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Richard Berry
- Updated
Ethical investment accounts let you invest in companies, funds and portfolios focused on making the world a better place and which avoid companies operating in unethical sectors. We have ranked, compared and reviewed some of the best ethical investment platforms and accounts in the UK that are regulated by the FCA.
Compare Ethical Investment Platforms
You can use our comparison tables of what we think are the best accounts for ethical investing and compare if they are managed or DIY, plus if they offer the opportunity to invest ethically in tax-efficient accounts.
| Ethical Investment Platform | Ethical Edge | GMG Rating | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ethical Investments Available (shares & funds) | Visit Platform Capital at Risk |
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 | IMPACT APP helps you switch to more ethical investments | Visit Platform Capital at Risk |
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 | Ethical Investments Available (shares & funds) | Visit Platform Capital at Risk |
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 | Ethical Investments Available (shares & funds) | Visit Platform Capital at Risk |
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 | Ethical Investments Available (shares & funds) | Visit Platform Capital at Risk |
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 | Socially Responsible Investing Portfolios | Visit Platform Capital at Risk |
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 | Ethical Investments Available (shares & funds) | Visit Platform Capital at Risk |
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 | Socially Responsible Investing Portfolios | Visit Platform Capital at Risk |
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 | Ethical Investment Plans | Visit Platform Capital at Risk |
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 | Ethical and ESG Investing | Visit Platform Capital at Risk |
Our picks of the best ethical investing accounts
❓ Methodology: We have chosen what we think are the best ethical investment accounts based on:
- over 30,000 votes and reviews in our annual awards
- our own experiences testing the ethical investment accounts with real money
- an in-depth comparison of the features that make them stand out compared to alternative ethical investment platforms dealing platforms.
- interviews with the ethical investment account CEOs and senior management
Summary:
- Interactive Brokers IMPACT app: Best app for ethical investing
- AJ Bell: Best for low-cost ethical investing
- Interactive Investor: Best fixed-fee ethical investing
- Nutmeg: Best robo-advisor for ethical investing
- Hargreaves Lansdown: Wide range of ethical funds and shares
- Moneyfarm: Excellent choice of risk-based ethical portfolios
- Wealthify: Invest ethically from just £1
- Bestinvest: Good for ethical investment advice and low costs
Interactive Brokers IMPACT app: Best app for ethical investing
- ✔️Excellent market coverage
- ✔️Advanced ethical investment app
- ✔️Low-cost share dealing of 0.05% or £1 minimum*
Interactive Brokers IMPACT app makes it easy to find and invest in companies that share your values, helping to better align your portfolio with the kind of world you want to create. The IMPACT app automatically scans your investment portfolio and ranks your position on an ethical basis. It will even suggest more ethical alternatives with a similar investment profile and let you switch with a single click. *Minimum dealing commisssions are £1 in the UK or 0.05% of the deal size.
Interactive Brokers Review
Name: Interactive Brokers
Description: Interactive Brokers is a major US online automated electronic broker company. The financial broker is listed on the Nasdaq Exchange with ticker IBKR. The firm operates in 150 electronic exchanges in 34 countries, and offers trading in 28 currencies. Interactive Brokers has more than 3.19 million institutional and retail customers.
Why we like them
Interactive Brokers is an exceptional trading platform that offers institutional-grade trading capabilities to private clients around the world. IBKR has some of the lowest trading and investing fees and the widest market range in the industry.
Pros
- Very low dealing fees
- Wide market range
- Direct market access
- Complex order types
Cons
- Customer services can be slow
- No financial spread betting
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Pricing
(5)
-
Market Access
(5)
-
Apps & Platform
(5)
-
Customer Service
(4)
-
Research & Analysis
(5)
Overall
4.8AJ Bell: Best for low-cost ethical investing
- ✔️Account fee capped at £3.50 per month
- ✔️Lots of account types
- ✔️Good research on ethical investing
Capital at risk
AJ Bell is the cheapest ethical investment platform for shares, funds and ETFs in sustainable sectors. They provide a wide range of research and analysis on who to invest ethically, as well as constantly update their AJ Bell Favourite funds list with ethical investing choices. *Share account fees are capped at £3.50 a month. Dealing costs are £1.50 for funds and £9.95 for shares but drop to £4.95 where there were 10 or more online share deals in the previous month.
