Green & Ethical Investment News and Suggestions

annex59

I just wonder what the best bank or building society is for my investments
I have just inherited some money and have no idea aobut any of this - can I get an ethical financial advisor - how would I do this?
Sorry but I am very unused to any of this and don't wnat my money to add to the damage we are doing to our world - I'd rather put it under the floorboards 😀
thank you 
ann

 

Coastalwatch

Hi Ann and welcome. We're really only here to discuss matters and share experiences, both good and bad. Great that you've inherited some money and are conscious about where to keep it and not wanting to do harm to our fragile existence. 

Personally I "bank" with a building society as they have no shareholders to payout too, unlike the major banks who do. In addition some of the banks also invest in areas which cause harm to the planet and/or population.

For sure you can engage a financial adviser although it is likely there may be a charge which they should make you aware of together with the sum involved. If not, it might be that the products they offer provide them with an income or introduction fee from the funds you deposit with them. Just understand what their terms of engagement are before making any committment.

For me I've invested in several community based renewable energy projects which tend to offer around 4-5% per annum return on any money invested be it long term, 15-25 yrs, or shorter terms say 5 - 10 yrs. Community funds are great because they benefit society at large, as well as those who invest in them.

Anyway, that's enough from me I'm sure others will respond also and probably all with the best of intentions.

But whatever, I've found the forum most useful over the last thee years or so and hope you do as well.

Skininthegame

One of the impact investment that I am happy about is Trine solar. They are Swedish, there are not many deals but it is doing fine (so far).

Coastalwatch

Coastalwatch said:

Ah! Seems I might have been a little premature regarding confidence in the Stock market. At the time of posting the previous figures the FTSE had broken briefly above the 6000 mark for only the second time since the crash. It has subsequently fallen back to 5799 with the result that the value of our ISA has weakened too.

ISA now @ 93.17%.

ESF            104%

Confidence regained once more this week with FTSE marginally breaking the 6000 mark before closing on 5993.28

As a result our ISA finished on 96.37% a gain of 3.2%.

ESF  finished on 105% a gain of 1%.

Encouraging performance from both with the ISA making up some lost ground.

JKenH

annex59 said:

I just wonder what the best bank or building society is for my investments
I have just inherited some money and have no idea aobut any of this - can I get an ethical financial advisor - how would I do this?
Sorry but I am very unused to any of this and don't wnat my money to add to the damage we are doing to our world - I'd rather put it under the floorboards 😀
thank you 
ann

 

You invest in shares (and funds) at your peril. I have been looking after my SIPP for around 15 years and during that time have lost all my investment in a couple of shares that were well tipped. Accept you may lose all your money.

If you are not an experienced investor then invest in a unit trust or OEIC that specialises in ethical stocks rather than individual shares - it spreads the risks. They are easy to sell if you need the money and I would suggest you do so within an ISA from one of the fund supermarkets to keep costs down. A few ethical funds are listed in the article below with a comparison of how they have performed. As they say though, past performance is no guide to future returns. 

https://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/194562/the-best-performing-esg-funds---and-the-worst.aspx

Coastalwatch

With Greencoat making the acquisition on behalf of a number of pension funds then one can take comfort that investments in Solar and Windfarm operations are considered secure by such organistions.

Greencoat snaps up 156MW BlackRock solar portfolio

Greencoat Capital has snapped up the portfolio, making the acquisition on behalf of a number of UK pension funds. The transaction brings the solar capacity of funds managed by Greencoat to almost 880MW and marks the first successful realisation for BlackRock’s Global Renewable Power II Fund.

The portfolio is mostly Renewables Obligation Certificates accredited, with an average of around 16 years of support remaining. One of the assets in the portfolio, the 14.4MW Charity Farm, is backed through the Contracts for Difference scheme.

