AIMA Fund Manager Briefing: ESG and the SEC: regulatory and enforcement perspectives

View webinar replay here

The mission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is to protect investors, maintain fair orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation, and the SEC’s reach can be broader than just the U.S. markets. For years, the SEC has had an increased focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issue, recognizing ESG is of increasing importance to investors and market participants. The SEC proposed enhanced ESG disclosures for investment advisers and funds and recently adopted corporate climate disclosure rules for public companies. While the corporate climate disclosures rules for public companies are currently stayed by the SEC while they are being challenged in the U.S. court system, the SEC’s authority to investigate and bring actions for alleged false or misleading statements or omissions related to ESG disclosures, including those involving “greenwashing”, is not impacted.

Please join AIMA and Arnold & Porter for this session where former senior SEC enforcement alumni will provide a high-level overview of the SEC’s scope of authority, the state of play on the SEC’s climate disclosure rules, special considerations related to ESG internal investigations and SEC enforcement actions, and why EMEA fund managers need to be aware of these issues.

Speakers:

Simon Firth, Partner, Investment Management, Arnold & Porter
Daniel M. Hawke, Partner, Securities Enforcement & Litigation, Arnold & Porter
Former Director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office and Former Chief of the Market Abuse Unit, Division of Enforcement, SEC
Jane Norberg, Partner, Securities Enforcement & Litigation, Arnold & Porter
Former Chief of the Office of the Whistleblower, Division of Enforcement, SEC, and former Special Agent, US Secret Service
Christian D. H. Schultz, Partner, Arnold & Porter
Former Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel, Division of Enforcement, SEC