Tag: ESG investing
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ESG shareholder proposals drop 47% in 2026 proxy season
According to As You Sow, a shareholder advocacy nonprofit, in its 2026 Proxy Preview report, shareholders filed 184 ESG proposals at U.S. shareholder meetings as of March 17, 2026. That is down 47% from 355 proposals filed at the same point in 2025. Shareholders use proxy proposals to ask companies to adopt specific policies or…
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JPMorgan confirms closing Trump accounts after Jan. 6
JPMorgan Chase acknowledged in a February 2026 court filing that it closed bank accounts of President Trump (R) and several of his businesses in February 2021, following the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. The bank's former chief administrative officer, Dan Wilkening, wrote in the filing that JPMorgan informed Trump that certain accounts…
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SEC reviews ESG disclosure rule
On Feb. 11, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins said in testimony before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee that the agency is reviewing regulations adopted during the Biden administration to determine whether those rules should be revised or rescinded. Atkins identified the 2023 amendments to the Investment Company Names rule (Names rule)…
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President Trump expands oversight of proxy advisors
On Dec. 11, President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order increasing federal scrutiny of the two largest proxy advisory services, Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). The executive order, “Protecting American Investors from Foreign-Owned and Politically-Motivated Proxy Advisors”, directs the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission to expand oversight of and review…
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Ninth Circuit halts California climate-disclosure rule
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an order on Nov. 18 temporarily blocking enforcement of California’s climate-risk disclosure law, SB 261. The statute requires companies with more than $500 million in annual revenue to report climate-related financial risks starting Jan. 1, 2026. The court granted the request after the U.S. Chamber…
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Judge restricts ESG use in American Airlines 401(k) plan
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, appointed by President George W. Bush (R), issued a final ruling in Spence v. American Airlines Inc., siding partly with a pilot who sued the airline over ESG-linked retirement investments. O’Connor ruled that American Airlines breached its duty of loyalty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) because it…
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Department of Labor announces ESG retirement plan rule
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced Sept. 4 that it plans to issue a new rule governing the use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in retirement plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration listed the issue in its semi-annual regulatory agenda as…
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Net Zero Banking Alliance to suspend operations
On Aug. 27, the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) announced that it is suspending operations, as a number of large banks have exited the group over the last several months. NZBA has said its remaining members will vote to determine whether it should remain a member-based group or transition to an organization that provides guidance…
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UBS quits NZBA
UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, announced Thursday it is leaving the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), joining several recent global departures from the coalition. UBS was a founding member of the NZBA and is the third major bank to leave in as many weeks. The departures could limit the alliance’s ability to set shared targets and monitor…
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ESG opponents argue BlackRock still boycotts Texas energy
Consumers’ Research (CR), a nonprofit critical of ESG investing, and the American Energy Institute (AEI), an energy advocacy group, released a report arguing BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is still boycotting Texas energy. The report contradicts BlackRock’s claims and those made by former Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar (R), who earlier this summer removed the…