P2P platforms tapping into demand for ethical investments
Retail lenders look to be increasingly interested in environmentally and socially friendly investments.
According to metals exchange traded commodities provider Global Palladium Fund, 47 per cent of retail investors plan to invest more cash in companies and funds at the forefront of the green revolution covering industries such as electric vehicles and solar panels.
Luckily, there are plenty of peer-to-peer lending platforms that offer green and ethical opportunities for investors.
Read more: P2P platforms back introduction of green labels
Read more: ESG trend presents opportunities for P2P
Abundance
Crowd bonds platform Abundance Investment allows investors to fund renewable energy projects.
It has worked with councils to provide community municipal bonds that support renewable energy projects in a local area.
Managing director Bruce Davis Bruce Davis has told Peer2Peer Finance News how a shift in government thinking will support the growth of green finance this year.
Assetz Exchange
Assetz Exchange, which is part of the Assetz group alongside peer-to-peer lender Assetz Capital, has financed the development of supported living apartment blocks to home ex-prisoners and people with learning disabilities.
Chief executive Stuart Law has said the platform is filling a gap in the market, whilst providing a good return for an ethical investment.
Folk2Folk
The rural peer-to-peer business lender recently highlighted that its investors have used their money to support their environmental concerns by investing in renewable energy projects.
At the start of month, Folk2Folk said that it is on track to double its profits this year, having achieved £943,000 in pre-tax profits for the first half of 2021, just short of the £1.1m profit the platform posted for 2020.
Charm Impact
This ethical investment lending platform hopes to soon launch into the regulated peer-to-peer lending space.
In February Charm Impact, which provides peer-to-business loans to clean energy entrepreneurs in developing economies, said it was going through the process of passing Rebuildingsociety’s due diligence before being submitted, and then waiting approval for, authorisation from the City regulator.
Charm Impact has been using the £273,520 it raised in a Crowdcube campaign in November to prepare for its launch.
Green housebuilding
Several P2P property lending platforms, such as Assetz Capital, JustUs and CrowdProperty, fund the offsite construction of greener, sustainable housebuilding.
This is usually to build ‘eco home’ properties, those that are energy efficient and therefore have a minimal impact on the environment.
For more on this topic, look out for our upcoming property feature in the October 2021 issue of the magazine, which will delve into the ‘eco home’ trend.