Understanding sustainable, responsible and ethical  investment (SRI) funds

This website – and its sister site sriServices.co.uk – were set up to help financial advisers (and other investment intermediaries) to offer advise on sustainable, responsible and ethical investment more easily and more often. Fund EcoMarket is designed to sit alongside other tools used by intermediaries and offers only information on the  ‘ethical, social and environmental’ aspects of investment.

In brief this site includes the following:

• a fact find tool that sits separately from the rest of the site – meaning that an adviser can send the ‘SRI StyleFinder’ url to a client
• an extensive, whole of (regulated, retail, onshore) SRI fund research tool – that enables users to find and research funds via search and filter options.  (Fund entries include extensive filter options, support text, explanations  and links – provided directly by fund managers.)
• report generation for both the ‘SRI StyleFinder’ fact find tool and the ‘Fund EcoMarket’ fund research tool – for advisers’ audit trail.

Funds have been grouped into what we call ‘SRI Styles’ in order to make the advice process more straightforward.  Our unique system of grouping funds together in ways that are ‘ethically similar’ makes this somewhat complex area significantly easier to discuss. The additional filters, text and links supplied by fund managers offer additional support information that help advises to offer more ‘bespoke’ advice when needed.

Why ask supplementary ‘ethical fact find’ questions?

See hear to read about the proposed Mifid II changes in this area (Q1/2019) (From ESMA consultation)

Recent FCA Fact Find Guidance includes reference to the need to understand clients’ ethical and political views – as examples of when a single core fact find may not be sufficient.