Ropes & Gray Partners Discuss ESG In The Wall Street Journal Pro Private Equity

ERISA partner Josh Lichtenstein and asset management partner Isabel Dische are quoted in a Dec. 6 article published by The Wall Street Journal Pro Private Equity titled “Biden May Give a Boost to Private Equity’s ESG Push” that discusses how President-elect Joe Biden may give a boost to private equity’s ESG push. 

“In the years since Trump’s inauguration, the SEC has begun sending letters to some investment managers asking for information on their use of ESG factors in investments, their ESG fund marketing and other aspects of the ESG strategy, said Isabel in the article. Isabel notes that the SEC’s recent interest [is] less due to political factors than longstanding concern with how firms use ESG factors in their investment processes. The example of Europe, where ESG investing is far more widely adopted than in the U.S. and disclosure and regulation of such strategies more stringent, is a major influence, Isabel says. 

In discussing the Labor Department’s ESG Rules issued on Oct. 30, Josh states that “The final rule is significantly toned down from the draft proposal, which would have essentially placed ESG strategies in a special category and made investing in them much more difficult.” 

The article was part of Private Equity Analyst Magazine’s December issue, which focused on impact investing and ESG.