Grünfin launches in Germany

With its investment platform, Grünfin wants to enable investors to invest their money sustainably without wasting time. The service is now also being launched in Germany.

The German-Estonian start-up Grünfin has launched its investment platform in Germany. The fintech aims to give investors easy access to sustainable investments and puts together a portfolio depending on the investment focus (climate protection, health and equality). An analysis team selects the ETFs for the respective portfolios.

The start-up was founded in 2020, has a European license as an investment company and has so far raised two million euros in investor funds. The founders Karin Nemec and Triin Hertmann bring expertise from the financial and technology sectors: Nemec, who works from Frankfurt, spent eight years in various positions at Swedbank, while Estonian Hertmann worked for Skype and TransferWise.

Karin Nemec explained to the online magazine Paymentandbankingwhat criteria the fintech uses to select funds for investors' portfolios: "We prefer funds that have set themselves the goal of having an impact. We also look at profits from 'green' versus so-called 'brown' sources, for example; CO₂ emissions in relation to turnover, the proportion of women on management and supervisory boards or existing violations of the UN Global Compact are also taken into account for the evaluation."

Customers can invest up to 1,000 euros free of charge, after which there are monthly costs of 3.90 euros. If the portfolio generates more profit than expected in the long term, Grünfin receives a 15 percent share of the additional income.

Grünfin's offer is primarily aimed at women who want to invest their money in sustainable ETFs. With this offer, Grünfin also aims to close the pension gap between men and women.