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: EBSA
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…
Comment Letter to DOL/EBSA on Proxy Voting from Jon Lukomnik, Keith Johnson, and other Experts
VEA Chair Robert A.G. Monks and Vice Chair Nell Minow signed this letter (in addition to their own letter) along with 14 other experts. The full letter is below. An excerpt [footnotes omitted]. This letter is written in opposition to the above proposed rule by 16 professionals with more than 400 years of combined experience…
CII Letter to DOL/EBSA on the Proxy Voting Proposal
The Council of Institutional Investors has filed a comment objecting to the proposed rule form DOL/EBSA on proxy voting by ERISA fiduciaries. The full comment is below. An excerpt [footnotes omitted]: DOL has not provided a persuasive rationale for the Proposed Rule. In fact, the Proposed Rule is premised on fundamentally flawed assumptions about shareholder…
VEA Comment to DOL/EBSA on Proxy Voting
October 2, 2020 Jeanne Klinefelter Wilson Acting Assistant Secretary Employee Benefits Security Administration United States Department of Labor 200 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20210 RE: RIN 1210-AB91 Dear Acting Assistant Secretary Wilson, In the long, dismaying history of regulatory capture, when agencies set up to provide oversight instead issue rules entrenching and subsidizing corporate insiders,…
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…
Fidelity, BlackRock Reject Trump Limits on 401(k) ESG Investing – Bloomberg
The world’s largest asset managers are speaking out against a Trump administration plan that would make it more difficult for them to incorporate environmental, social and governance factors when making investment decisions, a move that could limit green investing in 401(k) plans. Fidelity Investments wrote in an 11-page letter to the U.S. Department of Labor that the…
ValueEdge Advisors 