Welcome to The Aspiration Redwood Fund

The Aspiration Redwood Fund uses a rigorous analysis of companies’ sustainable environmental, workplace, and governance practices to find investments we believe are poised for growth. Our goal is to help you build value and honor your values – all at the same time.

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Invest in What Matters

If you go stand among the Redwoods – the tallest trees on Earth – you’ll look up in awe at their staggering height. But if you want to be truly amazed, look down. You will see that these enormous trees are held in place by very shallow roots. So how is it that these trees can grow so tall? How is it that they thrive instead of being toppled by storms and winds? It is because their roots are intertwined. Redwoods hold each other up.

We are all interconnected. Our actions have consequences – for good or ill. Smart companies understand that. The Aspiration Redwood Fund believes that by investing in such companies we can produce strong returns while making our world a better place.

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What is Sustainable Investing?

It used to be that many thought investing in socially responsible ways meant sacrificing returns.

But new studies have shown that companies who think long-term end up outperforming their peers. They invest in lowering their energy bills to save money, promote workplace diversity to be more innovative, and understand that today's customers seek out companies with good reputations.

Today's best businesses know that in order to grow and thrive they have to act responsibly - toward their customers, their community, their employees and the planet.

Diversity is a Strength
Ethnic Diversity Gender Diversity
Companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely -- and companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely -- to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.
Battling Climate Change
Corporations that are actively managing and planning for climate change secure a 67% higher return on investment than companies who refuse to disclose their emissions.
Smart companies know that if they act better, they will do better.

Studies show that companies that adopt significant environmental, employee, and governance policies grow faster than those that do not.

Value of $10,000 invested in 1993
The figure shows the evolution of $10,000 invested in a portfolio of firms with high performance on material sustainability issues versus competitor firms with low performance on material sustainability issues. Materiality of sustainability issues is industry-specific and it is defined by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. Source: Mo Khan, George Serafeim and Aaron Yoon. Corporate Sustainability: First Evidence on Materiality. HBS working paper, 2014.
High Road Sustainable Companies
Low Road Non-Sustainable Companies
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This chart does not show the performance of the Aspiration Redwood Fund — it merely compares the performance of firms with high performance on material sustainability issues versus firms with lower performance on material sustainability issues. Further, this performance is not a guarantee of future results and does not predict performance of the Fund. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

A Look Inside

The Aspiration Redwood Fund is a fossil fuel-free fund investing in sustainable businesses that are leaders in their industry when it comes to caring about their people, the planet, and their company's purpose and mission.

Sustainable Investing Should Be Open To Everyone

Sustainable investing is becoming a part of the portfolios of the very wealthy, but not yet those of everyday investors.

Investments In Sustainable Strategies Have Been Rapidly Increasing
Source: USSIF: “US Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing Trends 2014,” November 2014.

The total volume of sustainable investments nearly doubled from 2012 to 2014. But 89% of this growing class of investments is in the hands of 443 institutional investors, 272 money managers, and about 1,000 community investment institutions. Everyday investors have been left on the sidelines.

Source: Commonfund Institute, From SRI to ESG: The Changing World of Responsible Investing, 2013.
With a minimum investment of only $100, the Aspiration Redwood Fund puts best-in-class sustainable investing in the reach of everyone.

Meet the Portfolio Managers

The Aspiration Redwood Fund is offered through a strategic partnership with UBS Asset Management, one of the world's leading asset managers. It is based on a strategy that was previously only available to UBS' elite institutional and private wealth clients.

Thomas Digenan

The head of the U.S. Intrinsic Value Equity team at UBS Asset Management. In this role, he is responsible for U.S. equities portfolio construction and research. He is a graduate of Marquette University and DePaul University.

Bruno Bertocci

The head of UBS Asset Management's Sustainable Equities Team. He represents UBS Asset Management on committees such as the Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings, US SIF (Social Investment Forum), and SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board). He is a graduate of Oberlin College and Harvard Business School.

Invest Your Values — With a Firm that Shares Your Values

The only money that Aspiration and our portfolio managers make is what you decide is fair — and then we donate 10% of our revenue to charitable giving.

When we say that you decide what to pay us, we mean it. There are no minimum or hidden fees to become part of Aspiration. You are free to change how much you pay us as often as you want and at any time — and we will never change that. It's your right to choose the level at which to pay us — and, no matter what you choose, you will have all the same rights as every other Aspiration customer.

It's up to us to demonstrate to you that we deserve to get paid for our work. If you don't think we do, you shouldn't pay us. The question is: why isn't the rest of the financial industry willing to do the same?

We refuse to charge you fees that are in many other mutual funds — fees you may not even know about because you don't see them. And because the Redwood Fund is only available directly to our clients on our platform, we don't have to pay gatekeepers or middle men — costs which otherwise would get passed on to you.

  • No front load fees
  • No back load fees
  • No per transaction fees
  • No performance fees
  • No redemption fees

About Fund Operating Expenses

There are some underlying fees in the fund. We don't see a penny of these. They do not go to us, but to third parties. Many mutual funds have some of these types of fees. They often put it in the fine print — we tell you up front.

We cap these annual operating expenses you pay to third parties at 0.5% percent of your assets — and make up expenses over that ourselves (except for traditional exceptions).

Making money. Making a difference. You shouldn't have to pick between the two.

You shop with a conscience when you purchase clothes, coffee, or cartons of eggs. However, when it comes to investing, the conventional wisdom has held that there is a trade-off between ethics and earnings. Backed by the investment experience of UBS Asset Management, the Aspiration Redwood Fund considers the triple bottom line of profit, people, and the planet — and believes that each of these is strengthened and lifted up by the others.

Summary

as of

Ticker REDWX
NAV
Category Sustainable Investing
Open to new investors Yes
Account minimum $100
View Summary Prospectus View Statement of Additional Information Trustee Supplement
Semi-Annual Report

Risks Disclosure

An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of some or the entire principal amount invested. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be successful in meeting its investment objective. Investment in the Fund is also subject to the following risks: Market Risk, Management Risk, Derivatives Risk, Futures Risk, Leverage Risk Associated with Financial Instruments, Focused Investment Risk, Foreign Investing Risk, Limited Capitalization Risk, Temporary Defensive Positions, New Fund Risk. More information about these risks can be found in the Fund's prospectus.

Prospectus Offer

An investor should consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the Fund before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the Fund. A copy of the prospectus is available at the above link or by calling Shareholder Services at 800-683-8529. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing. Current and future holdings are subject to change and risk.

Nothing on this web site should be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell shares of any fund in any jurisdiction where the offer or solicitation would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Aspiration Fund Adviser, LLC is the adviser to the Aspiration Redwood Fund, which is distributed by Capital Investment Group, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC, 100 E. Six Forks Road, Suite 200, Raleigh, North Carolina 27609, (800) 773-3863. There is no affiliation between Aspiration Fund Adviser, LLC, including its principals, and Capital Investment Group, Inc.