Since the appointment of Allison Heron Lee as interim SEC chair, the SEC has pushed an ESG agenda in all things from corporate disclosures, to investment companies, international standards and even enforcement.  See this blog post here. Those moves have sparked discussion, and sometimes, skepticism.  Read more about that in this blog post here.

As April ended, the Street’s other main regulator, FINRA, joined the ESG discussion – but in a different way. Instead of contemplating new prescriptive rules or disclosure taxonomies, FINRA seeks constructive criticism. FINRA asked for public comment on where and how its existing rules and operations create “unintended barriers” to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion objectives or “disparate impacts.”

It’s a question we all might ask.

FINRA Reg. Notice 21-17 (Apr. 29, 2021) is here.

[View source.]