If you are an impact investor, investing in your values is your priority. And to do that, you may need help to build your portfolio that contributes to those values. If you wonder if there is a mobile application that can allow you to do that, well yes, there is such an app.
IMPACT by Interactive Brokers (or IBKR) is an all-in-one platform that helps impact investors globally to invest in their values. It is intuitively designed to make it easy to put your money where your heart is. Also, you don’t need any help to create a professional portfolio.
This article gives a detailed review of the IMPACT mobile app by IBKR. Read on as we highlight the features and tour you through it.
IMPACT App Review Methodology
Interactive Brokers’ new, intuitive mobile application can help investors align their portfolios with their values and bring changes they would like to see in their finances. The IMPACT App streamlines the sustainable investing process for any investor.
The launch of the IMPACT App comes just when Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations are increasingly becoming popular among values-based investors.
The Global Impact Investor Network also estimates the ESG market size to be over $715 billion, which is only expected to rise in the coming years. That is why the IMPACT App is also gaining popularity.
This IMPACT App by IBKR review is based on personal experience with it. After using it for some time now, I am convinced that it can do well for other impact investors. Instead of using the Interactive Brokers platform, you can now access all the features through the IMPACT App on your device.
At a glance, IMPACT by Interactive Brokers comes with the following benefits:
- Trade your way into the world the way you want by socially responsible investing
- Identify the values that are important to you and invest your money in them through the Interactive Brokers platform
- Grade your ESG investment portfolio based on the values you have chosen.
- Invest in companies whose principles align with your ESG values and help bring a positive change in the world.
- Invest in a better future while positively impacting the planet and society
IMPACT by Interactive Brokers brings the power to the literal hand of investors. This IMPACT App by IBKR review will reveal the unique features of this application. How does it make the sustainable investing process easy, and how can you use it to trade value?
Continue reading for more detailed information.
What is the IMPACT App by Interactive Brokers?
IBKR’s IMPACT App is a dedicated mobile application for ESG investing. It was designed and managed by Interactive Brokers LLC, themselves founded in 1993. This global brokerage firm streamlines the brokerage services approach, focusing on market access, low costs, and unrivaled trade executions.
Interactive Brokers is a US-based stockbroker. It is regulated by top-tier financial authorities such as the US’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. It is a reliable company that has also gained a high reputation over the time it has been in business.
The IMPACT app brings the utility and value alignment offered by Interactive Brokers LLC into your palm. It allows you to select your own conscious investment plan that aligns with your impact values. You also set your personal investment criteria.
Overview of IMPACT Mobile Trading Platform
This IMPACT App review covers all aspects of this mobile app trading platform. We will dig into the available ESG investing tools that make the IMPACT App very powerful. They include the following:
- Personalized ESG investing goals
- Impact scores for portfolio & companies
- ESG search function
- Donation
- Greenhouse emissions
- Stock handling
Our IMPACT review will also cover the fees, platform features, and products. Hopefully, at the end of the article, you will know the IMPACT mobile application platform like the back of your hand!
See Related: ESG Investing Trends
Features of IMPACT App/Why Use IMPACT App?
The better part of this IMPACT App by IBKR review is dedicated to the features of this mobile application. Let us start with its main highlights as we move down to finer details.
Easy Account Creation Process
Once you download the IMPACT app on your phone and open it, you will get a screen that prompts you to log in or create an account. As a first-time investor, you will go through the account creation process. That takes just a minute to fill out the form and submit it.
Upon successful account creation, you will be directed to the login screen. Provide your credentials and hit on the login button. The next page is where you set or personalize your ESG goals. Check out more information in the next section!
Once ready, you can access trade and account data.
Personalized ESG Investing Goals
Once you login into the application, you will get to a screen where you can set your preferred values. You can check either important or very important, depending on your preferences. Also, you can mark as many fields as possible when creating your portfolio.
The values IMPACT App by Interactive Brokers cover the following:
- Ocean life: When marked, your investment will go to companies that consider their operations and how they affect marine life and the health of our oceans.
- Fair labor and thriving communities: This field defines how companies and businesses interact with local communities. It also accounts for how they give back to society, which can be through tree planting, providing clean water, food donations, volunteering, etc.
