The tech-driven asset management platform that powers personalization for financial intermediaries, Ethic has announced that it has closed a US$50 million Series C funding round led by the Jordan Park Group.
The round also saw participation from UBS through the firm’s venture and innovation unit, UBS Next, as well as from existing investors including Oak HC/FT, Nyca Partners, Sound Ventures, Urban Innovation Fund and Kapor Capital.
This new capital will support Ethic’s ambitious growth plans, including expansion into new markets and products, and continued investments in its platform experience. It follows a strong growth period for the company, which saw record inflows in H1 2022 despite turbulent market conditions and outflows from many environmental, social and governance (ESG) mutual and exchange-traded funds. Ethic offers a customized alternative to one-size-fits-all fund structures and has been a vocal advocate for greater transparency in the sustainable investing landscape.
“Our personalized approach, which allows people to create portfolios that reflect their own unique definitions of sustainability, has helped facilitate our rapid growth with intermediaries and their clients,” said co-founder and CEO of Ethic, Doug Scott. “With this latest round of funding, closed this summer, we’re excited to continue delivering innovative solutions that bring us closer to our vision of a world in which all investing is sustainable investing.”
Amid significant consolidation in the sector, Ethic has distinguished itself as an independent provider of direct indexing strategies. Ethic’s platform helps financial intermediaries meet the demand for personalized investment solutions, delivering custom equity portfolios that can be tailored to end clients’ individual sustainability, financial, charitable giving and tax management preferences. Financial intermediaries can also differentiate themselves and forge deeper relationships with their clients using Ethic’s technology platform to deliver transparent impact reporting, and leveraging its breadth of educational tools surrounding various sustainability issues.
“We appreciate Ethic’s thoughtful approach to delivering customized portfolios and a well-designed client experience,” said Partner at Jordan Park Group, Lauren Booker Allen. “We have valued our partnership with the Ethic team these past few years, and are excited to be further deepening our collaboration through this investment.”
“Through UBS Next, we encourage technology-driven innovation and support ideas that have the power to shape the future of banking to meet clients’ evolving needs,” said UBS Group Chief Digital and Information Officer, Mike Dargan. “Through our investment in Ethic, we also aim to increase access to customizable, sustainable investment offerings to a much broader set of investors.”
Ethic has grown rapidly since its Series B raise in 2021, surpassing US$2 billion in assets and expanding its team headcount by more than 70 per cent. Earlier this year, in recognition of its impact reporting feature, Ethic was awarded the 2022 Model Wealth Manager award from global research and advisory firm Celent. The company was also recently named a “Best Place to Work in Fintech” for the second consecutive year.
