Retirement savers may soon get greater access to environmental, social, and governance funds. The Department of Labor finalized a regulation this past week that permits retirement plans to consider climate change and other ESG factors when selecting funds. The rule reverses a Trump-era reg limiting fiduciaries to investment-performance factors.
These shifts reflect a political tug of war over ESG. Some politicians have tried to curtail ESG investments in their states. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the State Board of Administration adopted a resolution barring the state from considering ESG factors in investment management. The board invests and manages assets of the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund. Texas also ordered state retirement and school funds to divest holdings in firms such as
BlackRock
which it accuses of boycotting the fossil-fuel industry.
Source: https://www.barrons.com/articles/a-rule-change-frees-retirement-plans-to-offer-esg-fundsfor-now-51669418704?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo