In its latest annual report, Deutsche Bank AG’s DWS Group said, “ESG data is the cornerstone of our ESG analysis,” referring to the asset-management firm’s push to be a leader in one of the hottest segments of Wall Street: using environmental, social and governance criteria to make investments.
Inside DWS, executives questioned the data, and fund managers ignored calls to use the information to judge which investments to make, according to previously undisclosed internal emails and the company’s former sustainability chief, Desiree Fixler.