Climate Attitudes and Asymmetric Belief Updating in Sustainable Investments: Experimental Evidence from Hungary

This study examines whether and to what extent investors update their expectations for a green portfolio's performance upon receiving information that is either better or worse than the previously provided anchor. We conducted an experiment with 492 Hungarian investors to observe how their beliefs regarding green investment returns change when they receive good or bad news. Individuals with low green attitudes were more likely to revise their estimates in response to bad news than good news, indicating asymmetric updating. Moreover, individuals with strong green attitudes responded more strongly to good news than those with weak green attitudes. These findings suggest that attitudes toward climate issues influence how investors react to information about green portfolios. This study contributes to the literature on information processing in financial markets by highlighting the role of belief updating and climate attitudes in sustainable investment decision-making.