The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will allow retirement plan fiduciaries to invest funds into companies that promote climate change and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, according to a Tuesday DOL release.
The DOL’s decision overturns a Trump administration rule that barred companies from evaluating ESG factors when making investment decisions, stating that the rule “unnecessarily restrained” the fiduciaries’ ability to weigh ESG factors that benefit plan participants financially. Despite the DOL’s belief that ESG will not hinder financial gains for those who have paid into the retirement plans, the new rule “betrays” the interests of those who have funded the accounts and places “enormous pressure” on fiduciaries to focus on ESG factors over more significant factors, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation…
