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Corporate Governance

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Investors increasingly are directing capital to sustainable investment strategies that reflect environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. This substantial growth in ESG investing is occurring against the backdrop of an evolving regulatory environment, with different US regulators, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Labor (DOL) taking divergent approaches. Given that climate change and racial equality have been identified as key priorities for the Biden administration, we expect a significant shift in the US regulatory approach to ESG, although it may take some time for that regulatory framework to emerge. Meanwhile, the SEC Examination and Enforcement Staff will likely focus their efforts on identifying what they view to be inaccurate or incomplete disclosure on ESG-related issues, and on misconduct involving the management and sale of ESG investment products by asset managers and financial intermediaries.

Through Directive Release No. 2/2021/CVM/SIN, CVM issued guidelines on the minimum elements that must compose the compliance activities and the compliance report provided for in Articles 19 to 22 of CVM Instruction No. 558 (ICVM). The purpose of the document is to present to securities portfolio managers registered with CVM the topics that must be observed by the compliance area and, consequently, appear in the compliance report, as well as the corresponding tests that must be included. It is important to remember that, if the compliance area does not act independently or does not carry out its activities as required by ICVM 558, the institution may suffer sanctions, ranging from the issuance of an alert letter to, at the maximum, termination of society as a securities portfolio manager. The report regarding compliance activities in 2020, which must be prepared by April 2021, should observe the guidelines described in this directive release.

Please join us for a new weekly video series, hosted by Baker McKenzie’s North America Government Enforcement partners Tom Firestone and Jerome Tomas.

This weekly briefing is available on demand and will cover hot topics and current enforcement actions related to white collar crime and criminal investigations in the US and abroad to arm you with the information you need to start your business week.

As one of the largest global law firms, we will call upon our exceptionally deep and broad bench of white collar experts throughout the world and particularly in the commercial hubs of Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America to join our weekly discussion series.