Green is in the flag and green is on the agenda. Mexico-based online trading platform Sherpa Brokers has turned to fintech startup GaiaLens for its ESG needs.
Under the terms of the partnership, London-based ESG data and scoring platform GaiaLens is providing headline ESG scores for all US stocks which Sherpa’s users can trade on its platform.
Diana Treviño, Head of Strategy at Sherpa, points out: “We believe that there is no point in investing for our future without thinking of the planet’s.”
Seb Kirk, Co-Founder of GaiaLens, explains: “We know that individual investors are already seeking out visibility of the ESG performance of the stocks in their portfolio. GaiaLens has therefore acted swiftly to find an online trading platform partner which serves the American market.”
He adds: “Although initially we are just providing the top line E, S and G numbers, in the future there is a potential for Sherpa investors to search, select and shortlist stocks which show high ESG scores, perhaps linked to specific UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) which an investor has expressed a desire to address in his investment portfolio, for example.”
This deal for GaiaLens is another example of firms doing well as they seek out profits in the world of ESG. Many consumers and businesses need that kind of data, and some users are conscious of wanting to make the world a better place.
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For instance, ESG data intelligence platform Deepki acquired London-based Fabriq for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 2014, Deepki’s SaaS platform is targeted at real estate investors, owners and managers for the ESG performance of their real estate assets.
Other examples include ESG Book and Earth Blox picking up funding. Berlin-based greentech company Plan A unveiling a new branch office in London with 100 jobs up for grabs. While in an eWeek UK scoop, SDG Assessment powered up in West Sussex to offer sustainability and ESG reporting for small businesses.
GaiaLens has its own ambitions to bring E, S and G scores to life. It says these scores will be viewable via Sherpa’s new mobile app versions from October 2022.
By being able to display these scores of stocks and providing some context for those scores, Sherpa is “hoping to engage more of its young users in sustainable investing”.
According to GaiaLens, its ESG analysis covers over 17,000 public companies. This includes data on themes linked to the 17 UN SDGs, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), and other themes such as modern slavery and gender equality.
The tech firm says this data is captured using more than 100,000 internet searches per day and assessed using AI algorithms developed by GaiaLens.
GaiaLens adds that it intends to partner with two additional online trading platforms before the end of 2022.
