Investors should be able to drill down and see what’s under the hood of funds that market themselves as “green” or “sustainable.” pic.twitter.com/O483eg9lMy
— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) August 19, 2021
ThinkAdvisor The full article can be found here.
What lies ahead for trading and technology in the equity markets? Which skills are keys to success in public policy development, securities regulation and advocacy in the financial services industry?
Gain insights as Hope Jarkowski, Head of Equities at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), reviews the state of tech and reflects on her experiences in the markets and in government. Jarkowski will also offer advice for the next generation of women finance professionals.
This hybrid virtual/in-person event will celebrate the launch of 100 Women in Finance NextGen Washington, D.C., a peer network of 100WF members in the first decade of their finance careers.
The virtual event is open to all 100WF members globally, who are welcome to invite an industry friend or colleague who would be interested in NextGen programming.
Following the program, local attendees are invited to speak with Jarkowski and extend their networks at an outdoor rooftop event. Meet members of the 100WF NextGen D.C. Committee and hear their vision for the group’s future, including how you and other interested volunteers can join the committee.
Please RSVP (required) promptly as space is limited and email any questions to nextgendc@100women.org.
When: Wednesday , July 14, 2021 at 4:00 PM ET
Speakers:
Amanda Pullinger, Chief Executive Officer, 100 Women in Finance
Hope Jarkowski, Head of Equities, New York Stock Exchange
Aliza S. Dominey, Moderator, Attorney, Stradley Ronon
Melissa Tuarez Herr, Moderator, Attorney, K&L Gates LLP
Register for the In-person event here
Register for the Virtual event here
State and local governmental plans, which are excluded from ERISA, are subject to idiosyncratic legal requirements, including specific investment restrictions. These plans are also not immune to the political winds blowing in that state. Nowhere is this more apparent than recent developments out of the States of Texas and Maine with respect to fossil fuel divestment. Investment managers of any governmental plan, especially those that take environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into account, should pay close attention to these developments. Private equity and other fund managers, for the reasons stated below, should also take note.
Texas
On June 14, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law SB 13. This new law, which goes into effect on September 1, 2021, generally prohibits state governmental entities, including the Employees Retirement System of Texas and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, from directly or indirectly holding the securities of a publicly-traded financial services, banking or investment company that “boycotts” companies that (i) explore, produce, utilize, transport, sell or manufacture fossil fuel-based energy and (ii) do not “commit or pledge to meet environmental standards beyond applicable federal and state law….” The concept of “boycott” is not limited to divestment; rather, it picks up activity that is designed to inflict economic harm on the energy company. The exercise of certain shareholder rights could possibly amount to a “boycott” of a company.
The law also generally prohibits governmental entities from contracting with a service provider unless the contract provides a written verification from the service provider that it does not boycott energy companies and will not boycott energy companies during the term of the contract. This applies to contracts entered into on or after September 1, 2021.
Fiduciaries of these Texas governmental plans remain subject to countervailing fiduciary duties under Texas law, including the Texas Constitution. The new law crucially allows for breathing space between these core fiduciary duties and the state’s interest in protecting significant portions of its economy.
The law provides that these governmental entities are not required to divest from any holdings in “actively or passively managed investment funds or private equity funds.” However, the governmental entities are required to submit letters to the managers of these funds requesting that they remove from the portfolio financial companies that the state comptroller has designated as boycotting energy companies. The Texas governmental entities will alternatively request that the managers “create a similar actively or passively managed fund with indirect holdings devoid of listed financial companies.” Investment managers should be on the lookout for these letters starting this coming Fall.
Maine
Meanwhile, in Maine, the House of Representatives recently passed a bill that calls for the divestment of fossil fuel companies by the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (Maine PERS) and other permanent state funds by 2026. As with Texas, the law is sensitive to the overriding fiduciary duties that apply to the management of these assets. An official for Maine PERS recently testified that, “[p]ermanently striking broad portions of the financial market is incompatible with earning optimal returns for member retirements, will not change corporate behavior, and may not advance the social goals sought because investments are rarely one dimensional.”
Takeaways
Governmental plans invested in separate accounts or commingled funds managed by an investment manager have always posed risks to that manager, as these plans are subject to their own fiduciary duties and investment restrictions. Though the state laws applicable to governmental plans may contain ERISA-like language, we caution investment managers from relying on ERISA or DOL guidance as a failsafe way to manage governmental plan assets. As evidenced from the disparate approaches the States of Texas and Maine have taken, investment managers should pay close attention to the specific rules applicable to these plans to avoid running afoul of state law. With the calls for fossil fuel divestment growing louder in some quarters, and as other ESG issues come to the fore, careful due diligence on the part of investment managers is essential.
Please contact George Michael Gerstein to discuss these matters or other due diligence issues related to governmental plans.
