Goodments review

• Goodments is a micro-investment app that lets you invest small amounts of money in ‘good businesses’.
• You can filter stocks on the Goodments app according to your ethics and areas of interest.
• Goodments only offers US-listed stocks and ETFs, and doesn’t charge you any brokerage fees on your transactions.

Changing the world starts at home. Goodments, a unique micro-investment app, provides you with an easy-to-use platform to invest small amounts of money periodically into companies that positively impact the world.

Read on to learn more about what the app offers and how it compares to other investing apps in Australia.

About Goodments

Goodments is an ethical investment app.

You can invest in more than 4,500 US stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) on the Goodments app, and you'll never pay brokerage fees on your trades.

The app includes multiple ethical lenses and filters to help you find investment opportunities that fit your values. All you need to do is select the areas you care about, such as waste reduction, animal welfare, renewable energy, or recycling. You can also choose areas you don't want to support, like fossil fuels, gambling, or animal testing. The app also automatically filters out companies directly involved in mining, tobacco, fur, or military and weapons products.

Besides enabling ethical investments, Goodments also offers educational content to help you learn the ins and outs of investing. Overall, it's a good trading platform for anybody looking for ethical investment opportunities with potential returns. Below you will find an in-depth review of the Goodments app, covering everything you need to know about investing in 'good business' on the app.

Goodments was founded in Australia in 2017 by Emily Taylor and her husband Tom Culver to capitalise on the growing trend among millennials for choosing ethical and sustainable investments.

In 2021, Goodments was acquired by the Douugh company, but it continues to support ethical investing by making it easy for people to find and invest in businesses that match their values.

Goodments is a certified B Corp business, which means it practises what it preaches by meeting the highest standard of social and environmental performance as an operating business.

Is Goodments safe?

Goodments, which is owned and operated by Douugh Australia Pty Ltd (ABN 76 617 000 138, AFSL No. 500063) uses state-of-the-art data encryption and in-app biometric security to ensure the safety of every transaction on the app.

Goodment’s broker partner, DriveWealth, is a US broker-dealer registered with FINRA (US regulator) and a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) scheme. Under the scheme, your securities investments up to US $500,000 are insured (including US $250,000 for cash).

Also, all the shares you buy on Goodments are held in your name by a custodian bank to protect them from getting lost or stolen. In the unlikely event of Goodments going under, you will still have access to your equities and cash through DriveWealth and Goodment's custodian, Citibank.

Even though Goodments is a safe app to use, it doesn't mean your investments are safe from volatility or market risk. Any investment in equity or ETFs is subject to market risk irrespective of the platform you choose for investing.

Your success as an investor largely depends on your investment strategy. You can minimise this risk to an extent through portfolio diversification and staying invested over a longer time horizon of at least 10 years, but you can never eliminate market risk. So, you should only invest money in shares if you have the risk appetite for it.

Who is Goodments designed for?

Goodments is an ethical investment app that makes it easier for socially conscious people to invest in companies that align with their social, environmental and ethical values.

Designed mainly for the sustainability-minded millennials, the Goodments app lists 4,500 international stocks and ETFs that can be filtered according to investors' values and concerns.

If you are looking for a way to diversify your portfolio with US-listed securities while ensuring your money supports ethical practices or industries, Goodments is a great platform to meet both of these objectives without paying any brokerage fees on your transactions.

Top features

• Socially conscious investment app with various filters to find businesses that match your values.
• Allows international share trading with 4,500 US stocks and ETFs listed on the platform.
• Zero brokerage or transactional fees.
• Allows fractional investing. It means you can use Goodments to buy stocks in large companies, like Tesla and Microsoft, starting with just US $1.
• Encourages regular investing behaviour by allowing automatic monthly investments. It's also possible to set up automatic top-ups to debit your nominated account each month on a specified date to ensure your trading account doesn’t go into deficit.
• Safe investment app operating under an Australian Financial Services Licence. All your investments on Goodments are held in your name and insured for up to US $500,000 under the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) scheme.

Tradable assets

Currently, you can only invest in US-listed companies and ETFs on the Goodments app. If you wish to invest in both ASX and US-listed investments, you may want to consider another trading platform, like Stake or Superhero, which offers a broader range of investments.

If you are looking for ethical investment opportunities, you may also consider Spaceship Voyager's Spaceship Earth Portfolio, which invests in a global portfolio of companies that have a positive impact on people and the planet.

