Market Indexes Seen as New Targets in SEC’s Greenwashing Fight

Market index providers like MSCI Inc. and S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC could be swept into the federal crackdown on greenwashing as the SEC mulls changes that would subject them to robust record-keeping requirements, exams, and less discretion to shape their products.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is exploring whether index providers, model portfolio providers, and pricing services—which are responsible for directing trillions of dollars’ worth of investments—should be regulated more like money managers rather than data managers.

The SEC raised concerns about “specialized indexes” that focus on targeted areas like environmental, social and governance issues in a broad information ...