SEC orders Invesco to pay $17.5M over misleading investors about ESG assets
By 
Adrianne Appel2024-11-11T15:42:00
Invesco Advisors agreed to pay $17.5 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle allegations that the company misled investors about the extent of its assets that included environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.
The SEC also faulted Invesco for lacking any written policy defining ESG integration, which the agency warned firms about in April. The settlement is an example of heightened scrutiny the SEC has placed on firms that fail to comply with its updated marketing rule.
In 2019, an internal Invesco report found that at least $370 billion of assets under management at the company were at risk of being abandoned by clients who would move to other firms, because they wanted ESG-based investments, according to the order.
Related articles
-
News BriefDOJ says BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street pressed ESG goals to lower U.S. coal output
The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have bolstered a conservative legal effort to dismantle environmental, social, and governance-based investment strategies from three large asset managers by claiming they illegally conspired to artificially raise energy prices.
-
News BriefWisdomTree pays $4M SEC fine for including fossil fuel, tobacco securities in ESG funds
Fund management company WisdomTree will pay $4 million to settle allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it improperly invested in fossil fuel and tobacco companies in environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds despite promising to avoid them.
-
News Brief
SEC risk alert warns investment advisers of marketing rule missteps
Examiners with the Securities and Exchange Commission found investment advisory firms have generally done well creating processes to comply with the agency’s amended marketing rule but some have fallen short in ensuring compliance.
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
News BriefCVS hit with nearly $1 billion fine in Omnicare false claims verdict
CVS has vowed to appeal $948.8 million in fines and damages imposed by a judge Tuesday on its Omnicare unit, for billing Medicare for tens of thousands of false claims.
-
PremiumIn 17 years, Discover Financial never managed to clean up a billion dollar mess
Federal banking regulators have laid the blame for Discover Financial Services charging merchants $1 billion in excessive credit card fees over 17 years squarely at the feet of company executives.
-
News BriefCFPB drops $95M enforcement action against Navy Federal, without explanation
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has dropped a $95 million enforcement action against Navy Federal Credit Union, the latest regulatory pullback by the agency under President Donald Trump.