Save Launches ESG Investing Product

Save has launched a savings product that is focused on ESG investing.

The investment advisor and banking solutions provider said in a Thursday (Dec. 29) press release that its Market Savings program offers an option that provides a yield from iShares ESG Aware exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other ETFs.

The ESG Market Savings portfolio aims to maximize environmental, social and governance (ESG) characteristics and exclude companies with certain practices, according to the press release.

Since the launch of this ESG portfolio, about 10% of the people who have signed up to Market Savings have selected the Save ESG portfolio, the release said.

“Consumers are increasingly turning to ethical choices in all aspects of life including investments,” Save Founder and CEO Michael Nelskyla said in the release. “We see it as our fiduciary responsibility to offer ethical investing through our Market Savings program for those consumers who seek these choices.”

In addition to offering this sustainable savings option, Save is collaborating with Reforest’Action and underwriting the planting of one tree for every $5,000 deposited in its ESG Market Savings, up to $250 million in deposits, according to the press release.

The Market Savings program on Save’s Savetech platform offers a yield that varies according to underlying market performance, and customer deposits are FDIC insured, the release said.

In another recent embrace of sustainability goals, Egyptian financial firm Contact said Dec. 26 that it is offering a new product dubbed “Green Finance” that lets consumers pay in installments with “monthly and quarterly repayment systems reflecting Contact’s understanding of agricultural activity and its cash flow cycle.”

Contact’s product will fund projects such as solar panels, irrigation systems and greenhouses, as well as sustainable farming efforts.

An additional approach to supporting ESG goals is being delivered by providers of regulatory technology (RegTech) that build a detailed picture of the carbon emissions and fossil fuel exposure of complex financial instruments.

As PYMNTS reported Oct. 2, these RegTechs employ both the financial data that they and rating agencies have always mobilized as well as alternative datasets that have not traditionally been exploited, such as industrial information, ESG reports, corporate relations data and various third-party datasets.

Established firms in the space like Moody’s, S&P and MSCI have all built their own ESG ratings tools, while more niche players have also built solutions for investors looking to get a better understanding of their portfolios.