd
• St James's Place UK plc
• Standard Life Assurance Company
• Tomorrow
• Windsor Life Assurance
• Winterthur Life UK Limited
• Zurich Assurance Ltd    

3. Green Mortgages Advice

Whilst there are two or three lenders that you might consider that they are 'green' or that they offer ethical mortgages, the market for green mortgages is in fact quite small.

This is mainly for two reasons:

• People are less concerned about who they borrow from rather than how they invest.
• Lenders that are still 'building societies' i.e.  owned by their members as mutual organisations, with all the restrictions of building society investment rules under the Building Societies Act are getting fewer by the day.

Many lenders have now demutualised to limited companies as banking operations and do not have the investment restrictions imposed under the Building Society Act.

Active policy

That said, there are still lenders who make donations to climate control organisations to offset their own emissions and there are lenders who have an active policy for managing emissions and becoming more ethically friendly.

Others replant their own forests, use only sustainable forests for their paper or indeed use recycled materials.

Costs

As a general rule, ethical lenders are mainstream lenders and you will not pay more for the privilege of borrowing from them.

 4.  The Green Bank

Green banking, like green mortgages, is difficult given the number of finance groups that are still 'building societies' i.e.  owned by their members as mutual organisations.

With all the restrictions of building society investment rules under the Building Societies Act, they are getting fewer by the day.

Many finance groups have now demutualised to limited companies as banking operations and do not have the investment restrictions imposed under the Building Society Act.  

Active policy

There are still finance groups who make donations to climate control organisations to offset their own emissions and there are finance groups who have an active policy for managing emissions and becoming more ethically friendly.  

Others replant their own forests, use only sustainable forests for their paper or indeed use recycled materials.

Why does green banking matter?

Banks and buildings societies and how they operate have a huge impact on the World, both locally and globally.

There are a range of ethical and policy questions both locally and internationally which need to be considered such as:

• Third World debt
• Lending to the arms trade
• Financing in regimes where human rights issues are in question
• Environmental issues
• Charitable giving, and support for the community
• Social and financial exclusion of the poor and 'needy'

Book a callback today and speak to our advisers about green services.