I'm a sole trader in my mid-thirties and feel I should not delay any further with starting a pension fund. The problem is I don't even know where to begin. I met my bank and their options were limited and they had no ethical pension fund option. Should I go to an independent financial advisor to get started? Are there any ethical pension and investment options in Ireland? Thanks
Standard Life also have a European Ethical Equity fund with an annual charge that is 0.3% per annum more than their standard European equity fund at 1.3% versus 1%.
I have completed a range of Socially Responsible Investment Portfolios which progressively exclude companies moving from a sustainable investment portfolio right through to an Ethical Portfolio.
The sustainable investing model is invested in just under 2000 stocks and has a blended ongoing fund charge of 0.52%pa. Source:Morningstar
The fully ethical screened portfolio is 444 stocks and has a blended ongoing fund charge of 0.92%pa. Interestingly the Ethical portfolio has returned an average annualized return of just over 15%pa for the 5 years ending June 2015 net of fund charges so you don't have to necessarily give up your returns in order to meet your principles.
To invest via a pension structure would require an additional 0.40%pa and you would also have adviser fees on top of that.
Past performance is no guarantee of future investment returns.