Green, clean, low-carbon machine: New app helps investors green up portfolio

Unlike ESG ratings, which are typically complex and targeted at institutional investors and asset managers, Sugi – which is free to use – shows users the annual carbon impact of each investment in absolute numbers, alongside an industry average and carbon data for similar investments in the market. 

The app displays impact data for over 15,000 listed equities – 95% of the listed equities market – over 3,500 exchange traded funds (ETFs) and certain actively managed funds, with plans to introduce a wider range of funds – and more environmental data – in the coming months. 

Users link their investment portfolios, which can include ISAs and SIPPs, to Sugi via Moneyhub’s Open Finance API, enabling them to access personalised impact data. Moneyhub, a market-leading Open Finance data, intelligence and payments platform, connects to more than 80 online investment platforms, covering the majority of the UK market.  

The app was founded by Josh Gregory, who, after building a 10-year career in investment funds, green finance and conservation, became increasingly frustrated with the lack of clarity surrounding green investing, particularly within retail investment. 

“While COVID has accelerated awareness and demand of green investing, it’s hard for retail investors to take action. Research shows that over 75% of UK investors want their investments to have a positive impact; however, only a small proportion of people actually follow through with it.” – Josh Gregory, CEO and Founder of Sugi

“The reasons for this vary. Sustainable investing is full of jargon and investors are rightly concerned about greenwashing. Another problem is ESG ratings: they’re meant to simplify complex issues but are themselves very confusing – even for experienced retail investors. All of this ultimately stops more people getting involved. 

“Working with Moneyhub, the platform with the most comprehensive financial data connections on the market, allows us to give our users unparalleled access to their investment information in one place.

“By providing users with simple, objective data, Sugi aims to make green investing easier, understandable and more accessible for everyone.”

“Until now, aligning an individual investor’s portfolio with their own values has been virtually impossible, but by utlising the power of Open Banking and Open Finance, we are able to make it easy for investors to build greener portfolios. Our partnership with Sugi demonstrates the true potential of Open Finance and its ability to solve real-world, complex financial issues, beyond account aggregation and payments.” – Samantha Seaton, CEO of Moneyhub