AJ Bell Review
Name: AJ Bell
Description: AJ Bell is an award-winning, low-cost online investing platform for UK DIY investors. Founded in 1995, AJ Bell has grown to become one of the UK’s leading investment platforms. Today, it has more than 440,000 customers and assets under administration (AUA) of over £150 billion.
Summary
AJ Bell is an excellent full-service stock broker that offers access to UK and international shares, bonds and funds with some of the lowest fees in the industry.
Pros
- Wide range of investments
- Low account costs
- Discounts for frequent investors
Cons
- High charge when you deal over the phone
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Pricing
(4.5)
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Market Access
(4.5)
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Online Platform
(4.5)
-
Customer Service
(4.5)
-
Research & Analysis
(4)
Overall
4.4Interactive Investor: Best fixed-fee ethical investing
- ✔️Low share dealing commission
- ✔️£1 minimum deposit
- ✔️ii ACE 40 ethical investment list
Capital at risk
Interactive Investor provides a specific tax-efficient stocks and shares ISA for ethical investing. As well as being able to pick your own ethical companies, funds and ETFs to invest in they have created an ethical growth portfolio, a long list of ethical companies to invest in their II ACE 40 is a list of sustainable investment funds. *Dealing commissions are a free trade every month, then UK Shares and Funds, US Shares charged £7.99 or upgrade to a £19.99 “Super Investor” account 2 free monthly trades and deal for £3.99. Regular investing is free.
Interactive Investor Review
Name: Interactive Investor
Description: Interactive Investor or II as its known is one of the UK’s largest self-determined investor platforms. II can trace its roots back to 1995 and the startup floated on the London stock exchange back in the year 2000 before being bought by the Australian business Ample in 2002. Today, Interactive Investor is a owned by abrdn with assets under administration of more than £50 billion and 400,000 customers to whom II offers share trading and investment services including, ISAs SIPPs and share dealing, alongside research and analysis. Including model portfolios, selected funds and thematic investments.
Why we like them
Interactive Investor differs from other investment platforms as it charges a fixed account fee, rather than a percentage of the funds you have on account. Which, over time, could save you thousands in costs.
Pros
- Fixed account fees
- Easy to use
- Good research
Cons
- No Lifetime ISA
- Expensive for very small accounts
- No derivatives for hedging
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Pricing
(4)
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Market Access
(4)
-
Online Platform
(4)
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Customer Service
(4)
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Research & Analysis
(4)
Overall
4Nutmeg: Best robo-advisor for ethical investing
Approved by Nutmeg on the 11 September 2023
- ✔️Managed ethical investment account
- ✔️Low account fee of 0.75% for their socially responsible portfolio
Capital at risk
J.P. Morgan owned Nutmeg’s socially responsible portfolios lean towards companies and bond issuers that have high environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards. Nutmeg invest in exchange-traded funds (or ETFs) that avoid companies engaged in controversial activities, while focusing on those that lead their peers on ESG. This is a low-cost way of quickly building an ethical investment portfolio run by expert investment managers. *Nutmeg account fees drop to 0.35% for balances over £100k. There is an addition charged by the investment fund managers of around 0.2% and the market spread on buying and selling portfolios is on average 0.07%.
Nutmeg Review
Name: Nutmeg
Description: Nutmeg were among the first digital wealth managers set up in the UK, known as “robo-advisors”. Despite the term robo-advisors being used, it is an investment team that makes the investment decisions. The term robo-advisors refers more to taking the process of building a diverse portfolio automatically online.
Capital at risk. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
Is Nutmeg any good for investing?
Yes, Nutmeg is very easy and low-cost way to invest in a range of diverse pre-made portfolios created by experts and are part of J.P. Morgan.
