Words by Smiley Team
“Finance should be fair, sustainable and inclusive.”
That’s the mission of The Big Exchange, the mission-led financial services platform co-founded by The Big Issue Group, who is creating a movement towards fair, sustainable, and inclusive finance. So, how did it come about – and how does it appeal to ordinary people?
Nigel Kershaw, OBE, Chair of The Big Issue Group, says The Big Issue was always set up around financial inclusion – ever since the magazine was founded. “It was giving people a hand up, not a hand-out,” he tells Smiley News. “It offered work, rather than dependency.”
In those early days, vendors were often mugged in the streets, says Nigel, so they said to vendors: we’ll look after your money, and when you want to take it out, you can. “I met someone who said, ‘Nige, you’re running a bank’!” laughs Nigel. “We weren’t, but it soon progressed into more than that.”
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In the early 2000s, Nigel went to America to set up The Big Issue, and learned a lot about social finance in the states. At the same time, John Bird, co-founder of The Big Issue, had set up Social Brokers, aimed at supporting social businesses. They pondered: ‘Should we start a social bank?’
“And off we went,” says Nigel. They set up Big Issue Invest in 2005, which extends The Big Issue’s mission to dismantle poverty through creating opportunity by financing the growth of sustainable social enterprises and charities across the UK. It offers social enterprises, charities and profit-with-purpose businesses, loans and investment from £20,000 to £3 million.
“We have now lent to or invested in more than 400 social enterprises in the UK,” says Nigel. They also set up The Rental Exchange through Big Issue Invest, which tackles the financial, digital and social exclusion faced by social housing tenants, which potentially increased the credit scores of 3.4 million people in social housing, he says.
The Big Issue has always had that bottom-up approach. In 2011, when someone asked why The Big Issue reader couldn’t invest with the social company, they realised they needed to create funds so ordinary people, rather than just the very wealthy, could invest in their values, while also getting a financial return.
“In 2018 with Campbell Fleming, over a breakfast with like-minded people, we pulled everything together,” says Nigel. “We created The Big Exchange. It’s a huge transformative idea, where people can buy funds that have financial and social value to them.
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“It’s about the hearts and minds of people – for those who want their bank to use money in a way that means something, whether that be savings, ISA, or a pension.”
The Big Exchange, in short, is the UK’s first actively managed social and environmental impact investing platform. “For me, it’s about people,” says Nigel, “and if we build a momentum of people who say they want their money to have social and environmental value, then we start to change this world.
“It’s people who change the world and will nudge these institutions to switch money into doing things that are meaningful.”
Importantly, The Big Exchange is accessible to everyone, says Nigel. To you, to me, to anyone who wants to invest their money for the greater good. You can invest small amounts of money, and you can invest even if you never have before.
There are different bundles, depending on risk, to be accessible to more people, and all the people who put funds on the Exchange have to be transparent. You will know exactly where your money is going. “We have an independent assessment of the impact of the funds,” adds Nigel, “and they are awarded bronze, silver or gold medals.”
“The Big Exchange becomes a place where you can go when you want to make decisions about your money,” adds Nigel, “and we’ve also got a 'Fair Products' marketplace, like energy switching, life insurance – products with value.”
If you want to find out more, visit The Big Exchange or download their app, in partnership with Moneyhub, which is all about inclusive money and enables users to get a complete picture of their financial situation, regardless of where they bank, save, borrow or invest.
