ESG Attitudes Tracker: Trump makes one in five investors more favourable to ESG
Scepticism remains about greenwashing and performance.
President Trump’s hostile attitude to ESG investing has actually made 20% of UK private investors more positive about it, while leaving 66% indifferent, according to the latest ESG Attitudes Tracker1 from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC). Only 8% of investors have become less favourable to ESG as a result of Trump’s approach.
In general, private investors are warming to investing that takes environmental, social and governance factors into account, according to the study conducted for the AIC by Research in Finance.
After getting steadily worse since 2022, sentiment around ESG investing has seen a modest improvement among private investors this year. It’s not a dramatic reversal but it is a definite shift, driven in particular by younger investors and parents.
Nick Britton, Research Director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC)
One respondent said: “Donald Trump’s an extreme example of someone who just is really, in my view, focused on money. And so much environmental legislation is being ignored. The environment’s being ignored. At the end of the day, America's part of our planet, the UK is part of our planet. We need to do more for the environment.”
More than half of investors (53%) consider ESG factors when investing, reversing a steady decline since 2022. Last year, 48% of investors said they considered ESG factors.
Nearly half (49%) said that they are fans of investments that consider ESG factors, up from 43% last year.
And 55% said that they hold at least some sustainable investments, up from 52% last year.
These trends are being driven by investors aged under 45. For example, 75% of investors in this age group said they considered ESG when investing, up from 53% last year. The same proportion, 75%, hold at least some sustainable investments, while 76% are fans of investments that consider ESG. Those with children were also more likely to be favourable towards ESG2.
Nick Britton, Research Director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “After getting steadily worse since 2022, sentiment around ESG investing has seen a modest improvement among private investors this year. It’s not a dramatic reversal but it is a definite shift, driven in particular by younger investors and parents.
“There’s evidence that the strength of the backlash against ESG in the US has actually made UK investors less likely to adopt a similarly hostile stance.
“That said, ESG investing is still less popular than it was in its heyday in 2021 when two-thirds of investors said they considered ESG factors – now it’s just over half. Poor performance of sustainable funds is the main culprit and greenwashing is still a concern.”
Scepticism remains, though FCA labels expected to help
Only 19% of investors believe ESG investing is likely to improve performance. One investor said: “I've always looked at it as not as advantageous profit-wise compared to other investments, because they only look at the market in certain sectors and get rid of sectors, for example oil and weapons, which can be a lot more profitable.”
More than two-thirds (71%) of investors said they prioritised performance over ESG issues. One respondent who had invested in environmentally focused funds commented: “I've lost money and I can cope with some losses, but some of them have been quite significant when other non-environmental funds have actually done pretty well.”
More than two-thirds of respondents (68%) said they were concerned about greenwashing, and 46% said they had seen actual examples of greenwashing, up from 36% last year. “It's like trying to pull the wool over your eyes,” said one respondent. “Where they're saying they're doing stuff but it makes up a minimal percentage of what they do.”
Nevertheless, investors were hopeful that the sustainability labels launched by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last year would help stamp out bogus ESG claims. A majority (54%) said the labels are likely to increase their trust in ESG claims, increasing to 70% among those who hold sustainable investments.
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Notes to editors
- The ESG Attitudes Tracker is an annual sentiment survey of private investors and intermediaries. Only findings that relate to private investors are included in this press release: the findings that relate to intermediaries (financial advisers and wealth managers) will feature in a future release. There have been five waves of this research since it was launched in 2021. The fifth wave of the research consisted of an online survey of 400 private investors and 200 intermediaries, conducted between 7 July and 25 July 2025. This was supported by 12 in-depth interviews, six of them with private investors and six with intermediaries, conducted between 21 July and 15 August 2025. The ESG Attitudes Tracker is commissioned by the AIC and conducted by Research in Finance.
- In this research, “children” means at least one child who is financially dependent on the respondent. When asked whether they consider ESG when investing, 62% of respondents with children said yes, compared to 48% of those without. 61% of respondents with children said they were fans of investments that considered ESG factors, compared to 42% of those without children. 63% of respondents with children hold sustainable investments, compared to 51% of those without children.
- The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) represents a broad range of investment trusts and VCTs, collectively known as investment companies. The AIC’s vision is for closed-ended investment companies to be understood and considered by every investor. The AIC has 294 members and the industry has total assets of approximately £267 billion.
- For more information about the AIC and investment trusts, visit the AIC’s website.
- Disclaimer: The information contained in this press release does not constitute investment advice or personal recommendation and it is not an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity. You should seek independent financial and, if appropriate, legal advice as to the suitability of any investment decision. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of investment company shares, and the income from them, can fall as well as rise. You may not get back the full amount invested and, in some cases, nothing at all.