- Investments: 5 investment styles are made up of 34 individual portfolios
- Account types: GIA, ISA, Pension, JISA, LISA
- Management fee: 0.75% to 0.45%
Fees: Nutmeg charge 0.75% for their managed portfolios which drops to 0.35% for balances over £100k. For their fixed allocation portfolios, they charge 0.45% dropping to 0.25% for balances over £100k. For all portfolios, there is an addition charged by the investment fund manager of around 0.2% and the market spread on buying and selling portfolios is currently between 0.04% and 0.09%. More information on fees and products can be found here.
Pros
- Great for beginners
- Risk-based funds
- Socially Responsible Portfolios
Cons
- High £500 minimum investment
- 0.75%* account fee higher than Wealthify
- Cannot invest in individual shares
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Pricing
(4)
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Market Access
(3.5)
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Online Platform
(5)
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Customer Service
(5)
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Research & Analysis
(3.5)
Overall
4.2Hargreaves Lansdown: Wide range of ethical funds and shares
- ✔️No account fee for shares
- ✔️Wide range of shares to buy
- ✔️Excellent ethical investment research
Capital at risk
Hargreaves Lansdown lets you invest in a wide range of large and small cap ethical companies as well as investment funds and investment trusts with an ethical bias. You can also build your own portfolio of ethical ETFs with the help of HLs in-house expert research. *There is no account charge for shares. Funds are charged at 0.45% for the first £250,000. There is no charge for buying funds, but shares are charged at £11.95 per deal or £5.95 if you do over 20 deals per month.
Hargreaves Lansdown Review
Name: Hargreaves Lansdown
Description: Hargreaves Lansdown is one of the largest investment platforms in the UK. They offer investing, savings, ISAs and SIPP account to over 1.8 million clients with 142bn in assets under management. The company was founded by Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown in 1981 and is now listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Is Hargreaves Lansdown a good broker?
Yes, Hargreaves Lansdown is one of our best-rated stock brokers and investment platforms. HL offers access to a huge range of investment types, through a wide range of general and tax-efficient accounts and is suitable for almost all types of investors.
Pros
- Wide range of investments
- Most investment account types
- Excellent research and analysis
Cons
- There are cheaper options for fund investing
- Limited portfolio hedging tools
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Pricing
(4)
-
Market Access
(5)
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Online Platform
(5)
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Customer Service
(5)
-
Research & Analysis
(5)
Overall
4.8Moneyfarm: Excellent choice of risk-based ethical portfolios
- ✔️Simple managed ethical account
- ✔️Set your own risk and reward
- ✔️Low account fee of 0.75%*
Capital at risk
Moneyfarm’s ethical investment plans and socially responsible portfolios are designed using funds invested in some of the most forward-thinking and impactful companies in the world – along with many others working hard to improve. *Moneyfarm investing account fees are scaled between 0.75% for accounts between £500 and £50,000, then above £100k are 0.45% to 0.35%. Average investment fund fees are 0.2% and the average market spread when buying and selling is 0.10%.
Moneyfarm Review
Name: Moneyfarm Review
Description: Moneyfarm is a digital wealth manager that aims to make personal investing simple and accessible. It was launched initially in Italy in 2012 by Italian bankers Paolo Galvani and Giovanni Dapra and entered the UK in 2016 and has big-name financial backers such as Allianz Global Investors, Cabot Square Capital, United Ventures and Poste Italiane.
Is Moneyfarm any good?
Yes, Moneyfarm is more of a digital wealth manager rather than a robo-advisor as the portfolios are put together by investment managers, rather than automatically. The automation, as it where, is fine-tuning your portfolio to match your risk/reward choices. As opposed to other robo advisors you can also top-up your portfolio with individual shares and ETFs.
