Ethical financial adviser firm Path Financial has joined the growing list of responsible financial businesses to be awarded a Good Egg mark from Good With Money.
Path Financial, which also last week secured B-Corp status, offers a range of financial advice and wealth management services as well as positive impact investment options.
Good With Money launched the Good Egg mark in 2017 to make it easier for people to find financial providers that offer a good deal for their pockets, as well as for people and the planet. Path Financial joins six other Good Egg companies; Triodos Bank, Abundance Investment, EQ Investors, Thrive Renewables, Pennine Wealth Solutions, Bluesphere Wealth.
David McDonald, Founder of Path Financial, said: “We are delighted to be one of only three financial advisers to have been awarded the Good Egg Mark. This is a further validation for our ethical and positive impact strategy. As the first and still only financial adviser set up with positive impact at the heart of all we do, it’s been amazing to see the traction we have gained over a relatively short period of time.
“Clients and staff have joined us in numbers because we manifest a meaningful purpose. We show people the path to financial security and freedom with sensible down-to-earth planning. All the while, our client funds are invested in a way which is positive and sustainable for people and planet as well as providing superior investment returns.”
“We are giving a loud voice to our clients, allowing them to exercise consumer choices which reflect their values and give power to their role as shareholders in the businesses of the world. We are now very much a force to be reckoned with and we are proud to add the Good Egg Mark to our achievements. We have a very clear mission which includes transparency, engagement and being part of a collective call for change through our social and environmental commitments.’
Highly commended
The Good Egg advisory panelists commended Path Financial for its:
- focus on measurable impact, gender and diversity
- critical thinking about and challenges to funds offered under positive impact banners
- pledge to be net zero by 2022
- portfolio analysis against the SDGs
- inclusion of samples from their ESG ratings partners which demonstrate the depth of analysis and also some of the difficulties and nuances of making ESG determinations
The company was also commended on its climate solutions portfolio for its “commitment to investing 100 per cent in investments with a positive impact mandate”.
The panelists provide a further level of rigour following a Good Egg company’s rating by Good With Money’s research partner, Ethical Screening. The advisory panel consists of John Fleetwood, founder of leading sustainable fund analyst 3D Investing (now part of Square Mile); Huw Davies, senior finance adviser at Make My Money Matter; Fionn Travers Smith, ex-Move Your Money campaigner, financial inclusion manager at Phoenix Group; Charlene Cranny, sustainable finance expert at Economy of Good and ex-director at Good Money Week.
Following detailed analysis against a matrix of multiple criteria, Ethical Screening produces a report on each provider applying for the mark. The purpose is to determine how well a provider measures up against a range of different environmental, social and industry impact factors, taking into account the size and history of the firm and its performance. Not all companies applying for a Good Egg will be granted one.
Lisa Stanley, co-founder of Good With Money, said: “A Good Egg is a mark that can only be used by companies like Bluesphere that are able to prove their mission to make a positive impact for the environment and society more broadly.
‘Look for a Good Egg if you want to align your money with your morals and use companies that are doing the right thing.”
The case for a Good Egg
With financial providers increasingly making sustainable claims and commitments, it is becoming ever more difficult for consumers to know whether the company or brand they are dealing with can legitimately support their claims.
A recent Which? Survey revealed that 47 per cent of people want common ethical or sustainable definitions for investment products, and 50 per cent back greater regulation. Another survey from Good Egg provider Triodos Bank, revealed that 79 per cent of investors think banks and financial providers should be more transparent about where their customers’ money is invested.
And Good With Money’s own research, conducted by Opinium, revealed that 36 per cent of people said that they would be likely to choose a financial provider holding the Good Egg mark. A quarter (25 per cent) of those surveyed thought the mark demonstrated that the provider holding it would be ‘a responsible company’; 24 per cent thought it would be ‘a company I can trust’, and 22 per cent thought it would be ‘a fair company.’
