A he promised, President Biden has issued the first veto of his Presidency, overruling Congress’ attempt to block the DOL/EBSA ESG rule. President Joe Biden on Monday vetoed his first bill, blocking the repeal of a Labor Department rule that permitted retirement investing tied to environmental and social goals. The veto was expected, after the…
Tag: DOL
DOL/EBSA ESG Rules Challenged in Court
The new DOL/EBSA rules allowing ESG investments and reiterating the fiduciary obligation of exercising share ownership rights, including proxy voting, is being challenged in court by 25 Republican Attorneys General and fossil fuel companies. The rule was set to take effect January 30, 2023. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of…
Highlights of the new DOL/EBSA Rule on ESG
Emphasis added. Full text of the rule.
US Department of Labor announces final rule to remove barriers to considering environmental, social, governance factors in plan investments | U.S. Department of Labor
We are delighted that the DOL/EBSA has issued a new rule on ESG and proxy voting, making it clear that ESG factors are a legitimate concern for ERISA fiduciaries in assessing risk and return. The rule takes effect in 60 days except for some of the proxy voting provisions which will take effect in a…
Monks and Minow Comment to DOL/EBPA on Pension Fund Fiduciary Proxy Voting and ESG
VEA Chair Robert A.G. Monks and Vice Chair Nell Minow have filed a comment with DOL/EBSA on the proposed rule covering proxy voting and ESG factors for pension fund fiduciaries. We strongly endorse the rule, point out the conflicts and deceptions of those supporting the previous rule, and discuss the collective choice problem as it…
DOL’s New Proposed Rule on Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights
DOL/EBSA has a new proposed rule on ESG and proxy votes. Stay tuned for more information and our formal comment. NOTE: Comments due by December 13, 2021 and we will be up against an avalanche of opposition. The Department of Labor (Department) in this document proposes amendments to the Investment Duties regulation under Title I…
HUGE Win for ESG! DOL Will Not Enforce the Odious, Dark Money Promoted ESG Rule
Department of Labor statement: On November 13, 2020, the Department of Labor (Department) published a final rule on “Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments,” 85 Fed. Reg. 72846 (November 13, 2020), which adopted amendments to the “Investment Duties” regulation under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The amendments generally…
Biden Executive Order Opens Door to Rollback Or Reversal of Anti-Shareholder Rules
President Biden has moved quickly on his promise to make science-based climate change policy a core initiative of his administration. That includes an Executive Order that looks like it is designed to form the basis for reversal of two controversial Labor Department rules pushed through at the end of the Trump administration limiting the rights…
Kurt Schacht: The Labor Department Is Tearing Down a Landmark of Investor Protection
Kurt N. Schacht, head of policy for the CFA Institute and former chair of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee. writes in Barron’s: Corporate governance and shareholder rights have seldom witnessed an assault on investor protection like the current federal government’s onslaught. Whether weakened rules on broker accountability, rules designed to eliminate shareholder proposals, or those…
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow Quoted in P&I About the DOL/EBSA Proposal on Proxy Votes
P&I’s above the fold front page headline is “Proxy proposal angers institutions”. VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow is quoted: “It’s just a reflection of the fact that institutional investors have become more aware of corporate governance as an element of shareholder value and corporations don’t like that,” said Nell Minow, Washington-based vice chairwoman of ValueEdge…
ValueEdge Advisors 