- Investments: 7 pre-made portfolios
- Account types: GIA, ISA, Pension, JISA
- Costs: 0.75% to 0.6%
Fees: Moneyfarm charges 0.75% to 0.6% up to £100k then 0.45% to 0.35% over £100k. Moneyfarm investing account fees are scaled between 0.75% for accounts between £500 and £50,000, then above £100k are 0.45% to 0.35%. Average investment fund fees are 0.2% and the average market spread when buying and selling is 0.10%.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Low fees
- Diverse portfolios
Cons
- High £500 minimum investment
- 0.75%* account fee is relatively high
- No individual US shares available
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Pricing
(4)
-
Market Access
(4)
-
Online Platform
(5)
-
Customer Service
(5)
-
Research & Analysis
(4)
Overall
4.4Wealthify: Invest ethically from just £1
- ✔️Managed ethical investment account
- ✔️£1 minimum deposit
- ✔️Low 0.6%* account fee
Capital at risk
Wealthify, part of the Aviva Group, lets you invest in either an original portfolio of investments from the UK and overseas or choose an ethical investment plan made from a blend of environmentally and socially responsible investments. *There are also investment costs of on average 0.16% for original plans and 0.7% for ethical plans.
Wealthify Review
Name: Wealthify
Description: Wealthify is a digital wealth manager or “robo-advisor” that offers low-cost pre-made portfolios through their Original or Ethical investment plans. Wealthify is now owned by Aviva, and customers can set their own risk/reward threshold and invest through a general investment account, stocks and shares ISA, junior ISA or pension.
Capital at risk
Is Wealthify good for investing?
Yes, Wealthify is a great investment option for people who want a simple, low-cost investment account. They offer pre-made diverse portfolios to invest in where you can set your own goals, risks and potential returns. Fees are low at 0.6% of your portfolio value, but there are also investment costs of on average 0.16% for original plans and 0.7% for ethical plans. Fees do drop to 0.3% above £100k for pensions though.
Pros
- Owned by Aviva
- Simple investment options
- Low-cost
Cons
- Cannot buy individual shares
-
Pricing
(4.5)
-
Market Access
(4)
-
Online Platform
(5)
-
Customer Service
(5)
-
Research & Analysis
(4)
Overall
4.5Bestinvest: Good for ethical investment advice and low costs
- ✔️Advice and recommendations
- ✔️Low £4.95 share dealing fee
- ✔️No inactivity fee
Capital at risk
Bestinvest has combined low-cost online investing and share dealing with personalised expert advice to help clients choose the right investments for their portfolio. A good choice for large long-term investors. *0.2% account fee is for holding ready-made portfolios. above £500,000 it reduces to 0.1%. For other investments the account fee is 0.4% up to £250k. Dealing commissions £4.95 per online share trade, fund dealing is free.
Bestinvest Review
Name: Bestinvest
Description: Bestinvest is one of the most established investment platforms in the UK. Bestinvest was founded in 1986 and is now owned by Evelyn Partners (a financial services firm with £52 billion under management). Bestinvest primary offering is low-cost premade portfolios costing as little as 0.2% a year, fund investing and discount UK share dealing.
Is Bestinvest good for investing?
Yes, Bestinvest has combined low-cost online investing and share dealing with personalised expert advice to help clients choose the right investments for their portfolio. A good choice for large long-term investors who want a bit of added value from their broker.
Pros
- Expert advice
- Lowest comparable costs
- Ready-made portfolios
Cons
- Basic data on platform
- App a bit clunky
- No hedging products
-
Pricing
(5)
-
Market Access
(4)
-
Online Platform
(3)
-
Customer Service
(4.5)
-
Research & Analysis
(4.5)
Overall
4.2What is an ethical investment fund?
Ethical and ESG investing is also about focussing on firms that are more socially responsible and better governed. Collectively, these companies tend to score higher in the environment, social, and governance factors (ESG), described below:
- Environment – Is the firm a steward of the environment?
- Social – Is the firm making a positive impact on its employees, suppliers, customers, and its wider social circle?
- Governance – Is the firm showing leadership in internal control, audit, diversity and shareholder rights?
The argument for ethical investment is clear: To make the world a better place by channeling funds into high-ESG firms.
How do you choose ethical investments?
