A trading app launched today, Fennel, aims to make ESG considerations and shareholder voting a pillar of retail investors’ decisions.
The app has a monthly subscription fee of $4.99 and promotes itself as not charging commissions, using securities lending or paying for order flow. It is the product of Greenwich, Conn.-based broker-dealer Fennel Financials, which registered with Finra and the Securities and Exchange Commission this year.
The company has raised $5m in seed funding from backers including Acorns founder Jeff Cruttenden, The Capitol Factory, Temerity Capital Partners and others, it said in its announcement.
“Fennel’s key feature is its in-app ESG data and rankings, which provides unprecedented information to retail investors on public companies’ environmental, social and governance practices,” the company stated. “With Fennel, users can invest in publicly-listed stocks and ETFs as they analyze detailed ESG data and further understand how the companies they invest in impact the world they live in.”
The app also provides information about shareholder voting for the stocks its customers hold. Increasing the engagement that retail investors have with companies is necessary, as just over a quarter of their shares end up being voted, Fennel stated, referring to a report from ProxyPulse.
“Today, the shareholder voting process is an overlooked method of invoking positive corporate change,” Fennel founder and CEO Daniel Naim said in a statement. “Our mission is to give everyone a voice in the companies they invest in, not just the top 1% with formidable seats at the table.”
