Aspiration Launches Redwood Investment Fund to Bring Sustainable Investing To Everyday Investors

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Aspiration, an online financial firm with a conscience, today announced the launch of the Aspiration Redwood Fund, a unique financial product paralleling the approach taken by the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board.  Many Americans, especially Millennials, make purchasing decisions in part by considering the causes and mission of the companies that produce and sell the products they buy. The Aspiration Redwood Fund brings this "conscious consumer" approach to investing in a manner designed to combine social and financial goals. Available exclusively on Aspiration.com, the Aspiration Redwood Fund is managed day-to-day by UBS Asset Management (Americas) Inc., based on a strategy available to UBS' institutional and private wealth clients.

"People are driving hybrids, drinking fair trade coffee, and buying organic milk. But we think everyday investors have found that when it comes to investing their options are to hold their nose, accept lower returns, or just walk away," said Andrei Cherny, CEO of Aspiration.  "The Aspiration Redwood Fund seeks to give everyone the chance to invest with their values in mind, and build value at the same time. We see sustainable and impact investing solutions as experiencing unprecedented demand, and our aim with the Aspiration Redwood Fund is to help move sustainable investing from a niche for the few to a core allocation in the everyday investor's portfolio."

Just a year old, Aspiration – an online financial firm with a conscience – has become one of the fastest growing investment businesses in America. Over the past nine months, Aspiration has been doubling its number of accounts an average of every six weeks.

In the past, socially responsible investing meant stripping out negative factors such as oil and tobacco production, which sometimes resulted in lower returns.  However, recent studies have shown that sustainable companies that make materially impactful decisions to strengthen their environmental, workplace, and governance practices are more valuable than their similar peers. While the volume of sustainable investments nearly doubled from 2012 to 2014, almost all that investment came from America's wealthiest individuals and institutions. In strategic partnership with UBS Asset Management, the Aspiration Redwood Fund offers everyday consumers seeking out companies with good reputations access to sustainable strategies that previously may have been out of reach.

Its "Pay What Is Fair" business model trusts customers to choose the fee they pay Aspiration even i it is zero. It is also one of the most charitable financial firms in America, donating 10% of revenue to microloans and mentoring for low-income Americans. Recently, its high-interest checking account was awarded this year's "Best Checking Account" by Money magazine.

Thomas Digenan, head of the U.S. Intrinsic Value Equity team and Bruno Bertocci, head of the Sustainable Equities team at UBS Asset Management, will be acting as portfolio managers for the Aspiration Redwood Fund.  UBS will be joining Aspiration in being compensated on a "Pay What Is Fair" basis and donating 10% of their revenue in this Fund.

"We're thrilled to work with Aspiration to bring sustainable investing to the everyday investor," said Bertocci.  "We have seen from our clients that investors are more conscious than ever about where they are putting their money, and the Aspiration Redwood Fund is the perfect stepping stone for the middle class to build value with peace of mind."

The Aspiration Redwood Fund only requires a minimum investment of $500. The Fund will trade under the ticker REDWX.  For more information about the Aspiration Redwood Fund, please visit http://www.funds.aspiration.com/redwood.

About Aspiration

One of the fastest growing online investment platforms, Aspiration offers everyone the type of investment strategies that were once limited to only the wealthiest Americans. Using cutting-edge technology, Aspiration is revolutionizing how financial services are delivered to Americans by successfully pioneering a democratized and purpose-driven investment firm with a conscience and building an unprecedented level of trust with its customers. Aspiration Fund Adviser, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aspiration Partners Inc., is registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Visit www.aspiration.com for more information.

About UBS

UBS Asset Management, a business division of UBS, is a large-scale asset manager with well-diversified businesses across regions, capabilities, and client segments. It offers investment capabilities and investment styles across all major traditional and alternative asset classes. These include equity, fixed income, currency, hedge fund, real estate, infrastructure and private equity investment capabilities that can also be combined into multi-asset strategies. Invested assets totaled USD 652 billion as of September 30, 2015 and with around 2,500 employees located in 24 countries.

UBS Asset Management (Americas) Inc. is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of UBS Group AG and is registered as an investment adviser pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. 

Risks Disclosure

An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of some or the entire principal amount invested. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be successful in meeting its investment objective. Investment in the Fund is also subject to the following risks: Market Risk, Management Risk, Derivatives Risk, Futures Risk, Leverage Risk Associated with Financial Instruments, Focused Investment Risk, Foreign Investing Risk, Limited Capitalization Risk, Temporary Defensive Positions, New Fund Risk. More information about these risks can be found in the Fund's prospectus.

Prospectus Offer

An investor should consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the Fund before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the Fund. A copy of the prospectus is available at funds.aspiration.com or by calling Shareholder Services at 800-683-8529. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing. Current and future holdings are subject to change and risk.

Nothing on this web site should be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell shares of any fund in any jurisdiction where the offer or solicitation would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Aspiration Fund Adviser, LLC is the adviser to the Aspiration Flagship Fund, which is distributed by Capital Investment Group, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC, 100 E. Six Forks Road, Suite 200, Raleigh, North Carolina 27609, (800) 773-3863. There is no affiliation between Aspiration Fund Adviser, LLC, including its principals, and Capital Investment Group, Inc.

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SOURCE Aspiration

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