News & Analysis as of

Investment Management Fiduciary Duty Corporate Governance

Walkers

Trustees, ESG and Investments – key considerations

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As global attention sharpens on climate change and social justice issues, sustainability and responsible governance are increasingly becoming higher priorities for 'Millennial' and 'Gen Z' Beneficiaries....more

Fox Rothschild LLP

How Pennsylvania's New Directed Trust Act Will Affect Corporate Trustees

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Now that Pennsylvania recognizes directed trusts, corporate fiduciaries should be aware that sharing trust responsibilities could create both legal liability and administrative burdens. The law, which went into effect late...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

How to Protect Your ESOP from Lawsuits Over Cash Holdings

At least four lawsuits have recently been filed against employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) fiduciaries alleging a failure to prudently invest cash held in the ESOP trust. While scrutiny of investments in company stock has...more

Verrill

Monitoring the Activities of a Plan Fiduciary Committee: Recommendations to a Board of Directors

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It is axiomatic that a person who has fiduciary responsibility with respect to an ERISA benefit plan must monitor the performance of any plan service provider or other person to whom it has delegated fiduciary duties on an...more

Verrill

Spence v. American Airlines: A Texas Court’s View of the Duty of Loyalty under ERISA

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Since we last discussed environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) developments in the context of ERISA retirement plans, ESG litigation has taken a rather unexpected turn. Although the plan lineup in Spence v....more

White & Case LLP

Corporate Governance Key developments

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Updated Principles of Remuneration - On the 9 October 2024, the Investment Association (‘IA’), a trade body for UK investment managers, published the Principles of Remuneration (the Principles). IA members are...more

A&O Shearman

Texas District Court ESG ruling has broader implications for ERISA plan fiduciaries

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On January 10, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (the “Court”) held, in Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., that American Airlines (“American”) and the American Airlines Employee Benefits...more

A&O Shearman

ESG Investing Takes A Blow In Texas Federal Court

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On January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled, following a four-day bench trial, that an airline breached ERISA fiduciary duties when investing...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

401(k) Plan Fiduciaries Breached ERISA’s Duty of Loyalty By Allowing ESG Interests To Influence Management Of The Plan

Last week, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, issued the first-of-its-kind ruling on the merits pertaining to environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) investing...more

Miller Canfield

American Airlines Breaches Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty with BlackRock ESG Funds in 401(k) Plans

Miller Canfield on

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

Ropes & Gray LLP

Practical Takeaways from Spence v. American Airlines, Inc. for ERISA Plan Fiduciaries

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On January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas issued a much-anticipated ruling in Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., which marks the first time that a federal judge has written an on-the-merits...more

Mintz

Federal Court Rules ESG-Guided Investing of 401(k) Plan Is a Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Mintz on

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

Goodwin

Minding the Store: Unanticipated ESG Issues Affecting ERISA Fiduciary Supervision

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A recent summary judgment decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in an ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) class action challenging the alleged impact of environmental, social,...more

Conyers

Trustee's Duty and Anti-Bartlett Clauses - The Ivanishvilli Redux

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Just when trustees are feeling safe to go back into the water after the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal spoke in Zhang Hong Li v. DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd [2019] along comes Ivanishvilli v. Credit Suisse Trust Ltd [2023]...more

ArentFox Schiff

Airline 401k Decision Illustrates Continued Takeoff of ESG Litigation

ArentFox Schiff on

A Texas federal judge recently permitted an environmental, social, and governance- (ESG) related Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) case filed by an airline pilot against his employer and its benefits plan to...more

Goodwin

ISS Publishes 2021 Proxy Voting Guidelines

Goodwin on

In the News. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) published its proxy voting guidelines updates for 2021, which include new and updated voting recommendations on federal forum and exclusive forum provisions in companies’...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

U.S. Labor Department Tells Retirement Plans to Focus on the Money, Not Environmental or Social Issues

The U.S. Department of Labor recently finalized regulations that are likely to limit the use of retirement investments focused on environmental and social issues. On October 30, DOL issued a rule entitled “Financial Factors...more

Mayer Brown Free Writings + Perspectives

The Department of Labor’s ESG-less Final ESG Rule

On October 30, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released its final regulation (“Final Rule”) relating to a fiduciary’s consideration of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors when making investment...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

US Department of Labor Puts ESG Investing on Ice

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In its finalized rule amending ERISA, the DOL makes financial factors paramount in a fiduciary’s responsibility to investors. On October 30, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published Financial Factors in Selecting...more

Mayer Brown Free Writings + Perspectives

Amendments to Proxy Rules

Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to the proxy rules.  ...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Who is in Control? Considerations for Significant Equityholders in the Current Business Environment

Equity investors and sponsors are actively reviewing the financial needs and business operations of their portfolio companies. As a result of the economic upheaval and government-mandated social restrictions imposed by the...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

SEC Identifies Policies, Procedures and Disclosures Related to Registered Investment Advisers’ Proxy Voting Responsibilities and...

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On August 21, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued two interpretive releases involving proxy voting and proxy voting advice. In the first release, the SEC provided guidance regarding the responsibilities of...more

Perkins Coie

SEC Issues Guidance and Interpretation Aimed at Proxy Voting

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held an open meeting on August 21, 2019, (the Open Meeting) and approved two items: (1) guidance regarding the proxy voting responsibilities of investment advisers under the...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

SEC Guidance Will Impact Roles of Proxy Advisers and Investment Advisers in Proxy Context

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Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved interpretative guidance relating to (i) the application of proxy rules to proxy advisory firms and (ii) the fiduciary role of investment advisers within...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

SEC Releases Guidance to Clarify Investment Advisers’ Proxy Voting Responsibilities and Interpretation of Proxy Rules to Voting...

At an open meeting held on August 21, 2019 (the “Meeting”), the Commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued guidance (the “Guidance”), by a 3-2 vote, to assist investment advisers when conducting...more

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