SEC orders Invesco to pay $17.5M over misleading investors about ESG assets

SEC office

Invesco Advisors agreed to pay $17.5 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle allegations that the company misled investors about the extent of its assets that included environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.

The SEC also faulted Invesco for lacking any written policy defining ESG integration, which the agency warned firms about in April. The settlement is an example of heightened scrutiny the SEC has placed on firms that fail to comply with its updated marketing rule.

In 2019, an internal Invesco report found that at least $370 billion of assets under management at the company were at risk of being abandoned by clients who would move to other firms, because they wanted ESG-based investments, according to the order.

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