22 Dec 2024

Does it pay to be green?

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has already been hailed the worst environmental disaster in US history, once again bringing green issues to the forefront of people’s minds.

Ethically minded customers like to incorporate their principles into their financial decisions, but opting for green deals could leave them out of pocket.

Investments

	1 Year Performance	3 Years Performance	5 Years Performance	10 Years Performance
Ethical funds	29.95%	-7.15%	33.48%	15.04%
Non-ethical funds	29.85%	3.56%	45.87%	49.69%
Source: Moneyfacts.co.uk 9.6.10

Savings

	Variable Rates	Fixed Rate Bonds	ISAs
Ethical accounts	0.26%	2.00%	0.86%
Non-ethical accounts	0.91%	3.07%	2.12%
Source: Moneyfacts.co.uk 9.6.10

Mortgages

	2 Year Fixed	5 Year Fixed
Ethical accounts	4.68%	5.47%
Non-ethical accounts	4.55%	5.62%
Source: Moneyfacts.co.uk 9.6.10

Michelle Slade, spokesperson for Moneyfacts.co.uk commented:

“Ethical investing is a lifestyle choice, where rate and performance is not the overriding factor.

“Consumers are paying a premium for sticking to their principles.

“Only a handful of providers in the cash savings and mortgage market offer ethical products, meaning customers will have to work harder to seek the best deals out.

“Larger providers such as The Co-operative Bank do manage to combine competitive rates with an ethical stance.

“Ethical investors have a wide choice of funds into which they can invest, which can be used as part of a stocks and shares ISA.

“While ethical investors have had to endure periods of underperformance, over the last year they have performed more successfully than their non-ethical counterparts.

“Ethical investing is likely to remain a niche market unless it does more to attract the mainstream market.”

Moneyfacts Group
Moneyfacts is the UK’s leading independent provider of personal financial information and our data is used and trusted throughout the financial industry.

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