Who is Betterworld Financial Planning?

The short answer is that Betterworld Financial Planning is a new financial advice firm focused on recommending investment solutions within pension and investment planning. 

The long - and slightly more interesting one perhaps - is that our investment proposition is based on sourcing and advising on investment solutions that meet responsible, positive-impact-driven, sustainable and environmental criteria, along with a focus on good governance.

It’s my belief that companies that contribute to sustainability, environmental care, good social outcomes and have good governance will perform better over the long term than companies that do not.

How did we start?

Betterworld was incorporated in June 2020 and was authorised at the end of January 2021, finally starting trading on the 1 May this year. 

As I write in June, we’ve signed up 30 clients so far and advised on £1,055,000 of new business. 

The new business has all been invested into Environmental, Sustainable and Governance (ESG) focused / Socially responsible investment (SRI) model portfolios managed by a range of fund managers including EQ Investors, Black Finch, and Kind and Shaxon. 

It’s my ambition to gradually and where appropriate rebalance clients’ portfolios in similar strategies in the coming months. New clients will always be recommended solutions which meet some ESG standards. 

We are brand new company with big ambitions

We aim to improve our process and advice over time to further the adoption of ESG investing.

As an Intermediary with no discretionary permissions our ethical criteria can be met through third parties. By choosing Investment companies that run model portfolios on defined ESG/SRI criteria I can ensure that company engagement using shareholder pressure, ethical screening and a focus on actual impact is achieved. 

I believe that while certain negative screening is necessary it’s important to direct the flow of capital towards solutions rather than just avoiding harm.

It’s also important for us to live by our own values

I want to be a company that is mindful of its own environmental, social and governance responsibilities. We’ll endeavour to subscribe to these same goals by seeking to reduce our own carbon footprint through the use of technology and reduction of paper printing etc. 

• DocuSign to reduce printing and physical postage

• Cashcalc and EValue for client on boarding. Again reducing paper and post

• Intelliflo for back office again reducing the need for paper filing

• Video meetings instead of driving to clients

For example, of the 30 clients signed up so far, we were able to sign up 17 using Docusign, which allows for documents to electronically signed.

We also aim to donate 1% of our company profits to charitable causes and are currently in discussion with The Shropshire Wildlife Trust to that end. They are a charity based in my home county that focuses on nature conservation along with solutions to deal with climate change. They also work to connect people with nature and with mental health.

From my own company’s point of view my aim is to help my clients achieve their financial and sustainability goals, doing what I can to emulate that along the way. Growing their wealth and investing their money responsibly and sustainably, while making small steps for the planet as a whole.