Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted 4-1 to support final rules addressing investment fund names, including those that purport to factor ESG criteria in investment decision making. A key goal of this update was to address "greenwashing" and other activities that could mislead investors about the sustainability or impact considerations of an investment fund. The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance was broadly supportive of this effort when proposed rules were released last year.

"We are excited that the Commission approved these rules," said Fran Seegull, President of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance. "This will be one important step towards ensuring the ESG and impact investing markets continue to grow with integrity. While we analyze the substance of the final rules for fund names, we also encourage the SEC to move swiftly to address other critical items on its disclosure agenda, like Human Capital Management and Climate disclosure."

The SEC's Investor Advisory Committee is also slated to meet on Thursday, September 21, to consider a draft recommendation regarding Human Capital Management (HCM). The SEC has indicated that this would be a priority area, but has yet to publish a formal proposal for more consistent and comprehensive reporting of company workforce, diversity and supply chain practices.