It’s the News, Stupid! The Relationship Between News Attention, Literacy, Trust, Greenwashing Perceptions and Sustainable Finance Investment in Switzerland

Abstract

Although sustainable finance (SF) has become a leading trend in the financial industry, little is known about how attention to news on SF, trust in the industry, and recent accusations of greenwashing affect the likelihood to invest in SF products. Based on a survey of a representative sample of Swiss citizens, we find that more attention to news about SF and trust in SF are positively related to the likelihood of investing in SF, whereas greenwashing perceptions are negatively related. Furthermore, attention to SF and economic news are positive predictors of sustainable finance literacy (SFL), whereas attention to SF news is negatively associated with greenwashing perception of SF. Collectively, these findings imply that engaging citizens with SF investments, particularly information seeking on SF news and trust in SF rather than SFL, need to be fostered. The Implications of the communication practices of the SF industry and policy implications are discussed.