PensionBee’s new pension plan will be full of sugar and spice and all things nice – without dirty investments such as fossil fuels, arms, tobacco and other controversial sectors.
When PensionBee announced plans to launch a fossil fuel-free personal pension plan, they said it would need to raise £100 in order to make it successful. In the event, they have hit this target in just 34 days in a move which confirms the strong appeal of green funds.
The £100 million target was, they said, necessary in order to offer the plan at a competitive 0.75% price. The company said £34 million had been pledged by its customers with an unnamed workplace pension also committing what they called ‘sufficient investment’ to Legal & General Management to launch the fund.
It is now making its bow with an all new index created especially for it called the FTSE All-World TPI Transition ex Fossil Fuel ex Tobacco ex Controversies Index. This comes with explicit provisions which exclude investments in coal, oil, gas, tobacco, arms companies and other unethical sectors.
Celebrating the success, PensionBee said it was all down to their customers.
Clare Reilly, chief engagement officer at PensionBee said;
“It’s our customers who have made this possible every step of the way, first by telling us they wanted a product that completely excludes companies with oil, gas and coal reserves from their investments, and secondly, by pledging to invest in the fund ahead of its launch,”
Demand for green and ethical pensions and other investments has been rising steadily over the past few years, driven by enthusiasm from consumers and investors. The green bond market is expected to grow by €300 billion in 2021 taking its overall size to €1 trillion.
However, the pension market has often lagged behind with investors seemingly preferring to favour assets with a proven track record of growth rather than the more uncertain green funds.
“We believe sustainable investing is the future of engagement with pensions and that everyone should have the option of using their investments for good. We hope this is just the start of all savers using their investment power to transform the world they live in—for the better of the planet, society and their retirement.”
Demand for this fossil fuel free pension proves that the demand is genuinely there. With its target being met, the fund has now launched and is already be available to PensionBee . Any existing customers who pledged their savings will be invested into the fund as soon as the company can process the transactions.
Tom Cropper has been writing for us since 2015. Tom is a financial journalist and his work has appeared in titles such as the Guardian, Euromoney and many others.