The first step is to define which sectors to avoid. This is known as negative screening. Generally, there is a common list of sectors to keep clear (see above). But remember that within ethical investing there are sub-sectors, such as Green-Focussed, Health-Focussed, Community-Focussed, Gender-Equality etc.
Ethical investing not investing in companies that engage in unethical operations. Examples of these activities include:
- Tobacco
- Defence-related
- Alcohol
- Gambling/Casino
- Adult entertainment
Ethical investing is different from impact investing in that it is about avoiding investing in bad things, where are impact investing is about investing in companies that actively do “good”, like climate tech.
Once the universe is defined, the next step is to apply a ESG scoring mechanism to the firms and rank them.
The last step is to find the best-in-class firms using traditional financial metrics, and build a narrowed list that we can invest in.
The above process, you may observe, is generic. The devil is in the details. How does one apply a EGC scoring mechanism to a firm? What specific financial metrics should we look for? What is the portfolio weightings should we apply?
What are some ethical companies to invest in?
According to Peter Michaelis of the Liontrust UK Ethical 2 Net Acc fund the best ethical companies to invest in through his fund are:
- Kingspan Group
- Prudential
- Smurfit Kappa
Although it is worth noting that the top ten holdings in the ethical fund are:
- LEGAL & GENERAL GROUP – 5.09%
- PARAGON BANKING GROUP – 4.35%
- SMURFIT KAPPA GROUP – 4.27%
- PRUDENTIAL – 4.13%
- COUNTRYSIDE PROPERTIES – 3.87%
- SOFTCAT – 3.75
- LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP – 3.41%
- HARGREAVES LANSDOWN – 3.30%
- HALMA – 3.24%
- OXFORD INSTRUMENTS – 3.17%
So ethical investing funds still have a long way to go before you can call them completely ethical. For instance, the London Stock Exchange earns income from mining and oil companies.
What are some ethical funds to invest in?
Here is a list of ethical funds that you can invest in through a share dealing platform like Hargreaves Lansdown or Interactive Investor.
- Mirabaud Equities Global Focus
- Legg Mason ClearBridge US Equity Sustainability Leaders
- Liontrust Sustainable Future Global Growth
- BMO Sustainable Opportunities Global Equity
- Janus Henderson Global Sustainable Equity
- Liontrust Sustainable Future Absolute Growth
- Royal London Sustainable World Trust
- BMO Responsible Global Equity
- Sarasin Responsible Global Equity
- Kames Global Sustainable Equity
- AB SICAV | Sustainable Global Thematic Portfolio
- Davy ESG Equity
- Liontrust UK Ethical
- Royal London Sustainable Leaders Trust
- Liontrust Sustainable Future Managed
- Vontobel mtx Sustainable Emerging Markets Leaders
- Liontrust Sustainable Future UK Growth
- ASIUK Responsible Equity
- BMO Responsible UK Equity
- Janus Henderson Inst Global Responsible Managed
- Royal London Sustainable Diversified Trust
- Liontrust Sustainable Future Cautious Managed
- ASIUK Ethical Equity
- Thesis Climate Assets
- Newton SRI for Charities
- Liontrust Sustainable Future Defensive Managed
- Janus Henderson UK Responsible Income
- BMO Responsible UK Income
- Unicorn UK Ethical Income
- Royal London Sustainable Managed Growth Trust
- Rathbone Ethical Bond
- 7IM Sustainable Balance
- Royal London Ethical Bond
- Liontrust Sustainable Future Corporate Bond
- Royal London Sustainable Managed Income Trust
- Royal London Short Term Money Market
What are some ethical ETFs (exchange-traded funds) to invest in?
ESG-based investment has been around for a decade or so. There are many financial services companies that cater for this niche sector, such as Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI). They have build screening frameworks to invest in high-ESG firms. I show one example below.
Example – UBS MSCI World Socially Responsible (LSE: UC44)
In the UK, you can invest in Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) to gain exposure to foreign and domestic markets, here is how to invest in ETFs.
