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SEC subpoenas fund manager documents in investigation of ESG marketing claims (2023)
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has subpoenaed documents from several large fund managers as part of an inquiry into their marketing of ESG products, according to a Financial Times report:
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The US Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement division has sent document requests, including subpoenas, to several asset managers relating to their environmental, social and governance investment marketing this year, lawyers said, suggesting a potential crackdown looming for the sustainable fund world. Among the SEC’s areas of inquiry are conventional investment funds that have repurposed themselves as ESG funds, the asset management industry lawyers said. Also in focus are cases where funds offered in the US and Europe may share strategies, holdings or portfolio managers but offer differing amounts of information on either side of the Atlantic. The inquiries come after the SEC enforcement division in March 2021 formed a task force to hunt for misconduct in climate and ESG investment disclosures. While it settled ESG cases against companies and asset managers including Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon in 2022, none have been filed so far this year. That may change as new investigations proceed, lawyers said.[1] |
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The SEC is not the only securities regulatory agency that is concerned about ESG advertising and moving toward potential enforcement actions:
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The SEC is not the only financial regulator looking into ESG disclosure. In late July the Australian Securities and Investments Commission charged US-based Vanguard with making ESG misstatements. The commission alleged Vanguard’s “ethically conscious” global bond fund said it excluded fossil fuel issuers but held debt from Chevron, pipeline businesses owned by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and other oil companies. “Vanguard self-identified and self-reported [the] breach to our regulator . . . There was never any intention to mislead, but Vanguard recognises it has not lived up to the high standards it holds itself accountable to and apologises for the concern this matter may cause for our clients,” the $8tn asset manager said in a statement.[1] |
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See also
- Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's ESG newsletter
External links
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