Blowing the whistle on ESG

Last week authorities raided the offices of Germany’s top asset manager DWS Group and its majority owner Deutsche Bank. The raid was spurred by allegations of greenwashing. That is, that DWS had made misleading claims about how sustainable or “green” some of its financial products were. DWS says it denies those allegations and has cooperated with regulators and authorities, but this move has prompted a larger reckoning throughout the financial industry.   At the centre of much of this is former DWS sustainability officer Desiree Fixler. In this week’s episode we hear from the whistleblower herself, and explore her allegations about her time at DWS. The FT’s Patrick Temple-West also explains what this moment means for the future of environmental, social and governance or ESG investing.   For further reading:German police raid DWS and Deutsche Bank over greenwashing allegationsDWS chief resigns after police raid over greenwashing claimsDeutsche banker takes over asset manager in the eye of an ESG stormAggregate ESG confusionOn Twitter, follow Patrick Temple-West (@Temple_West)Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.