SEC fines asset manager $4 million over false ESG advertising (2024)
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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Oct. 21 that it had fined asset management firm WisdomTree Asset Management for advertising false ESG claims about three of its funds. The SEC said the funds did not sufficiently consider ESG factors, and the firm knew the ESG screening criteria were insufficient:
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is fining financial services firm WisdomTree Asset Management $4 million for greenwashing and failing to comply with an investment strategy it advertised as incorporating ESG factors, the agency announced Monday. The New York-based asset manager will pay the civil penalty for making misstatements about the investment strategy of three exchange-traded funds. These include the WisdomTree International ESG Fund, the WisdomTree Emerging Markets ESG Fund and the WisdomTree U.S. ESG Fund, according to the SEC’s Oct. 21 cease-and-desist order. According to the order, prospectuses issued for the three ESG-marketed funds from March 2020 to November 2022 stated the funds would not invest in companies involved in certain “controversial” products and activities, such as fossil fuels and tobacco. However, the SEC found that the funds invested in companies in those sectors, including natural gas extraction, coal mining and transportation companies, as well as those that participated in the retail distribution of tobacco products.[1] |
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See also
- Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's ESG newsletter
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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