Department of Labor’s Proposed Rule: Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments

This webinar will discuss the Department of Labor’s rule proposal entitled “Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments”, its potential impacts on ESG integration, and actions the PRI is taking and encourages signatories to take in response.

On June 23, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking entitled “Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments” (“Proposal”) aimed at clarifying the obligations related to consideration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors by fiduciaries who oversee private sector pension and defined contribution plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). However, the Proposal mischaracterizes ESG integration and fails to distinguish between ESG integration and economically targeted investing. This is likely to lead to confusion for ERISA fiduciaries and cost to plan savers.