Fees and costs

• Brokerage fee: US $0
• Establishment fee: US $5
• Foreign currency exchange rate (AUD to USD): 0.99%
• Inactivity fees: US $1 per month when your account remains inactive for 12 months or more, but you continue to hold investments.

Even though Goodments doesn't charge any brokerage fees, you may be hit by transactional fees if a payment fails or your account goes into deficit.

Note that the fees listed here are correct at the time of writing, which is February 2022. For a full list of charges or any updates, it's advisable to read the Goodments Financial Services Guide available on their website.

Funding options

You can fund your Goodments USD trading account in the app using direct debit to transfer funds from your preferred bank account. The minimum amount you need to deposit is AU $100.

It's also possible to transfer funds directly to your Goodments trading account from outside the app. If you want to transfer funds directly, send an email to Goodments to get the necessary account details for making the transfer.

Goodments app also gives you the option of growing your funds through regular investments. You can set up a regular top-up in your trading account by selecting ‘monthly auto top up’ and picking the date for the next payment. Goodments will automatically debit your nominated account on that date each month unless you cancel the recurring payments.

It's also possible to set an account top up on the same day each month to ensure you always have funds available for investing and there's no deficit in your account. You will find this option in the ‘Payment’ menu, where you can select the date and AUD amount for your monthly top-ups.

Withdrawing money

Withdrawals from a USD trading account can take up to five working days. You can manage your withdrawals in the app under ‘account withdrawals’ in the ‘payments and funding’ tab.

When withdrawing money, double-check the account details you provide to receive the money, as you are not protected from errors on withdrawals that are your own fault.

You may cancel a withdrawal if you place the order accidentally through the app. However, you must do it before the transaction commences.

Pros and cons

​​Alternatives

Here's a list of a few ethical investing platforms and apps in Australia with competitive fees and features.

• Australian Ethical. Australian Ethical is a wealth management company offering nine different managed fund options focused on ethical companies. Their managed funds invest in companies in areas like sustainability, clean energy, waste management and recycling. It could be a good option for you if you want to build a diversified portfolio with limited money without investing in individual stocks.
• Spaceship Voyager. A user-friendly platform that gives you the option of picking from three different types of portfolios to suit your needs.
• eToro. If you are looking for a user-friendly trading app, eToro tops our list with multiple trading options like shares, ETFs, crypto and more across international markets. eToro also offers social trading that lets you mimic trades of experienced investors on the platform.
• Stake. A sophisticated platform for trading US shares and ETFs with zero brokerage fees.

FAQs

How do I download the Goodments mobile app?

Visit the Goodments website and hit 'sign up' at the top right side of the page to display QR codes for downloading the app on Google Play and the App Store. Simply scan the relevant barcode with your mobile phone or a barcode scanner app to download Goodments on your smartphone or tablet.

How do you register and set up a Goodments account?

You can set up your trading account on the Goodments app in a few simple steps, provided you are 18+, and an Australian resident:

• Download the Goodments app from Google Play or the App Store.
• Enter your legal first and last name and your date of birth.
• Add your employment details.
• Enter your driver licence or passport details. This is an optional step but recommended for faster sign-up.
• Once you have added all the details, you'll be asked to upload two forms of ID for verification. Once your details are verified, Goodments will automatically complete the W-8 BEN for you, which is needed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to declare your tax status.

What is the minimum amount that I can invest through Goodments?

The minimum investment allowed on Goodments is US $1. However, when you are funding your trading account, you are required to deposit a minimum of AU $100.

Is Goodments CHESS-sponsored?

Goodments is not CHESS-sponsored. Instead, it operates through a custodian structure, which is used by most American brokerage firms and helps Goodments to keep the costs low.

Will I earn dividends on fractional shares?

You earn dividends even with fractional shares. The only difference is that you receive a fractional portion of dividends paid. For instance, if the dividend per share is US $10 and you own 0.25 shares, you will only receive US $2.5 in dividends. However, you won't earn any franking credits as all stocks are traded in the US.

The verdict

Goodments is a unique trading platform that matches you with businesses aligned to your values and ethics. If you wish to make a positive impact through your investments by supporting certain industries or avoiding some others, Goodments lets you invest in 4,500 'good businesses' and ETFs that can be filtered according to your values and interest areas.

Goodments’ fee structure is competitive, and you have the option to set recurring monthly investments to grow your funds. On the downside, you can only trade US-listed stocks on the Goodments app. If you wish to invest in 'good' Australian businesses, you'll have to look elsewhere.