CEI Comment on Employee Benefits Security Administration Proposed Rule "Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights"
The Department of Labor’s present proceeding to safeguard the retirement future of beneficiaries of pension funds governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a welcome initiative. Parallel to its previous notice of proposed rulemaking “Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments” (RIN 1210-AB95),[1] the current proposed rule clarifies the requirements of ERISA in a rapidly changing investment landscape in which both asset managers and the non-financial interests seeking to influence them are in very different positions than in the era when the law was originally passed.