On November 19, 2024, the EU Council adopted a new regulation on ESG ratings, which “aim[s] at making rating activities in the EU more consistent, transparent, and comparable in order to boost investors' confidence in...more
Last month, a federal district court struck down Missouri's anti-ESG rules that would prohibit investment advisors from utilizing ESG factors when making investment decisions (absent written consent of the client). ...more
With environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles garnering increased attention in corporate circles in recent years, there has been an accompanying rise in demand for analytical products that evaluate companies’...more
5/21/2024
/ Asset Management ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investors ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Stakeholder Engagement
On May 10, 2024, the Fifth Circuit rejected an attempt by the States of Texas, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Utah to invalidate an SEC rule “requiring funds to disclose their votes on environmental, social, and governance...more
Yesterday, Congressman McHenry (R-NC), the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, hosted a hearing entitled: “Beyond Scope: How the SEC's Climate Rule Threatens American Markets.” As could be expected, the...more
Since the SEC proposed its climate disclosure rule in March 2022, the rule has been subject to significant public criticism and comment--particularly from business groups and conservative legislators who have questioned the...more
It has been reported--based upon an analysis by Morningstar--that “[i]nvestors pulled $5 billion from U.S. sustainable funds in the fourth quarter [of 2023] for a total of $13 billion last year [2023].” According to the same...more
Earlier this week, the SEC's Division of Examinations released its 2024 examination priorities. While many of these priorities are expected, and reflect the goals articulated by the SEC in prior years, there is a noticeable...more
On September 20, 2023, the SEC approved amendments to the "Names Rule," which were initially proposed in May 2022. Although the stated "purpose of the Names Rule," according to the accompanying Fact Sheet distributed by the...more
On September 12, 2023, SEC Chairman Gensler testified before the Senate concerning a number of significant issues for the SEC. Among them was the SEC's still-pending rule on climate risk disclosures, which was first proposed...more
Last week, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing entitled "Protecting Investor Interests: Examining Environmental and Social Policy in Financial Regulation." As indicated by the title of the hearing, the...more
Last week, SEC Commissioner Uyeda delivered an address in which he "focus[ed] on issues related to asset managers' use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment strategies." While his talk addressed many...more
Last week, SEC Commissioner Peirce delivered a lengthy speech at the American Enterprise Institute, in which she extensively criticized the climate disclosure rules proposed by the SEC. Her critique deliberately extended...more
The SEC recently announced its yearly summary of enforcement activity. Among the items it chose to highlight were its efforts to enforce ESG-related issues. ESG was one of only a handful of subject matter areas that the SEC...more
Recently, the SEC issued its five-year strategic plan for public comment. This strategic plan covers a wide variety of topics, ranging from adapting to new technology to plans for increasing internal SEC workforce...more
8/31/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Investors ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Strategic Planning
The AMF, the stock market regulator in France, recently reiterated its call for stricter regulation on a Europe-wide basis of the entities providing ESG ratings and other services. Specifically, the AMF stated that the...more
In a recent speech, SEC Commissioner Crenshaw, one of the Democratic appointees to the Commission, focused on the role internal controls play in assessing and monitoring ESG risks. Specifically, after noting that the SEC...more