The annual ESG Attitudes Tracker from the Association of Investment Companies showed that fears of greenwashing have grown. In 2021, 48% of respondents agreed with the statement "I am not convinced by ESG claims from funds". This rose to 58% in 2022 and hit 63% in this year's survey.

Among the 47% of investors who do not consider ESG factors when investing, the top reason given is prioritising performance over ESG issues. This was followed closely by not being convinced by ESG claims from asset managers.

The weaker performance of ESG mandates over the last two years is another possible reason. Only 22% of investors think ESG investing is likely to improve performance, compared to 33% in 2021, while 24% think it will hurt performance, versus 20% two years ago.