The Safe Investor - Issue 1 2020

HOT TRENDS
WHERE THE
VALUE LIES...
A MICRO
REVOLUTION
2020 investment
innovation will be all
about keeping things
small.
We’ve already
seen the launch of
microinvestment
apps, which allow
customers to invest
tiny amounts of
money – the change
from their coffee
purchase, or the
amount left over in
their bank account
before payday – in
funds that might grow
into a larger nest egg
over time.
Moneybox is the bestknown
of these apps
in the UK, but 2020
could see the growth
of rivals including
Wombat. US-based
commissionfree
trading app
Robinhood received
regulatory approval
in the UK in August
and looks set to
launch soon. While
this one isn’t strictly a
microinvestment app,
experts put it squarely
in the same space, as
it targets those with
small amounts to
invest and an interest
in using technology to
do so.
Micro-journeys – the
simple(ish) decisions
that investors need to
make when they’re
managing their
finances - includes
things as whether
to pay microinvestments
into a
pension or an ISA, and
when to pay off debt
rather than putting
money into the stock
market. Expect the
financial apps that
are currently being
developed to be able
to handle these small
steps, leaving human
beings to focus on the
more complicated
stuff. Like Brexit,
perhaps, or how to
deal with the climate
crisis?
ANOTHER CHANCE
FOR PRE-LOVED
GOODS
Call it secondhand,
vintage or good-asnew,
2020 will be
the year when the
investment world
Will veganism and the green crusade continue? Will
the way we invest and make money change?
While the usual caveats apply (our predictive powers
can go up as well as down, etc) here our some of the
big issues and launches that should have their time in
the spotlight in 2020.
will realise the huge
potential of the
reuse/reduce/recycle
bandwagon.
As fast fashion
becomes increasingly
unacceptable, there’s
money to be made in
ensuring that secondhand
pieces reach
the consumers who
want them, and the
companies with the
technology to do this
could win big.
This time, the trend
won’t just encompass
the likes of ebay,
where finding an
investment piece
is like searching for
a Gucci needle in a
Primark haystack, but
also new ventures
such as the Clair
index, an exchange for
investment handbags
that positively
encourages us to
see our accessories
as moneyspinners,
and StockX, an online
exchange that was
originally for reselling
trainers but has now
branched out to other
goods like watches
and streetwear.
With the American
secondhand clothes
group ThredUp
forecasting that the
market for resale
fashion is expected
to reach $51 billion
(£39 billion) in five
years, expect the UK
to follow where the
US goes, with more
specialist apps and
sites for secondhand
wear.
PREPARE FOR
IMPACT INVESTMENT
Greta Thunberg isn’t
just inspiring our
children to skip school,
she’s influencing our
investment strategies
as well – and 2020 will
be the year when the
big investment firms
finally take notice.
According to
Schroders, threefifths
of all UK
investors want fund
managers to consider
sustainability, while
the same number
believe they can help
contribute to a more
sustainable world by
choosing the right
investment products.
While cynics might
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