- Sustainable product lifecycle: This factor focuses on how companies relate with their customers to create sustainable products.
- Mindful business model: This considers how businesses incorporate ESG elements as part of their long-term goals and their commitments to achieve them.
- Clean air: This option gives weight to concerns over air quality by reviewing how companies reduce greenhouse emissions.
- Pure water: Focuses on how companies conserve and use water sparingly when making their products or offering services. Also, it covers waste management. Firms that do not discharge toxic waste into water sources have better scores.
- Land health: More attention goes to the companies that manage their solid waste and see that the amount of waste sent to landfills is reduced.
- Ethical leadership: Focus on how a company or business treats stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, peers, and society. It should not engage in fraudulent or exploitative activities.
- Consumer safety: Considers companies that focus on consumers, including personal information, safe products and services, and preventive strategies to protect consumers.
- Company transparency: Puts more emphasis on the transparency and disclosure of company policies and strategies that enhance customers’ wellbeing.
- LGBTQ inclusion: If selected, the investment goes to companies that ensure fair recruitment, retention, and safety of LGBTQ employees and their families.
- Gender equality: Focuses on companies that advocate for gender equality. And that should also be reflected in the internal activities of the company.
- Racial equality: You can choose this value if you want to help fight racism. The investment will be channeled to companies that give equal opportunity to all stakeholders regardless of skin color.
Once you are done customizing your ESG goals, you move to the next screen.
Here, you also choose business practices that you want to be flagged as ones to avoid. That means your investment will not be channeled to companies that engage in practices that you can’t get behind.
You can flag the following:
- Businesses involved in animal testing
- Businesses with ethics controversies
- Corporate political spending and lobbying
- Energy-intensive businesses
- Fossil fuels users or part of the fossil fuel industry
- Contributors to greenhouse emissions
- Creators of hazardous waste
- Companies with high water usage
- Anything involving tobacco, alcohol, and gambling
- Arms manufacturers and gun manufacturers
Company and Portfolio Scores
The IMPACT app by IBKR assigns your portfolio a grade depending on how it aligns with your selected impact values. The stocks are also given ESG values.
That allows you to see if an available stock supports your goals or not. You only invest in stocks that align with your heart and help you change the planet for the better!
See Related: Best Wealthfront Alternatives
ESG Search
IMPACT App supports Environmental social and governance search. This function allows you to quickly find companies that meet your ESG values.
You can also filter your search based on your preferred criteria. The result listed will feature stocks with the highest score for the category selected.
The IMPACT App also has multiple research tools for finding analyst ratings, news, and basic information on securities. You can also search for stocks and filter them.
Charitable Giving
IMPACT App allows you to align your portfolios with your impact goals and non-profit organizations. They can also donate cash directly to them on the mobile application. It relies on the comprehensive directory of US charities and non-profit organizations from GuideStar by Candid.
The App makes it easy to donate funds to charitable organizations that match your values. Unfortunately, this feature is only available to US customers. We can only hope it is made available in other countries as soon as possible!
Greenhouse Gasses Offset
This feature is unique to the IMPACT App by Interactive Brokers. It allows you to offset your greenhouse gas emissions.
Add all your activities that emit carbon gasses into the air to use it. Alternatively, you can specify the amount in dollars or metric tons.
The application will intelligently transfer funds to relevant agencies depending on your input. At the same time, it tracks the carbon gasses neutralized over that period.
Swapping Stocks
If for any reason, you don’t want the stocks you currently own, you can simply sell them and buy others.
This feature is essential if you change your ESG values. You can use it to realign your portfolio with your new goals.
Low Fees and Zero Commission for US Clients
Generally, Interactive Brokers has low trading fees. The same is reflected in the IMPACT App by IBKR.
The IMPACT App offers zero commission for clients when they trade US stocks. But if you are a non-US resident trading US stocks, you will pay a small commission.
However, clients trading commission-free stocks have worse execution quality and low-price improvements. That is because Interactive Brokers earn revenue from payment for order flow. Fortunately, there is a way to go about this problem.
You can open an IBKR Pro account and trade stocks for a small fee. But if it is not an issue, you can continue trading commission-free stocks.
