GOODFOLIO Partners with Tumelo to Give its Users a Voice on Corporate ESG Issues

GOODFOLIO, a simple, transparent and customisable platform for impact-driven investors, has launched a new partnership with Tumelo to give its users a voice on key environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues within companies where their money is being invested in.

By incorporating the Tumelo Voting API (application programming interface), GOODFOLIO users are given a voice on the defining issues of our time. Users can express their vote preferences to their fund managers to influence global companies on a range of issues including: gender equality, climate change, inclusion, and human rights. Users receive access to recommendations for and against proposals before a vote and data on the outcome of their engagement.

GOODFOLIO is an innovative solution which aims to empower impact-minded investors to overcome the unreasonable difficulties in making and implementing values-driven investment decisions. This includes avoiding greenwashing, achieving transparency, and having sustainability data available at the point of use. Having developed tools for users to efficiently scan and scrutinise investments for more effective alignment with values and preferences, GOODFOLIO is targeting the global ESG and impact funds market forecast to reach $55 trillion in value by 2025 (source), growing at 40% per year in Europe (source).

The London-based company behind the platform is currently crowdfunding and has raised nearly £300K, double its initial target. This additional investment will go towards bolstering GOODFOLIO’s team and supporting further product development, marketing and customer acquisition.

GOODFOLIO was founded by its CEO Omid Pakseresht, an Oxford-educated entrepreneur with a successful track record in finance and technology product commercialisation, and his brother and Chief Technical Officer, Nima Pakseresht, a computer science technology leader with more than 15 years of experience in big data, AI and ML.

The senior management team also includes Harvard-educated social entrepreneur Farahnaz Karim, with experience in the UN and World Bank, who serves as GOODFOLIO’s Chief Impact Officer.

CEO Omid Pakseresht comments: “We are delighted to partner with Tumelo and aim to become one of the first investment platforms to bring the Voting API function to market. This will enable impact-driven investors who use our platform to directly express their views to their fund managers about what kind of change they would like to see in the corporate world. Our community views this as an important component in the equation of creating impact through investment.”

“The partnership with Tumelo marks the beginning of a journey to empower our users to create more impact through collective action.

“The success of our current crowdfunding campaign is also a significant development for GOODFOLIO. This additional investment will enable the business to further develop its unique position, better serve its community, and reach out to a larger audience of impact-driven investors.”

Georgia Stewart, CEO of Tumelo, said: “We are very excited about the partnership with GOODFOLIO, a company as passionate about providing investors with a voice as we are. Tumelo’s Voting API functionality is ideal for GOODFOLIO’s ESG-focused platform as it enables users to closely interact with companies within their investment portfolio through their fund managers, giving them a voice on the hottest issues of our time. This progressive and positive step forward empowers investors to balance financial returns and ensure their investments align with their values.”

More details on GOODFOLIO’s crowdfunding round on Seedrs can be found here.