Financial advice can be a sensitive topic – those giving it don’t want to mislead customers, while customers are wary about the level of trust they can place in their advisers. Nonetheless, done correctly, investing can be a very beneficial way for someone to use their funds. This November we are exploring all the aspects of wealthtech and how the industry has developed this year.
Having previously looked at how wealthtech tools are impacting financial inclusion and the traditional investment landscape, we now look at how the sector is helping investors align their portfolios with their ESG values.
Financial products’ ‘nutrition label’
Mabel Oza, founder, FatFIRESocial
Mabel Oza, founder, FatFIRESocial, the community helping its users grow their wealth, notes how wealthtechs are making it easier for investors to understand what components actually make up their investments – ensuring greater transparency.
“Wealthtech platforms are making it so much easier to actually understand what we’re investing in. It’s like we’re finally getting a ‘nutrition label’ for financial products—showing us exactly what’s inside the funds, ETFs, or portfolios we’re putting our money into. In the past, it was hard to know where your money was really going, but now it’s all right there for you to see.
“This transparency is helping us become more financially literate, giving us a clearer picture of what we’re supporting with our investments. If you’re trying to invest in a way that reflects your values—like caring about the environment or social responsibility—these platforms make it simple to check whether your portfolio is actually doing that.
“Instead of just hoping your money is aligned with your goals, you can now see exactly how companies in your portfolio stack up when it comes to things like sustainability or ethical practices. It’s a game-changer for anyone who wants to make smarter, more values-driven financial decisions. And really, it just gives you more control over where your money goes.”
More cost-effective and transparent solutions
Markus Alin, CEO and founder, Sharpfin
Echoing this sentiment, Markus Alin, CEO and founder, Sharpfin, the all-in-one SaaS solution for wealth management, also highlights how wealthtechs are improving transparency. However, he also highlights some of the risks that still remain even when using wealthtech platforms.
“Wealthtech platforms have made it easier for investors to align their portfolios with ESG values by offering more accessible, efficient, cost-effective, and transparent solutions compared to traditional methods.
“The industry has shifted towards technology-driven solutions to cater to a new generation of investors. Interestingly, as much as 77 per cent of institutional investors in Europe plan to stop buying non-ESG products within the next two years, reflecting the growing importance of sustainable investing (a survey by PwC).
“Wealthtech can also provide automated portfolio monitoring and rebalancing, ensuring that asset allocations stay aligned with ESG standards over time. This helps investors maintain a consistent focus on sustainability while still aiming for competitive returns—a level of customisation difficult to achieve without digital tools.
“Additionally, wealthtech gives investors access to real-time ESG data, speeding up the evaluation of companies and funds on metrics like carbon emissions, labour practices, or corporate governance. This makes the investment process more efficient, reducing the need for manual research.
“However, challenges remain, such as the lack of standardised ESG data, which makes comparing companies difficult. The risk of ‘greenwashing’ also grows when investors rely too heavily on AI-generated data without fully understanding the complexities. Despite this, wealthtech helps lower costs and makes ESG investing accessible to a wider range of investors, including those with smaller portfolios.”
Improving data quality
David Csiki, the managing director of an investment management platform called INDATA
In the modern day, customers’ demands for personalisation are extremely high. David Csiki, the managing director of an investment management platform called INDATA explains that by using tech, investment platforms can centralise ESG information which has been historically hard to aggregate. This then allows them to screen investment ideas against ESG data.
He says: “Wealthtech platforms can help investors align their portfolios with ESG values by giving the investment management firms who serve them the necessary tech tools to ingest ESG information which is varied in scope and hard to centralise. Once ESG data has been aggregated, investment firms can effectively screen investment ideas against ESG data.
“Wealthtech platforms use various technologies to aggregate and review this data ranging from traditional tools like data warehouses to more advanced technologies like BI reporting, where data is much easier to work with and apply to the individual investment processes that firms have in place. From there, ESG data can make its way into the actual portfolio management and trading software (OMS) that firms use to rebalance their client portfolios against models that contain ESG data.
“Emerging AI-based technologies can be applied to investment management workflows to speed up portfolio rebalancing activities and also improve data quality in terms of ESG metrics that are used within a given model. ‘Smart’ workflows can also be created by using natural language tools as well as generative AI, which can be used to search through large volumes of ESG data more efficiently.
“The world of ESG is changing in terms of its use within the investment industry, however, the constant will be the role of Wealthtech platforms used by the investment manager to effectively aggregate the data used to align investors with their values and goals.”
Putting control directly into investors’ hands
Nicky Senyard, CEO, Fintel Connect
Nicky Senyard CEO at Fintel Connect, the marketing platform, network and agency built for the financial industry, explores how time-consuming and costly it previously was to invest through an ESG lens, noting how control has now been placed in the hands of your everyday investor – not a professional to make a choice on their behalf.
“Wealthtech platforms are redefining investing by making it easier than ever for people to align their portfolios with personal values, especially in areas like ESG. In the past, investing with an ESG lens required a professional to sift through complex data and make responsible choices on behalf of investors. Now, wealthtech platforms put that control directly into investors’ hands.
“These platforms compile broad-ranging data—from market trends to ESG scores—and translate it into clear, actionable insights. This level of access, which would have once been costly and time-intensive, now enables investors to make smarter, intentional choices on their own terms.
“Personally, I wouldn’t have had the time or interest to dig into that level of data, but wealthtech simplifies it, empowering me to make decisions that align with my values. That’s the beauty of this technology—it hands investors the autonomy to shape their financial futures.
“Whether it’s reducing carbon footprints or supporting ethical labour practices, wealthtech gives people the tools to make informed decisions confidently. As it evolves, wealthtech continues to democratise investment decisions, allowing people to self-direct their portfolios without needing a wealth manager for every step.”
Separating well-managed funds from the rest
The development of wealthtech not only benefits the investor but firms looking for investment too. Organisations can reflect on the good ways they’re working on ESG targets and convey this clearly, whereas before, the process of getting this information would have been long-winded and resource-intensive.
James Hackworth, head of product management at Accelex
James Hackworth, head of product management at Accelex, the firm streamlining alternative investment operations explains: “ESG considerations are rapidly becoming a determining factor for investors, and the surge of capital flowing into sustainable investments reflects this. This is being driven by multiple factors: investor demand, regulatory push, and retail investor adoption.
“In alternative investments, ESG integration is now seen as a hallmark of well-managed funds, with accurate, transparent ESG data becoming essential for identifying genuinely sustainable opportunities and minimizing reputational risks.
“Innovative platforms are empowering institutional investors with deep insights into the environmental and social impacts of their portfolios, aligning closely with the accelerating demand for transparency and responsible investment practices.”
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