Lost Track of Fiduciary, ESG Rules? Here’s Where They Stand

Retirement advisers across the U.S. are pausing to catch their breath as the U.S. Labor Department’s benefits agency prepares for another round of rulemaking on the definition of a fiduciary and possibly reversing attempts to restrict sustainability investing.

DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration under former President Donald Trump issued a rules tsunami in its final months, rolling out proposals to permit advice by conflicted fiduciaries and curb environmental, social, and corporate governance investing and proxy voting.

“It’s been a lot for EBSA,” said Dan Doonan, executive director of the National Institute on Retirement Security. The Labor Department subagency of ...