“This is a brilliant portfolio of proven operational assets that will provide our clients predictable cashflows with inflation protection over the long term, whilst contributing to the decarbonisation of the UK’s electricity sector,” said Greencoat Capital’s Karin Kaiser.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/greencoat_snaps_up_156mw_blackrock_solar_portfolio

Coastalwatch

It seems the finance markets are showing strong support for Renewable Energy generation, be it Solar, Wind or a combination of both. Having focussed mainly on Solar and Wind generation in the past TRIG are now to turn their attention to battery storage. Interesting and exciting times ahead on the Renewables and Battery Storage front it seems.

It would appear the finance sector see Renewables in general as being Fit for purpose.

TRIG raises £120 million to pay RCF

The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) has raised £120 million, which is set to go towards its revolving credit facility (RCF).

The company has issued 100 million new ordinary shares following “careful consideration” of its funding requirement and acquisition pipeline.

Helen Mahy CBE, chairman of TRIG, said: “We are delighted with the strong support shown by our investors, and that the Company's stock remains in such high demand in these challenging times.

In February, the company announced strong financial results, highlighting a 50% increase in its portfolio in 2019, which generated 3,036GWh of electricity in the year. The company confirmed it was increasing its focus on battery storage, having historically been involved in wind and solar assets. Currently, it owns the 20MW Broxburn Energy Storage facility, which was built by RES and was celebrated as Scotland's first utility-scale battery storage asset.

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/trig_raises_120_million_to_pay_rcf

ASavvyBuyer

Nige posted this in another topic, but I thought it was worth adding here:

NigeWick said:

I could afford to be an early adopter so have a solar system, diverter for hot water, Tesla PW2 so I can go off grid if there's a power cut and a BEV.

My view is, If you're not going to be moving for several years and if you can afford it, do it.  An alternative is buying part of a wind farm through https://rippleenergy.com/ as it will save a bit of money on electricity and you can take it with you if you move. Disclaimer:- I have bought shares in the company and will be buying part of their first trial generation as my solar doesn't produce enough to completely power the car as well as the house with battery.

I have had a look, and it looks quite an appealing idea.

Comparing it to the cost of adding more solar PV, it appears more economical.

For example, to add about 4kWp solar PV, producing about 3MWh/year, would cost about £4k; to buy a share in a windfarm, to produce about the same/year is estimated to cost about £2k, and as I understand it, with the capital returned over a 20 year lifetime.

The credits on the electricity account, I work out at more than £100/year, so at least a 5% roi.

Coastalwatch

Coastalwatch said:

As a result our ISA finished on 96.37% a gain of 3.2%.

ESF  finished on 105% a gain of 1%.

Encouraging performance from both with the ISA making up some lost ground.

A steady rise in values saw the FTSE reach 6229 before falling back to 6076.6.

As a result the ISA made up ground once more.

ISA 98.57% a gain of 2.2%. 

ESF 106% plus 1%. 

No complaints from me.

Coastalwatch

ASavvyBuyer said:

Nige posted this in another topic, but I thought it was worth adding here:

NigeWick said:

I could afford to be an early adopter so have a solar system, diverter for hot water, Tesla PW2 so I can go off grid if there's a power cut and a BEV.

My view is, If you're not going to be moving for several years and if you can afford it, do it.  An alternative is buying part of a wind farm through https://rippleenergy.com/ as it will save a bit of money on electricity and you can take it with you if you move. Disclaimer:- I have bought shares in the company and will be buying part of their first trial generation as my solar doesn't produce enough to completely power the car as well as the house with battery.

I have had a look, and it looks quite an appealing idea.

Comparing it to the cost of adding more solar PV, it appears more economical.

For example, to add about 4kWp solar PV, producing about 3MWh/year, would cost about £4k; to buy a share in a windfarm, to produce about the same/year is estimated to cost about £2k, and as I understand it, with the capital returned over a 20 year lifetime.

The credits on the electricity account, I work out at more than £100/year, so at least a 5% roi.

Thanks both for posting, it's certainly an alternative to PV and/or Battery storage with a similar term for ROI. I'm keen to encourage any investment in renewable energy generation so have registered our interest in taking part also. Don't think we'll be putting any of our pension fund EDF's way!