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As readers of this blog well know, ESG is one of the hot topics in the investment and financial world these days. ESG is also very much on the mind of regulators as well, as two recent developments show. First, on November 22, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor issued updated rules expressly allowing plan fiduciaries to consider ESG factors when they select retirement fund investments and exercise shareholder rights, such as proxy voting. Second, the SEC, acting through its Division of Enforcement’s Climate and ESG Task Force, brought a settled enforcement action against Goldman Sachs Asset Management for policies and procedures shortcomings at funds marketed as ESG investments. These developments underscore the challenges companies, investment funds, and others face as they navigate the complex ESG landscape.
Continue Reading Regulators’ Take On ESG Investing       

John M. Orr

Though we are still early on in the Biden Administration’s tenure, it is already clear that ESG-related issues have emerged as a important point of focus and emphasis for the Administration. In the following guest post, John M. Orr, Directors & Officers Liability Product Leader for Willis Towers Watson,
takes a look at a number of the important implications of the Administration’s ESG focus. A version of this article previously appeared on the Willis Towers Watson website (here). I would like to thank John for allowing me to publish his article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is John’s article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Changes in ESG-Related D&O Risk in a New US Presidential Administration

dolAccording to a June 23, 2014 Wall Street Journal article entitled “U.S. Increases Scrutiny of Employee-Stock Ownership Plans” (here), the federal government is “stepping up scrutiny of how U.S. companies are valued for employee-stock ownership plans.” This increased scrutiny includes increased litigation activity, often alleging that ESOP share valuations are flawed. The targets …