ESG Investing Is Becoming Increasingly Popular. Investments in portfolios constructed according to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards are proliferating. Global ESG AUM is on track to exceed $53 trillion by 2025—up from $37.8 trillion by year end—representing more than a third of projected global AUM.

The UK-based personal finance management (PFM) app added two funds, Balanced Ethical and Growth Ethical, which group companies committed to ethical, social and governance (ESG) criteria, per Finextra. Plum already offers 10 funds, including Tech Giants, Best of British, and ESG-focused Clean and Green.

They will likely start with a slim offering with relatively safe assets like traditional stocks and ETFs—as Fidelity did—perhaps with a focus on sustainable ESG-focused investments, which are popular among younger investors.

JPMorgan has been on a fintech shopping spree and recently closed a deal to buy UK robo advisor Nutmeg for about $900 million and also bought ESG specialist OpenInvest for an undisclosed fee.

Investors increasingly want ESG-based investing. Cryptocurrencies' total market cap is $2.13 trillion, per CoinMarketCap. By contrast, ESG-based assets are on track to be worth $53 trillion in 2025, or a third of total global assets under management, as asset managers scramble to meet investor demand.

ESG options will be vital to win over millennial customers, as younger demographics in particular are keen on conscious investing. The need to provide such offerings at an affordable rate will increase in the future, as ESG assets are projected to exceed $53 trillion globally by 2025, marking a third of all assets.