Brad Campbell Speaks to Pensions & Investments About DOL Focus on ESG Investing

According to Pensions & Investments, the Department of Labor (DOL) is seeking public input on various questions regarding climate change and retirement savings. In “Labor Department digging into what action to take with ESG,” benefits and executive compensation partner Brad Campbell discussed the DOL’s request for information (RFI) and its expected final environmental, social and governance (ESG) and proxy rule.

Regarding the RFI comment period, Campbell said what the DOL will do with the feedback it receives is uncertain, but it could provide parameters regarding what plan fiduciaries should think about when considering ESG investments.

The publication also reported that in the DOL’s RFI, the agency posed several questions on the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Act of 1986, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Campbell noted that the DOL has oversight authority with respect to the TSP, but it does not have enforcement or policymaking authority.

Campbell expects the DOL’s final ESG and proxy rule to be substantially similar to the proposal but include some changes. “My hope is that one of those changes is they make the language a little more neutral so that really the authority to make ESG decisions resides with the fiduciaries as it should and as it does for any other relevant factor,” he stated.

The full article is available for Pensions & Investments subscribers.