Investment Service and Product Launches

Fintech Save Launches ESG-Focused Savings Program in U.S.

Save Advisers LLC, a registered investment advisory seeking to help people earn higher yields on their spending and savings, has added an environmental, social and governance portfolio, the Houston-based firm said in a press release.

Save’s ESG portfolio seeks a similar return to common market benchmarks while maximizing ESG characteristics and excluding companies with certain practices, according to the firm. Since the ESG portfolio launched earlier this year, about 10% of people that sign up to its Market Savings product are selecting the Save ESG portfolio, the company said.

“We see it as our fiduciary responsibility to offer ethical investing through our Market Savings program for those consumers who seek these choices,” Michael Nelskyla, Save’s founder and CEO, said in the release.

In addition, Save is underwriting the planting of one tree for every $5,000 deposited in ESG Market Savings, up to $250 million in deposits, promoting the planting of up to 50,000 trees in upstate New York, according to the release.

ConsumerTrack Now GoBankingRates, Launches Savings Initiative for Those in Need

Digital marketing company ConsumerTrack is changing its name to GOBankingRates, its owned-and-operated personal finance website, the company said in a release.

Los Angeles-based ConsumerTrack has been around for 20 years and launched GOBankingRates.com about a decade ago, the firm said. Ten million Americans visit the site every month for financial advice, information and articles, according to the firm.

In 2023, with uncertainty in the economy due to inflation and other challenges, GOBankingRates said it is going to directly provide financial assistance to selected families and individuals for essential needs such as groceries, gas, mortgage payments and bills. The firm also said it would help build better savings habits by starting new savings accounts funded with thousands of dollars.

GOBankingRates, which says it has 200 employees, did not immediately respond to request for details of the programs. The company works with financial clients to connect consumers with financial institutions and products.

Seychelles-Based Bitget Launches ‘MegaSwap’ Crypto Trading Platform

Bitget, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Victoria, Seychelles off the coast of East Africa, has launched a cryptocurrency trading platform that allows users to trade or swap their digital assets for more than 10,000 cryptocurrencies, the firm said in a press release.

Bitget’s MegaSwap will give users access to trade through 10 exchanges while staying on Bitget’s platform, giving them the ability to invest in decentralized digital assets through the convenience of a centralized exchange.

There is demand among cryptocurrency investors to buy and trade decentralized cryptocurrency tokens, but many are deterred by lack of protection or knowledge about the tokens. MegaSwap will give them access to these digital assets through a centralized trading platform, according to Bitget.

The firm said users can activate MegaSwap with “a few clicks” to gain access to cryptocurrencies including Uniswap, Pancake, Curve, Sushiswap and more.

Bitget was founded in 2018 and has more than 8 million users in more than 100 countries, according to the firm. Its partners include Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, the Italian soccer team Juventus and official eSports events organizer PGL.

Element Funds Launches Metals Fund for EV Market

Investing firm Element Funds has launched an exchange-traded fund focused on metals used in electric vehicle batteries, according to a press release.

The Element EV, Solar & Battery Materials (Lithium, Nickel, Copper, Cobalt) Futures Strategy ETF, or CHRG, is available from the New York-based investing firm. The fund is managed by John Raymond and John Calvert, principals at the natural resources-focused private equity firm, The Energy & Minerals Group.

CHRG will provide investors with institutional-quality exposure to the futures contracts of commodities—such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper—key to the shift to a net-zero carbon renewable economy, according to Element Funds. By directly accessing the futures of the key elements crucial to EV and BESS technology, the fund will not be beholden to stock price fluctuations due to the unrelated demand for the underlying metals.

“Over the past several years, we’ve seen enormous investor demand in strategies linked to the EV and renewables revolution,” Will McDonough, CEO of Element Funds, said in the release. “However, critical metals are not an investment that you can set and forget. We will utilize our global experience to continuously monitor and re-evaluate CHRG’s portfolio allocations and weighting based on real-time industry developments.”