What ESG-Related Disclosures Should the SEC Mandate? (Financial Economist Roundtable)

The Financial Economist Roundtable weighs in on the SEC’s proposed climate-related disclosure rules. Their advice: limit rules to ESG related-cash flows and avoid “proxy legislation” of social and environmental policy.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0015198X.2022.2044718

The Financial Economist Roundtable (FER) is a group of senior financial economists who have made significant contributions to the finance literature and seek to apply their knowledge to current policy debates. FER was founded in 1993 and meets annually. Members attending an FER meeting discuss specific policy issues on which the FER may adopt statements. When the FER issues a statement, it reflects a consensus among at least two-thirds of the attending members, and all the members who sign it support it. The list of signatories for the 2021 statement can be found at http://www.financialeconomistsroundtable.com/.

Author: Christopher K. Merker, Ph.D., CFA

Christopher K. Merker, PhD, CFA, is a director with Private Asset Management at Robert W. Baird & Co. and executive-in-residence and co-director of the Marquette S-Lab. He is also founder and chair of the board of Water + Energy Forward, a green bank focused on market-based climate solutions. He holds a PhD in investment governance and fiduciary effectiveness from Marquette University, where he has taught “Sustainable Finance” since 2009. He publishes Sustainable Finance and is co-author of The Trustee Governance Guide: The Five Imperatives of 21st Century Investing.