platform comparison
how to choose a sustainable investment platform in australia.
Moving from a savings account to investing is a real step. Here is what separates the options on fees, minimums, screening depth and what they actually hold.
A product comparison guide. Updated October 2026. About a seven minute read.
from saving to investing
If your money has been sitting in a savings account and you are starting to think about investing, you are in good company. A savings account protects the money you put in, and once inflation has taken its cut there is usually very little left on top. Investing means accepting market risk in exchange for the chance of a better result over a longer period. It also means you can lose money, which is the part the marketing tends to skip.
The next question most people ask is whether they can do it in a way that lines up with what they care about. The answer is yes. There are several sustainable options available in Australia now, and they differ more than the shared label suggests.
read the method
what the word sustainable is doing
The word gets used loosely. A product earning it will be doing at least one of these three things, and it should say in writing which one.
exclusion screening
Whole industries are left out: fossil fuels, weapons, tobacco, gambling. It is the most common approach and the easiest to check, because the exclusion list is published. It tells you what a fund refuses to own.
positive selection
Companies are chosen one by one for a measurable environmental or social outcome. Fewer holdings, each with a stated reason. This is what a dedicated impact fund does, inaam included.
how companies get inesg integration
ESGEnvironmental, social and governance. A set of criteria used to score how a company manages risk and impact. factors are weighed alongside everything else in the investment decision. That can mean a genuine screen or a light tilt on a broad index, so the written method is the only way to tell which one you are buying.
the options
four shapes, and what you give up for each
Most sustainable products in Australia come in one of four shapes. The shape decides the cost, the effort and how deep the screening goes.
an index tracker with an esg tilt
A broad international index with a light screen over it, listed as an ETFExchange traded fund. An investment fund listed on the stock exchange that you buy and sell like a share. Most track an index or a theme.. Usually the cheapest to hold each year. You buy it through a broker, pay brokerage on each purchase and decide when to buy. The screening is the lightest on offer.
a screened etf
Also listed, also bought through a broker, with a published exclusion list behind it: no fossil fuels, no weapons, no gambling. Costs more each year than a plain tracker, and the screening is meaningfully deeper.
an ethical managed fund
A manager does the investing and you contribute. Some have run an ethical charter for decades, which is a record no new product can claim. Minimums usually start in the thousands and the fee is a share of your balance, which is a barrier if you are starting small.
a fund inside an app
Low entry, recurring contributions set up in a minute, and screening that ranges from a light tilt to full positive selection. The label will not tell you which. inaam is this shape: a registered managed investment schemeA fund where your money is pooled with other investors and run to a set strategy. You hold units in the fund. with a curated list of companies and a flat price.
Several Australian super funds offer ethically screened options, and they are the simplest way to move money you already have. That money is locked away until you reach preservation age. If you want ethical money you can reach before then, you need a product outside super.
side by side
what to ask any platform
Our answer in one column. The question worth putting to anyone else in the other.
| inaam | what to ask any other platform | |
|---|---|---|
| what it is | A registered managed investment schemeA fund where your money is pooled with other investors and run to a set strategy. You hold units in the fund., the inaam Impact Investments Fund, ARSN 691 614 132, reached through an app on iOS and Android. | Is this an ETF, a managed fund, a super option or a share trading account, and what does that mean for how you buy it? |
| minimum to start | $100 into the fund.The subscription is a separate thing from the money you invest. | Is the minimum the same number as the fee, or two different numbers? |
| what it costs | $10 a month.$120 a year, flat, whatever the balance does. No brokerage, because you are not placing trades yourself. | Is the fee flat or a share of your balance, and is brokerage charged on top each time you buy? |
| screening depth | Positive selection.Every company is chosen against three pillars: financial robustness, purposeful impact, leadership calibre. No company whose main business is coal, oil or gas. | Is this an exclusion list, a tilt, or company by company selection, and where is the method written down? |
| recurring contributions | Set once in the app and they run automatically, at whatever size the month allows. | Can contributions be automated, or does every purchase need you to place it? |
| what you can see | Every holding is published by name in the app, with the theme it sits under and the reason it is held. | Can you read the whole list, or only the largest holdings and a sector label? |
| who chooses the mix | Members rank the five themes in the app.Those weights pool across everyone and the fund follows them. | Who decides the mix, and can you customise yours? |
| who regulates it | ASICThe Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The government body that regulates financial services here. regulated, with Primary Securities Ltd as responsible entity.inaam is a corporate authorised representative (CAR No. 1318254) of Non Correlated Advisors, AFSL 430126. Each is set out, with how to check it, on trust and licensing. | Who holds the licence, who is the responsible entity, and where do the PDSProduct Disclosure Statement. What you are investing in, what it costs, and what can go wrong. Read it before you invest. and TMDTarget Market Determination. Who the product is designed for, so the wrong product does not reach the wrong person. live? |
| who can invest | Individuals, and SMSFs and family trusts are welcome too. | Does it take an SMSF or a family trust, or individuals only? |
| where you sign up | In the app, on iOS and Android.There is no web sign-up. | Where does the account actually get opened, and what is needed to open it? |
Check it yourself. Fees, minimums and screening criteria change, and brokerage applies when you buy a listed fund. Read the current PDS or product page before you decide, ours included. The detail above was accurate in October 2026.
pricing
ten dollars a month. that's the fee.
