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Bank-Advisor Certification and Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Finance Products

Author

Listed:
  • Katharina Holzheu

    (LMU, ifo Institute Munich, Germany)

  • Tobias Wekhof

    (Center of Economic Research, ETH Zurich, Zurichbergstrasse 18, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland)

Abstract

We examine Swiss retail investors' willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainable finance products and the influence of bank advisor certification. In a hypothetical choice experiment with a randomized controlled trial (RCT), we assigned participants to either a priming treatment with a bank advisor certified in sustainable investing or a control group. We found a WTP between 1 and 1.5 percentage points of annual return for sustainable mutual funds, especially among financially literate investors. The presence of a certified green finance advisor further increased WTP between 0.2 and 0.8 percentage points, particularly for investors with low financial literacy.

Suggested Citation

  • Katharina Holzheu & Tobias Wekhof, 2025. "Bank-Advisor Certification and Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Finance Products," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 25/396, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
  • Handle: RePEc:eth:wpswif:25-396
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    sustainable investing; willingness to pay; financial literacy; sustainable financial literacy; conjoint analysis; certified financial advice; RCT;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets
    • G53 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Financial Literacy

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