Brad Campbell Discusses ESG and Crypto Investing With Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax

In an article for Bloomberg Law, benefits and executive compensation partner Brad Campbell addressed the impact of a rise in state anti-ESG (environmental, social and governance) policies on public pensions plans. Further, Bloomberg Tax turned to Campbell for insight on the Department of Labor (DOL) pushing back against crypto investing in 401(k)s.

Regarding ESG investing, Campbell said, “Unfortunately, these investments have become collateral damage in a broader political battle.” He added, “Regardless of the merits of a particular investment that may have E, S or G features, you now have a situation where one side is suspicious of it because of that, and the other side is putting a thumb on the scale in favor of it because of that, when neither of those political positions really has anything to do with analyzing the merit of the investments.”

Bloomberg Tax also detailed two evolving fronts for a DOL investment advice rulemaking project that could extend protections into the digital individual retirement account market. Campbell explained, “The core commonality of all of those was, ‘We want to extend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s reach so that fiduciary obligations are applying to the IRA marketplace in a way that previously they haven’t been perceived to apply.’”

The full articles are available for Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax subscribers.