Multiple Language Support & Available on Major Platforms
IMPACT App is available for Android, Google, and iOS devices. It supports many major languages around the world. You can set it to English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew, or Russian.
More languages are slated to be added with future updated versions of the app.
Wide Range of Products
IMPACT App allows you to access a wide range of products in the stock market. You can also trade any asset, including stocks, fractional shares, ETFs, Funds, and cryptocurrencies.
For stocks and ETFs, you can access major stock exchanges, such as NASDAQ, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the London Stock Exchange (LSE). You can also access minor ones, including the Warsaw Stock Exchange or Mexican markets.
Even crypto traders can trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash here.
You can find more products on the Interactive Brokers LLC web platform, but the IMPACT App is a great way to get your impactful portfolio started.
See Related: Best Impact Investing Apps
IMPACT App Quick Ratings
This IMPACT App by IBKR review revealed a lot about this mobile application for impact investors. We can rate it out of 5 as follows:
- Overall rating: 4.7
- Ease-of-Use: 4.8
- Features: 4.9
- Tradable securities: 5.0
- Crypto Availability: 4.9
- Research and data: 4.1
Pros and Cons of IMPACT App by Interactive Brokers
So, what are the pros and cons of the IMPACT App?
It is considered a significant breakthrough in the impact investing sector but has drawbacks.
Pros:
- Personalized ESG investing
- Interactive user interface
- Low fees
- Many tradable securities
- Cryptocurrencies available
- Portfolio grading
- Zero account minimum
- Mirrors full functionality of Interactive Brokers web-based platform
Cons:
- The mobile platform may be intimidating for new investors
- It may also be intimidating for those who aren’t tech-savvy
IMPACT App: The Verdict
IMPACT App by Interactive Brokers is a great mobile application that should be great news to any impact investor.
It lets even inexperienced investors create an elaborate portfolio that aligns with their ESG values. If you want to achieve impact goals, this application helps you. You can do it effortlessly through intelligent sustainability investment with the app.
This IMPACT app by IBKR review revealed the main features of the application. That only proves its worth as an arsenal for every investor, whether experienced or novice.
FAQ
How are IMPACT scores calculated?
IMPACT mobile application allows you as an investor to customize your responsible investing experience by choosing values that you advocate for. Once you select your ESG goals, compare your current status against your impact values.
This application also allows you to flag some business activities or practices that are unacceptable or against your impact investing principles. These are the factors used to calculate your Portfolio grade.
What does your portfolio score mean on the IMPACT dashboard?
Your portfolio score is a measure of how your impact goals align with the values of your company. This score is a weighted value of scores on every asset you put in your portfolio with impact data.
Why do some of my investments not have impact data?
Impact scoring is a relatively new concept. Not all companies provide their impact data. As a result, some investments will have a null value.
That may not give you meaningful information for your portfolio score. The percentage of holdings that have impact data is calculated based on your investment portfolio weighting.
Can you change the phone number on your IMPACT account?
You can do that on the account settings menu. From the home screen, click on the avatar at the top-left corner.
Scroll up and select Settings. Tap on the account. That will take you to a new screen with many options. Scroll up to get the Phone Number and tap on it. Follow prompts from there.
How do you access Trading Permissions?
To request and configure trading permissions on the IMPACT App, go to the Account Settings. Tap on the Trading Experience and Permissions on the next screen and go to the additional products screen.
Tap on Choose One to add trading permissions. You can follow the on-screen prompts to complete the process.
Can I see how a company aligns with my values before investing?
Yes.
Do it by setting your ESG values and preferences on the IMPACT App. It has an ESG widget in the Fundamental Explorer and the Impact Effect column in your Watchlists.
That will show you how different companies align with your impact goals. It can also help you know whether investing in such a company will boost your portfolio score.
How do I navigate to the Impact Effect Column on the App?
If using the IMPACT App by IBKR for Android, go to Watchlist and tap on the three dots menu. Select Edit Columns. Add Impact Effect by tapping on it from the Impact category.
If you are using the iOS mobile application, Swipe down from Watchlist and tap on the manage columns icon. At the bottom of the screen, tap on Add Column and choose the Impact effect.
Note: If you have not set your preferences, you will see a pencil icon that allows you to edit your preferences.
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