We all know that the stock market recently took a huge nosedive due to the Coronavirus pandemic. At the point where the stock market went down, I didn’t hold any shares or funds so I was not affected by this, however it struck me that it might be a good time to invest now when the stock market is likely to go back up again during the next few years. I confess that, like many graduates, I don’t know a huge amount about the stock market and investments and I am trying to learn more about this. I am also very against investing in oil and companies that have questionable morals and so I wanted to use an ethical investment platform. The one that seemed to be recommended the most was Tickr so I have started an account and I will document my experience with Tickr over the next few months. 

Tickr is an impact investment platform on an app which aims to make it easy to invest in companies who are doing well financially whilst also solving ethical and social issues and having a positive. Impact investing is slightly different to ethical investing. Ethical investing avoids areas like tobacco and arms whereas impact investing doesn’t just exclude  those areas but actively picks companies who are doing the best work on a social and moral level alongside a financial return. 

When you invest your money with Tickr, you choose a theme to place your money with, which dictates what kind of companies your money is invested into. The themes are climate change, disruptive technologies, equality or a combination. I picked a combination as I thought all the themes were really interesting and I liked the idea of having a diverse mix of companies in my portfolio. 

You then pick a risk level between three settings – cautious, balanced and adventurous. Risk and return are linked in investing so taking riskier investments often leads to higher returns however you might see more fluctuation along the way so it is best for longer term investments. I decided to go with the adventurous setting. This means that more of my money is placed into stocks and shares for different companies rather than government bonds and cash which are more stable. 

You can deposit lump sums or have a monthly direct debit. I have decided to do both to make sure I don’t forget monthly but if it has been a better month then I can invest more into my account and let it grow! 

I am excited to see how things go with Tickr and to update you on my progress. If you are interested in signing up, if you sign up with this link and enter the code katyg8322 then you get a free £10 of Tickr credit once you have signed up to start you off on your investment journey! They also plant two trees on your behalf so you get to do some good for the planet too!

Let me know if you have any questions about ethical and impact investing and I will answer them in my next update!