In the first half of 2022, we saw significant U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement and rulemaking activity around ESG investing, and the SEC’s intense focus in this area shows no signs of abating as we move through the third quarter. In this four-post series we:

  • Summarize the 2019-2021 ESG-related initiatives at the SEC;
  • Review the SEC’s ESG-related enforcement activity in the asset management industry;
  • Outline the SEC’s May 2022 ESG-related rule proposals for funds and advisers; and
  • Suggest factors that mutual fund boards should consider in their oversight of ESG funds and adviser ESG initiatives.

On Monday, the SEC announced its much anticipated proposal on climate-related disclosure for public companies. As our colleague Allison Handy explains in her Public Chatter blog, the proposal would require disclosure on climate-related risks financial statement metrics, including information on greenhouse gas emissions, weather-related and other natural events, operational resilience, and the company’s climate-related transition

Our colleagues Kurt E. Linsenmayer and Cristopher D. Jones just issued an update on the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposal to change the standards for ERISA plan fiduciaries when evaluating investments or voting proxies. Their article discusses the proposed changes and their implications. The DOL’s proposal stands in stark contrast to the ESG-related rules adopted

Humankind Investments LLC was awarded the “Newcomer ESG/Impact ETF of the Year” by Fund Intelligence at the 2021 Mutual Fund Industry and ETF Awards Ceremony. Humankind’s innovative ETF is the first registered investment company to be structured as a Maryland benefit corporation. As interest in ESG investing continues to grow, it is possible to

In Part 1 of this post, we focused on the July 7, 2021, recommendations for funds and advisers from the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Subcommittee of the SEC’s Asset Management Advisory Committee (AMAC). Here we cover the August 6, 2021, SEC order approving diversity disclosure rules proposed by The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq) and the public responses of SEC Commissioners. Suffice it to say, the Commission is not of one mind.

In recent weeks two important regulatory developments focused on diversity and inclusion (D&I) have come out of the SEC: the D&I Subcommittee of the SEC’s Asset Management Advisory Committee (AMAC) presented and received approval for its recommendations, and the SEC issued an order approving rule changes proposed by The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq) relating to board diversity. SEC Chair Gary Gensler and other commissioners have publicly supported the Subcommittee’s recommendations and the new Nasdaq rules. But these developments are not uniformly popular at the SEC.