The subscription is $10 a month, flat. That is $120 a year whether your balance is $5,000 or $200,000. A percentage fee takes a larger dollar amount every year your balance grows. Ten dollars doesn't.
A buy-sell spread of 0.1% applies when you enter or exit the fund. It stays in the fund to cover transaction costs.
Illustrative only. The 1.5% comparison is fund, platform and advice combined: ASIC Moneysmart, June 2026, the low end of REP 702's 1.45% to 2.3% range. Typical published ranges, not a quote from any named provider. The fund carries its own costs, set out in the PDS. The $10 subscription is separate from your investment. The minimum to invest in the fund is $100.
at $120 a year, the flat subscription works out to
10.0% of that balance each year, building the habit
of that balance, every year. The percentage falls as the balance grows.
after one year of contributions, about $1,200
Once you reach an $8,000 balance, our flat fee is the best value we offer. Add whenever you want and that value comes sooner.
Their 1.5% is fund, platform and advice combined. ASIC Moneysmart, June 2026, the low end of REP 702's 1.45% to 2.3% range. Comparison figures are typical published ranges, not a quote from any named provider. The fund carries its own costs, set out in the PDS. Nothing in this chart is a statement about returns.
The subscription is the same $10 whether the balance is $500 or $50,000. Early on that is a large share of a small balance, and the calculator above says so rather than hiding it. As the balance grows the share falls, and past about $8,000 the flat $120 sits below the typical 1.5% all-in cost of fund, platform and advice.
The 1.5% comparison is fund, platform and advice combined: ASIC Moneysmart, June 2026, the low end of REP 702’s 1.45% to 2.3% range. Typical published ranges, not a quote from any named provider. The fund carries its own costs, set out in the PDS.
our answer
where inaam sits
One fund, a curated list of companies, all of them published, at one flat price.
There is one fund to choose, so there is no portfolio to assemble and nothing to rebalance yourself. The list is short enough that you can read all of it, which is the point of publishing it.
The subscription is $10 a month, $120 a year. The minimum to start in the fund is $100. Sign-up happens in the app.
questions worth asking first.
what is the best sustainable investment platform in australia?
It depends on what you are optimising for. Index trackers with an ESG tilt cost the least each year and screen the least. Screened ETFs publish an exclusion list and cost more. Established ethical managers have decades of charter history, and their minimums usually start in the thousands. App-based funds have the lowest entry points, and their screening runs from a light tilt to full positive selection. inaam is a curated impact fund inside an app: $10 a month for the subscription, $100 to start in the fund, and every holding named to members in the app. Whatever you pick, check that it is ASIC regulated first.
how do I move from a savings account to sustainable investing?
Saving and investing are different jobs. A savings account protects the money you put in. Investing means accepting market risk in exchange for the chance of a better result over a longer period, and you can lose money doing it. Pick an ASIC regulated product with a minimum you can meet, start with a small recurring amount, and read the PDS first. Keep the savings account as your emergency fund. The PDS sets out the suggested investment timeframe for whichever product you are considering.
what is the difference between an etf and a managed fund?
An exchange traded fund is listed on the ASX and trades like a share. You buy and sell units through a broker, pay brokerage on each trade, and decide when to buy. A managed fund is run by a manager who does the investing, and you contribute money that is invested to the fund’s strategy. ETFs usually cost less each year and take more work. Managed funds take less work and usually cost more. inaam is a managed fund you reach through an app.
are sustainable investment returns lower than regular investments?
Not necessarily. Research bodies including RIAA and Morningstar publish comparisons of sustainable funds against conventional benchmarks, and the results move around depending on the period and the sector exposures involved. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance, and every investment carries risk, including the risk of losing the money you invest. The more useful question is whether you are comfortable with the specific companies and sectors the fund holds, which is a question you can only answer if the fund tells you what they are.
what should I look for in a sustainable investment platform?
ASIC regulation first, with a responsible entity, a PDS and a TMD you can read. After that: a screening method written down in full, a fee shape that suits the balance you will actually hold, recurring contributions that take a minute to set up, and disclosure of the companies your money is in. How deep sustainable goes varies enormously from one product to the next.
General information only. It does not take your objectives or circumstances into account. Consider the PDS and TMD, and we recommend independent advice, before investing.
Comparisons on this page are for general education. inaam is not affiliated with any other platform, and nothing here is a recommendation about anyone else’s product. Product information was accurate in October 2026 and changes. Verify current details with each provider.
keep reading
one fund. one price. every holding named.
$10 a month for the subscription, $100 to start in the fund, and a list of companies you can read before you decide. Built so the impact does not have to come out of your returns.
the only asterisk* of investing with inaam is a better planet.
The fund lives in the app. Download it, read it over a coffee, customise your themes.
General information only. Consider the PDS and TMD before investing.