Here I pick one ETF that is engaging in socially responsible investing. It is sponsored by UBS and is based on the MSCI Socially Responsible Index (SRI, with factsheet here). LSE-listed with the ticker UC44, the fund has AUM of about £730 million. It has been around since 2013. (Note, there is a sister fund with ticker UB39.)
According to the MSCI SRI fact sheet, the SR index excludes firms “involved in Nuclear Power, Tobacco, Alcohol, Gambling, Military Weapons, Civilian Firearms, GMOs and Adult Entertainment” and that “current constituents of the MSCI SRI Indexes must have an MSCI ESG Rating above B and the MSCI ESG Controversies score above zero to be eligible.” Finally, the construction the SRI is “float-adjusted market capitalization weighted.“
Here are some of the most popular ETFs for ethical investors and what they invest in:
| What do they invest in? | ETF Name & Ticker |
| Ageing | IShares Ageing Population UCITS ETF (AGES) |
| Smart City | IShares Smart City Infra. UCITS ETF (CT2B) |
| IT, Digital | IShares Digital. UCITS ETF (DGIT) |
| Health, Bio | IShares Healthcare Innovation UCITS ETF (DRDR) |
| Digital | Lyxor MSCI Digital Economy ESG Filtered UCITS ETF (EBUY) |
| World | IShares MSCI World ESG Enhanced UCITS ETF (EGMW) |
| Mobility | Lyxor MSCI Future Mobility ESG Filtered UCITS ETF (ELCR) |
| Gender, Equality | Lyxor Global Gender Equality (DR) Ucits ETF (GEND) |
| Climate, Paris Aligned | HSBC MSCI World Climate Paris Aligned UCITS ETF (HPAO) |
| Climate, Clean Energy | IShares Global Clean Energy UCITS ETF (INRG) |
| Climate, Impact | RIZE ENV. IMPACT 100 UCITS ETF (LVNG) |
| World, Low Volatility | IShares Edge MSCI World Min. Volatility ESG UCITS ETF (MVEW) |
| Auto, Robotics | IShares AUTO & ROBOTICS UCITS ETF (RBTX) |
| Digital, Security | IShares Digital Security UCITS ETF (SHLG) |
| Water | Lyxor World Water UCITS ETF (WATL) |
| SRI, World, Paris Aligned | Amundi Index MSCI World SRI UCITS ETF (WSRI) |
⚠️ FCA Regulation
All ethical investment platforms that operate in the UK must be regulated by the FCA. The FCA is the Financial Conduct Authority and is responsible for ensuring that UK ESG trading platforms are properly capitalised, treat customers fairly and have sufficient compliance systems in place. We only feature ethical investment accounts that are regulated by the FCA, where your funds are protected by the FSCS.
Ethical Investing FAQs
Yes. Ethical investing is a growing financial phenomenon that could last for years. Public companies, with increased public scrutiny, can no longer shy away from their public responsibilities. Those firms that showed leadership in this area may benefit from higher investment ratings.
However, from the investor standpoint, it is better to buy into a ‘ethical’ fund that can diversify into multiple holdings and regions. Maintaining a ESG framework is difficult and so it should be outsourced to professional financial firms. Even some newcomers, such as Nutmeg, are latching on to ethical investing. You should do so too.
Similar to ESG investing, ethical investments are growing in popularity because of the rise in social awareness and transparency. For example, many investors are asking: “Do I want to be associated with firms that thrive from gambling/addictions?” Probably not.
As the popularity of ESG investing continues to rise, more banks will likely offer more choice in ESG investment products, like HSBC.
Yes. Although with all types of investing you can also lose money. If you compare the 5-year performance to 2019 of this ETF and the FTSE 100 Index, the return difference is stark (see below). If you compare MSCI SRI and MSCI World Index, there are some improvements too over traditional investments.
Yes, if you invest with an FCA-regulated ethical investment platform as your money is protected by the FSCS.
Richard Berry
This article contains affiliate links which may earn us some form of income if you go on to open an account. However, if you would rather visit the ethical investment accounts via a non-affiliate link, you can view the product pages directly here: