UpFront » June 2022

As part of its rulemaking process, the SEC has released its regulatory agenda indicating it will focus on reviewing certain proposed rules. However, despite the many rules proposed over the last year, the SEC’s number of rules to review is likely much narrower for a few reasons, explains FrontLine’s Founder and President Amy Lynch. She states that the list of proposed rules is much shorter now as many previously proposed rules have moved to the…

With more demand than ever for green or “sustainable” investments, the SEC wants to make sure there’s legitimacy to ESG claims made by firms offering these investments. Recent investigations of DWS, BNY Mellon and now Goldman Sachs show the SEC has ramped up its scrutiny of greenwashing, where misleading or exaggerated claims about sustainable investing criteria are made. Amy Lynch, FrontLine’s Founder and President, describes a trend of increasing demand for ESG investments that began…

The SEC wants more disclosures on climate risks, emissions and other ESG related data so that investors have consistent and accurate information from companies to compare. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, FrontLine’s Founder and President Amy Lynch comments that if SEC rulemaking comes to fruition, increased compliance activities would be needed to meet the heavy lift of new ESG requirements. The SEC’s projections on these related costs tend to underestimate the…

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler wants to remove what he sees as barriers for retail investors. This includes addressing the current system of payment for order flow, where Gensler believes there is a conflict of interest for brokers dealing with only a few wholesale market makers that exert too much control. He argues that the changes he seeks will help remove current disadvantages for retail trading. However, Amy Lynch, FrontLine’s Founder and President, in the lead…

The SEC has been clear that it views tightening ESG guidelines as a priority for its agenda and rule proposals. The view from the regulator is that investors need consistent definitions of certain ESG terms and criteria used by money managers, removing the threat of greenwashing to entice investments. Another focus area of the SEC is to enforce the accuracy of ESG fund names with the Naming Rule so that they are appropriately labeled based…