Impact Finance Bulletin: retail impact investing platform shuts due to low uptake

Not so Swell – retail impact investing platform shuts due to low uptake

Swell Investing, which allowed people to invest in portfolios of companies solving global challenges, like clean water, green technology and zero waste, has closed its doors.

The platform helped people get started with impact investing, offering “an easy-to-use web platform and iOS app, and a low minimum investment of just $50”.

But a statement from the company said Swell “was not able to achieve the scale needed to sustain investment independent operations. As a result, we closed our doors on August 30, 2019”.

Swell Investing was founded by David Fanger and backed by Pacific Life. Over the course of two years, its team grew to roughly 40 employees including designers, developers, product managers, portfolio managers, data analysts, marketers, customer support agents, and impact researchers.

A statement on the website said: “While our start-up went the way of so many start-ups before us, we are deeply grateful to the thousands of clients who joined us in building Swell.”