ESG interest and attention seem to have a new friend in the Executive Branch of Government. With the stroke of a presidential-pen, President Biden has drawn a new line in the sandbox.
ESG attention has resurfaced as an important political hot-potato. ESG interest and attention has risen to the prominence it once held during the held during the two prior administrations. No longer are prudence, return and duty of loyalty rule the decision process for retirement plan fiduciaries and ERISA investment committees. Those principles and mandates are being supplanted by Environmental, Social and Governance guardrails. That position has been etched into the current administration’s playbook, as evidenced by the very first veto of the current administration!
The Biden Administration has made clear the acceptance of exogenous factors when investment managers and retirement committees perform oversight on the assets being managed within a qualified retirement plan. Fred Barstein references the Biden Administration Veto as one of the five most important stories of the week. The Biden Administration Veto veto overturns a rule previously established during the Trump Administration. At issue, is the primary of duty of a retirement plan investment strategy. For years, retirement committees concentrated on pecuniary interests as the primary driver in the selection of plan investments. In the WealthManagement.com top 5 stories, Mr. Barstein delves into the importance of this first Veto by President Biden.
To learn more on this latest round of ESG positioning, and for additional Top Stories of the week – click here.
