Sky Blog
401(k) accounts are where most Americans put their financial assets.1 President Trump appears determined to prod them to invest those accounts in “alternative investments,” most prominently, private equity. To that end, in Executive Order 14330, the president ordered the Department …
On December 11, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Protecting American Investors from Foreign‑Owned and Politically‑Motivated Proxy Advisors” (the “Order”). The Order focuses on the “enormous influence” of proxy advisory firms, particularly Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (“ISS”) …
On August 7, 2025, the Trump Administration released the heavily anticipated Executive Order, “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors” (the “Executive Order”), which represents a significant development and a positive step toward facilitating investment by defined …
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL” or “Department”) released its final fiduciary rule, marking the completion of its third attempt since 2010 to update the definition of what it means to be an investment advice fiduciary …
On November 3, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published a proposed regulation (the “Proposed Rule”) expanding the definition of “investment advice” for purposes of determining which parties are subject to fiduciary status under …
In the latest development in a long-running regulatory saga, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on October 31, again proposed major changes (the Proposal) to the fiduciary rules applicable to the offering of financial products to most individual retirement accounts …
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) recently issued a final rule (the “Final Rule”) that seeks to clarify the circumstances under which a fiduciary subject to ERISA may consider climate change and other environmental, social …
Few constituencies benefited more from the election of Joe Biden than the socially-responsible investor community, which saw the most-hostile presidential administration replaced by the most supportive.[1] The point is best illustrated by the departure of Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, …
On October 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued proposed regulations that represent the first step in meeting President Biden’s directive to revise or rescind the recent Trump-era rules addressing a fiduciary’s duties under Section 404 of …
Climate change disclosure ranks among the priorities of Gary Gensler, the new chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. With the rapid reallocation of capital to green investments – characterized as a “tectonic shift” by BlackRock[1] and a “frenzy” …
Recently, workers at Amazon dealt what has been called a “decisive” and “crushing” blow to organized labor,[1] with their proposed union receiving less than 30 percent of the votes cast, according to the federal vote counters overseeing the …
Just before year end, the Department of Labor finalized its new rules on ESG investing and voting for retirement and pension funds. The rules sharply restrict the ability of the fiduciaries of retirement and pension funds to make investments based …
Late in the afternoon of the Friday before Election Day, the Department of Labor finalized a rule that requires pension and retirement plan fiduciaries to consider only financial interests when investing plan funds. On its face, the rule seems anodyne. …
On October 3, The Shareholder Commons and B Lab submitted their comment on a recent new rule (the “Proxy Proposal”) proposed by the Department of Labor (the “DOL.”) The Proxy Proposal would limit independent proxy voting by pension trustees. It …
The Department of Labor (DOL) has launched a major attack on investor protection and shareholder rights in the last three months. In three successive strikes against long-standing practices of ERISA fiduciaries, the DOL has created disorder and confusion. Its actions …
With shareholder proposals regarding ESG and sustainability matters becoming the most common kind of proposal, proxy advisory firm ISS marketing a new “Environmental & Social QualityScore” product for rating public companies, asset managers developing ESG-related guidelines and voting policies, and …
Recently, we have seen a rise in class actions filed against employers for improperly classifying their employees as independent contractors. While misclassification issues are nothing new, the proliferation of nontraditional jobs grows every year—especially with the advancement of technology and