Several recent actions and statements made by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have underscored its plans to prioritize enforcement of climate change and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues in 2021.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Examinations (“EXAMS” or the “Division”) released its annual priorities on March 3, 2021 in a 42-page report of exam priorities. Among other things, the list includes an ongoing emphasis on the overall strength of financial advisers’ compliance programs and a growing interest in the evolving risks to investors related to relevant climate and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funds.
On January 24, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged a California-based couple with orchestrating a seven-year, nearly billion-dollar Ponzi scheme involving alternative energy credits through their solar generator companies.