Please join Women in ETFs Philadelphia at 12:30 p.m. ET on June 16, 2021 for an exciting, topical discussion about the ESG investing landscape: current trends, future outlook and innovations across the financial services industry. Topics discussed will include:
When: Wednesday , June 16, 2021 at 12:30 PM ET
Panelists:
Sara P. Crovitz, Partner at Stradley Ronon
Mona Naqvi, Global Head of ESG Capital Markets Strategy at S&P Global Sustainable1
Ethan Powell, CEO and Founder of Impact Shares
Moderator:
Doug Grim, CFA, Senior Investment Strategist at Vanguard Investment Strategy Group
Read the full PLANSPONSOR article here.
Legislation is afoot that would amend ERISA to expressly permit fiduciaries to account for environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors as part of their fiduciary duties. The proposed legislation, the Financial Factors in Selecting Retirement Plan Investments Act, was introduced by Senator Tina Smith (D-MN). It expressly permits, but does not compel, fiduciaries to “consider” ESG and similar factors when selecting investments or strategies on behalf of an ERISA-covered retirement plan. The legislation also permits fiduciaries to consider “collateral” factors “as tie-breakers when competing investments can reasonably be expected to serve the plan’s economic interest equally well with respect to expected return and risk over the appropriate time horizon.” Under either scenario, the fiduciary need not “maintain any greater documentation, substantiation, or other justification” when considering the ESG or similar factors. Notably, the bill provides that an investment selected based on ESG or similar factors (including such factors used as a tie-breaker) may be a permissible default investment option (a “qualified default investment alternative” (QDIA)) for a plan that uses a default investment option as part of its menu. Lastly, the US Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2020 Financial Factors rule would cease to have force or effect upon the enactment of the legislation.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden just issued an Executive Order on Climate-Related Financial Risk, in which he directed the (DOL to consider proposing by September 2021 a rule that would suspend, revise or rescind the Financial Factors and proxy voting rules promulgated under the Trump Administration. The Executive Order further directed the DOL to consider taking any other action under ERISA “to protect the life savings and pensions of Unites States workers and families from the threats of climate-related financial risk.”
Should the legislation pass, it could provide fiduciaries limited additional comfort that the incorporation of ESG factors in their investment decision-making complies with ERISA’s fiduciary duties. The trend is toward incorporating ESG factors into an investment process for their effect on investment performance, and existing guidance, including the Financial Factors rule, should already provide fiduciaries enough of a roadmap to do so in accordance with ERISA. The legislation also seeks to dial back the documentation requirements of the Financial Factors rule, which may indeed ease some of the angst over foot faults and the resulting liability exposure. Though the DOL removed all references to “ESG” in the final Financial Factors rule, some argued the rule’s aggressive proposal, coupled with the Trump Administration’s overall stance on climate change, was designed to curb ERISA fiduciaries’ appetite for ESG. Yet, carefully documenting important decisions is already a well-established requirement and technique used by fiduciaries to mitigate their fiduciary duty risk.
It is a big deal that, with a rescission of the Financial Factors rule, fiduciaries would seemingly no longer have to comb through a fund’s prospectus and marketing materials for references to non-pecuniary factors, nor would the fiduciary need to scrutinize a fund manager’s use of screens or ratings. These requirements obviously present legal risk to a fiduciary and, therefore, may deter some fiduciaries from considering ESG products. But they also may serve as useful guideposts for fiduciaries trying to avoid selecting a greenwashed fund. An unintended consequence of the legislation could be that stripping out specific actions a fiduciary must take to navigate the intricate ESG landscape perhaps deters more plan sponsors from adding ESG to their plans than if the guideposts (and associated legal risks) remained.
It is also a big deal that the proposed legislation would allow a fund, which incorporates ESG factors for non-investment performance reasons, to serve as QDIA. The Financial Factors rule outright prohibited such a result. This change will likely give some plan sponsors comfort in selecting an ESG-themed QDIA that does not base ESG decisions on risk and return criteria, for example. However, the zealous litigation routinely brought against defined contribution plan sponsors over the selection of investment options has largely resulted in playing it safe. Plan sponsors know they will be second-guessed. This change, therefore, is unlikely to dramatically increase the adoption of ESG by ERISA plans, which continue to lag other institutional investors on that score.
The Executive Order is worth watching. The DOL may opt to impose affirmative obligations on fiduciaries to mitigate climate change risk to the plan. The imposition of any such obligation will likely be litigated.
In sum, ESG is and will remain entirely relevant to ERISA fiduciaries. Under ERISA and existing guidance, fiduciaries may take ESG factors into account when investing plan assets or selecting investment options for a plan lineup. With ESG top of mind for the current Congress and White House, ERISA fiduciaries should continue to evaluate whether taking ESG into account is prudent under the circumstances.
