SEC Charges Invesco With Misleading Statements About "ESG Integration" in Investment Decisions.

SEC Charges Invesco Advisers for Making Misleading Statements About Supposed Investment Considerations

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Invesco Advisers, Inc. for making misleading statements about the percentage of company-wide assets under management that integrated environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions. The Atlanta-based registered investment adviser agreed to pay a $17.5 million civil penalty to settle the SEC’s charges.

According to the SEC’s order, from 2020 to 2022, Invesco told clients and stated in marketing materials that between 70 and 94 percent of its parent company’s assets under management were “ESG integrated.” However, in reality, these percentages included a substantial amount of assets that were held in passive ETFs that did not consider ESG factors in investment decisions. Furthermore, the SEC’s order found that Invesco lacked any written policy defining ESG integration.

The second coming: The SEC speaks about what comes next

I decided at the last minute not to attend Securities Enforcement Forum D.C. in person this year. I was all flown out from recent trips and had another trip planned for later in the week to Ohio State. I was a bit concerned about D.C. disruptions no matter the outcome of the election and seriously marveled at Bruce’s bold move of holding the conference the day after the election.

But these are professionals!

The professionalism was evident from the get-go, as the second panel of the morning was entitled: The Day After: The Impact of the Election on SEC Enforcement.

Bandy, who spent nearly 18 years at the SEC, through multiple administrations and under multiple Enforcement Directors from 2004-2022, before heading to private practice, moderated. She did a great job “keeping the train running”. She led off the discussion by joking, “I feel like I need to start the discussion with a shot of vodka or at least a bloody Mary, but, look, all, all kidding aside. I think there’s one thing that’s certain based on the events of the last 24 hours that there really is no uncertainty to who will be our next president. And there’s certainty that there will be a change of administration at the SEC.”

She then asked, “What does a Trump Administration at the SEC look like? Can we look back to Trump one as a guide for what we, what we may expect during Trump two?”….

Farley, Champ Among Candidates to Succeed Gensler as SEC Chair

Richard Farley, a partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, and Kirkland & Ellis partner Norm Champ among contenders to replace Gary Gensler as chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Robinhood Markets Inc. legal chief Dan Gallagher, current SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda and Heath Tarbert, a former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, are also among those being considered for the job, said other people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

Also in contention are former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins and Robert Stebbins, a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, some of the people said.

Moderate Trump loyalist Jay Clayton in talks for roles in administration

Corporate attorney Jay Clayton, former head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission during Donald Trump’s presidency, is in talks for several potential roles in a second Trump term, several sources familiar with the matter said.

Clayton, who came into government in 2017 as a political independent and veteran of law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, is seen as a contender for jobs including attorney general and treasury secretary, according to five sources. Two of the sources said Clayton has also expressed an interest in running the CIA.

Telefónica Pays $85 Million to Resolve U.S. Probe Into Bribery in Venezuela

Spanish telecom company Telefónica has agreed to pay more than $85.2 million to resolve an investigation into an alleged scheme to bribe Venezuelan officials to obtain preferential access to U.S. dollars, the Justice Department said.

A Telefónica subsidiary entered into a settlement with federal prosecutors filed in U.S. court in Manhattan on Friday. The agreement charges the subsidiary with conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law prohibiting companies from bribing foreign officials to secure a business advantage.

Binance boss hails crypto ‘golden age’ as Trump win fires up industry

“You could replace Gary Gensler with pretty much anybody on earth and it would get better,” said Alex Blume, founder of crypto investment adviser Two Prime.

Trump may find it legally difficult to remove Gensler, whose term ends in July 2026, as the SEC is an independent agency. Even so, Bill Hughes, senior counsel at Consensys, which was hit with a lawsuit this summer, hopes it will “press pause” on outstanding cases. “It’s the SEC’s first and most important job with crypto assets to right a lot of the wrongs of the previous leadership,” he said.

Amy Lynch, president of FrontLine Compliance and former examiner with the SEC, said it was likely the Trump administration would try to make the Commodity Futures Trading Commission the main market regulator, rather than the SEC. “I suspect that will happen and there will be fewer controls around the crypto asset markets.”

Sanjay Wadhwa: Remarks at Securities Enforcement Forum D.C. 2024

… At the West Coast iteration of this event, about six months ago, former Director Grewal discussed at length what parties can do to best position themselves when advocating for cooperation credit from the SEC.

I encourage you all to review the speech if you haven’t seen it. The speech distilled the message we have been very clearly conveying for some time: “work with us and we’ll work with you.”

In fiscal year 2024, we saw those efforts bear a lot of fruit, with market participants really stepping up their self-policing, self-reporting, remediation, and other cooperation. We saw this throughout the securities industry, in cases involving public companies, investment advisers, broker-dealers, and individuals, and in matters involving a range of violations, such as material misstatements, fraud, recordkeeping violations,[19] and controls failures related to cybersecurity.

That has continued in the new fiscal year. Just last week the Commission resolved several actions with JPMorgan and acknowledged that firm’s self-reports, remedial measures, and voluntary payments of over $100 million to harmed investors.