Bristol is emerging as a hot spot for ethical investing, a national conference staged in the city heard.
The city was chosen to host this year’s Ethex Annual Gathering because of its role as European Green Capital 2015, and according to the social enterprise’s research Bristol is the UK’s second best area for positive investment. 
Ethex helps investors use their money to ‘do good’ by backing social enterprises such as sustainable energy, community housing and ethical food businesses.
Attendees at the Annual Gathering, staged at The Station in Bristol city centre, were given the chance to look at best practice in the fast-growing area and tap into the city and the wider South West based networks for social enterprise, giving the opportunity for investors and businesses to come together and discuss positive investing and using their money for social impact.
The second Annual Gathering attracted a range of investors from those with wide experience to those with little to none.
Ethex CEO Lisa Ashford, pictured above, said: “A lot of our investors are based in Bristol and Bath, making this whole region a hot spot for investing. The report that we’ve done the last two years that looks at positive investing hot spots in the UK has had Bristol in second place for the last two years, and it’s possible it might get to the number one spot this year.
“People are feeling disengaged from the financial sector because there’s been a number of scandals and problems with a lack of transparency. People are looking for alternatives in the market and Ethex provides that.
“People now want to go further and they want to invest and choose who their investing in, they want it to have a social and environmental impact.”
The Ethex Annual Gathering came ahead of next week’s Big Green Week in Bristol which will include a number of events linked to ethical investing and social enterprise. Bristol Business News will carry a comprehensive guide to Big Green Week later this week.
For more information on Ethex go to https://www.ethex.org.uk/
