The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued an unusual warning to the country's largest asset managers and a climate-focused investor group over their involvement in a 2021 campaign that successfully replaced board directors at ExxonMobil. The commission published a letter detailing its concerns, according to Inside Climate News.
The warning targets the role these investors played in the proxy fight, which was seen as a landmark moment for climate activism. The SEC's decision to publicly admonish the participants marks a notable shift in how regulators may treat coordinated investor efforts to influence corporate governance on environmental issues.
The full contents of the SEC letter were not detailed in the report. Still, the warning is significant for asset managers and activists alike, as it could affect how future climate-related shareholder campaigns are structured and reviewed.