Recently, BlackRock released its “2024 Investment Stewardship Annual Report” – here’s a 25-page executive summary. Here are six lessons learned – although note this is all about last year; not the latest proxy season...more
I knew early from my law school days that I had zero interest in litigation. It was probably from Moot Court when that second year law student admonished my tie. I late discovered this second year law student was the...more
On January 10, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an opinion in Spence v. Am. Airlines, Inc. (N.D. Tex. Jan. 10, 2025) holding that fiduciaries of two American Airlines 401(k) plans...more
On January 10, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found that American Airlines and its employee benefit committee (EBC) breached their fiduciary duty of loyalty under the Employee Retirement...more
Whether, and the extent to which, a plan fiduciary can consider nonpecuniary environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) objectives in selecting plan investments has been a hot-button issue for many years, with the view on...more
Following a bench trial, Judge O'Connor (N.D. Tex.) held that “that Defendants breached their fiduciary duty by failing to loyally act solely in the retirement plan's best financial interests by allowing their corporate...more
In this week’s U.S.-focused edition, we look at the world’s largest asset manager’s updated voting guidelines which seek to strike a balance amidst the fraught political rhetoric surrounding sustainable investment. The...more
In August 2023, American Airlines, Inc. moved to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against the airline for allegedly jeopardizing employees’ retirement savings by investing in environmental, social and governance (ESG)...more
In the inaugural issue of Investment Management Update, we summarize regulatory, litigation and industry developments from February 2019 to May 2019 impacting the investment management sector....more
Following an eight-day bench trial, Judge Freda L. Wolfson of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled in favor of certain subsidiaries of BlackRock, Inc. on $1.55 billion in claims brought under Section...more
Editor's Note - SEC Administrative Law Judge Appointments Are Subject to the Appointments Clause. On June 21, in a majority opinion in Lucia v. SEC delivered by Justice Elena Kagan, the United States Supreme Court held that...more
ESMA Consults on Guidelines on Disclosure of Information on Commodity Derivatives Markets or Related Spot Markets under MAR - On March 30, the European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA") opened a public...more