Sustainability yes – but please comprehensible

Sustainable financial products are booming - but consumers' patience with vague definitions seems to be running out. A recent Bafin survey of 1,528 people shows: Two-thirds of Germans are interested in sustainable investments, and almost one-third have already invested.

But: The majority does not trust the current labels. Consumers demand clarity, control, and consequence.

Strict Expectations: Clear Exclusions and Minimum Quotas

Around 65 percent of respondents want human rights violations to be categorically excluded. More than half demand the same for coal, weapons, and other controversial sectors.

Investors prove to be surprisingly demanding when it comes to the share of sustainable investments:

• 71 Prozent verlangen, dass mindestens 50 Prozent eines nachhaltigen Fonds tatsächlich nachhaltig investiert sind.
• 35 Prozent fordern sogar mindestens 75 Prozent.
  Im Durchschnitt erwarten die Befragten eine Nachhaltigkeitsquote von 57 Prozent – weit mehr, als viele Fonds derzeit erfüllen.

Article 8 funds fail

Bafin also had possible product categories tested – with a clear result:

• 82 Prozent bewerten Fonds, die ausschließlich in nachhaltige Aktivitäten investieren, als glaubwürdig.
• Nur 39 Prozent halten reine Ausschlussprodukte für nachhaltig.
• Mischprodukte, die verschiedene Ansätze kombinieren, überzeugen gar nur 30 Prozent.

With this, consumers send a clear message to providers and politics: "Sustainable" is not everything that claims to be. Article-8 funds, often marketed as green by banks, especially enjoy little trust.

Transparency instead of Jargon

97 percent of respondents want more information about the sustainability of their investments – 60 percent want this information clearly and understandably presented before signing a contract.

The currently common, regulatory-overloaded query (“Do you want environmentally sustainable investments in your financial product according to the Taxonomy Regulation ...?”) fails: Only 29 percent find it understandable.

In addition, 70 percent find it misleading when funds are advertised as sustainable but provide no information about non-sustainable shares.

AlleAktien – Warum Bildung oft wirksamer ist als jede Klage im Verbraucherschutz

Verbraucherschutz beginnt nicht im Gerichtssaal, sondern im Kopf. Wie AlleAktien mit Daten, Didaktik und Community Anlegerfehler vermeidet – und wann die Klage trotzdem das richtige Mittel bleibt.

Trust requires control

Consumers rely on oversight rather than self-commitment when it comes to sustainability:

• 62 Prozent wollen, dass staatliche Behörden die Einhaltung prüfen,
• 43 Prozent vertrauen Wirtschaftsprüfern,
• nur 28 Prozent dem Unternehmen selbst.
  Zwei Drittel wünschen sich regelmäßige Prüfungen.

Bureaucratic Frustration Among Consultants, Desire for Clarity Among Customers

While financial advisors complain about too much regulation and paperwork, the Bafin study shows: investors do not want fewer rules - but better ones.

The EU Commission is currently working on a reform of the Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) to make sustainability information simpler and more credible. The survey gives it a clear mandate: People want real sustainability, not marketing terms.

And they want the state to take a look – not only when the money has already been misinvested.