On November 18, 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an order granting a motion to enjoin enforcement of Senate Bill (SB) 261, California’s climate-related financial risk disclosure law, while allowing...more
11/24/2025
/ Appeals ,
California ,
CARB ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Legislation ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently posted a notice on its website regarding climate disclosure requirements indicating that, due to the large volume of stakeholder comments received, it does not now anticipate...more
From sweeping state laws restricting ESG-related investment practices and disclosure mandates to efforts by the US administration to dismantle prior federal guidance, the ESG investing landscape is rapidly evolving in both...more
10/17/2025
/ Asset Management ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Investment ,
New Legislation ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The US Department of Labor recently issued an advisory opinion clarifying whether a managed account–based lifetime income offering could qualify as a qualified default investment alternative....more
10/15/2025
/ 401k ,
Advisory Opinions ,
Annuities ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wages
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has released a set of FAQs aimed at clarifying implementation of the state’s landmark climate disclosure laws, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (CCDAA, S.B. 253) and the...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) has withdrawn prior guidance from 2023 supporting racial equity programs aimed at increasing racial diversity in a plan’s asset manager pool. That prior guidance had provided comfort to plan...more
The US administration recently issued an executive order to expand access to alternative investments in ERISA-governed retirement accounts. The order titled Democratizing Access to Alternative Investments for America's...more
The US administration issued an executive order aiming to expand access to alternative investments, including cryptocurrency, private equity, and real estate, in ERISA-governed retirement accounts....more
Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently signed into law S.B. 2337, marking a significant development in the increasing scrutiny of proxy voting as a focus of regulators targeting environmental, social, and governance (ESG)...more
The US Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) position on the appropriateness of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing strategies in ERISA-regulated retirement plans has ping-ponged for decades (as we’ve covered...more
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has continued to be the subject of increasing regulatory, legislative, and litigation scrutiny. The scrutiny has accelerated following the results of the 2024 US federal...more
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have gained an increasing foothold in the wealth-management investment universe, with ETF assets under management currently about half the assets under management of mutual funds. As the ETF...more
The 2024 US election results are likely to reshape the regulatory landscape for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Shifts in administrative priorities, coupled with ongoing litigation and regulatory...more
Recently, we have become aware of what appears to be a new approach in the US Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Form 5500 Annual Report (Form 5500) penalty program, including increased penalties and faster enforcement actions....more
As environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations become increasingly central to investment strategies worldwide, the regulatory landscapes governing ESG investing are evolving rapidly across different regions....more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) issued a press release on September 6, 2024 reminding ERISA plan fiduciaries that it considers cybersecurity to be an area of “great concern” and emphasizing that it continues to investigate...more
The amendments to the QPAM Exemption include a September 15, 2024 notification deadline that will apply to many asset managers. This blog post includes a brief summary of the US Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) recent technical...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) published final amendments to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14, the so-called “QPAM Exemption,” in the Federal Register on April 3, 2024. The amendments are anticipated to affect...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) maintains a robust investigatory program for auditing employee benefit plans for potential ERISA violations. Under the Biden administration, the DOL’s ERISA enforcement activities and...more
As companies increasingly encounter dialogue regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, they and their investors and other stakeholders face the task of navigating the sometimes-contradictory web of...more
In 2023, there was an expansion in scope of the discussion around forced labor in the global supply chain. In the United States, the enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) continued to be the main...more
At a time marked by themes of “push” and “pull,” organizations across all sectors and jurisdictions are grappling with the pursuit of innovation within an increasingly complex regulatory framework. Over the next 12 months,...more
US state and federal laws have increasingly sought to regulate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing—a trend that continued in 2023. This increased regulatory focus has impacted benefit plans, including ERISA...more
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has been subject to increased US state and federal regulation over the last several years, and 2023 continued that status quo. As of January 1, 2024, 20 states have...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued DOL Advisory Opinion 2023-01A, (Advisory Opinion) addressing racial equity and supplier diversity. The Advisory Opinion answered an inquiry about the application of ERISA’s...more