Category: ERISA

Bank Failures Highlight Risks of Using ESG in Americans’ Pension Funds

March 22, 2023
Business & MarketsCredit Suisseeconomic policiesenergyERISAESGinflationInvestmentpersonal financeprivate pensionsretirement fundsSan Francisco Federal Reserve BankSVB CollapseThe Federal ReserveUSUS interest rates
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President Joe Biden used his veto power on Monday to block a bipartisan action from Congress that would have prevented pension fund managers from investing retirees’ money according to environmental and social-justice criteria. “There is extensive evidence showing that environmental, social, and governance factors can have a material impact on markets, industries, and businesses,” Biden…

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SVB, ESG, and Biden’s ERISA Rule

March 16, 2023
climate changeERISAESGOpinionSilicon Valley BankSilicon Valley Bank CollapseSVBViewpoints
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Commentary The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) occurred just days after Congress passed the Braun-Barr resolution, which overturns the Biden administration’s “Prudence and Loyalty” rule and its encouragement of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing by pension managers under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The timing could hardly be more instructive. The Prudence…

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Retirements of Millions of Americans in ‘Jeopardy’ as ESG Rule Weakens Protections

March 7, 2023
Business & Marketseconomic policiesenergyERISAESG investingExecutive BranchinflationInvestmentpension planspersonal financePoliticsUS
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News Analysis The Biden administration and Congress are currently caught up in a tug-of-war over a new Labor Department rule regarding whether Americans’ retirement savings should be used to finance a climate and social-justice agenda. This conflict goes well beyond obscure investment rules and administrative procedures and will likely affect the financial security of many…

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Retirement Funds of Millions of Americans in ‘Jeopardy’ as ESG Rule Weakens Protections

March 7, 2023
Business & Marketseconomic policiesenergyERISAESG investingExecutive BranchinflationInvestmentpension planspersonal financePoliticsUS
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News Analysis The Biden administration and Congress are currently caught up in a tug-of-war over a new Labor Department rule regarding whether Americans’ retirement savings should be used to finance a climate and social-justice agenda. This conflict goes well beyond obscure investment rules and administrative procedures and will likely affect the financial security of many…

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New DOL Rule Allows Retirement Money to Finance ESG Agenda

February 1, 2023
Business & Marketseconomic policieseconomyenergyERISAESGInvestmentpension fundspersonal financeU.S. Department of LaborUS
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U.S. lawmakers are fighting back against a new Biden administration rule that allows retirement money to be invested according to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. Every GOP senator, plus West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, signed on to a disapproval resolution this week in protest of a Department of Labor (DOL) directive which went into…

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The Biden Administration’s ERISA Work-Around

March 2, 2022
climate changeenergyERISAESGinflationOpinionViewpoints
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Commentary Rising inflation threatens the value of Americans’ retirement savings. Now the Biden administration is finalizing a rule to loosen safeguards under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) that protect private retirement savings. The new rule, “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights,” stems from President Biden’s May 20,…

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The Biden Administration’s ESG ERISA Mandate

November 3, 2021
climate changedecarbonizationERISAESGglobal warmingOpinionViewpoints
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Commentary Overturning the Trump ERISA rules is proving a lot harder than the White House supposed. Pity the Department of Labor. Tasked with undoing two Trump-era rules on the conduct of pension fiduciaries under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and promoting the administration’s climate policies, the DOL finds itself between the rock of…

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