PHILADELPHIA – Stradley Ronon Fiduciary Governance Group Co-Chair George Michael Gerstein was showcased in Bloomberg Law’s “ESG Investing Spotlight” for his 2017 report, “Climate Change Defines the Fiduciary,” and his analysis of Department of Labor (DOL) Field Assistance Bulletin 2018-01, which is the DOL’s most recent pronouncement on environmental, social and governance investing for fiduciaries of retirement plans.
Stradley’s fiduciary governance group counsels investment committees and intermediaries, such as investment advisers, banks, broker-dealers, retirement plan/IRA service providers, insurance providers and mutual fund directors, by identifying and making sense of this regulatory patchwork and helping clients understand the interplay of federal and state rules on 1) whether they owe a fiduciary or best interest duty to their customers, and 2) if so, the specific requirements that flow from such status. Moreover, the group keeps clients ahead of the curve by identifying emerging trends in the fiduciary landscape, such as environmental, social & governance (ESG) investing, through fiduciarygovernanceblog.com, webinars and written alerts. The fiduciary governance group also actively tracks the burgeoning state legislative efforts to impose fiduciary or comparable investment advice standards of care.
The fiduciary governance group leverages its technical understanding of both federal and state fiduciary rules to advise clients across regulatory schemes. The group seeks to help clients scale compliance programs under a particular regulatory regime to comply with other applicable fiduciary rules and requirements. The fiduciary governance group also helps identify the daylight between the fiduciary requirements of federal and state statutes and regulations.
Gerstein advises financial institutions on the fiduciary and prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA. As co-chair of the fiduciary governance group, he assists clients with tracking, and understanding, the numerous fiduciary developments at the federal and state levels, including the rules and regulations of governmental plans. He also advises clients with respect to the fiduciary duty implications of ESG investing.
About Stradley Ronon
Counseling clients since 1926, Stradley Ronon has helped private and public companies – from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations – achieve their goals by providing pragmatic, value-driven legal counsel. With offices in eight strategic locations, our responsive team of more than 200 attorneys seamlessly addresses the full spectrum of our clients’ needs, ranging from sophisticated corporate transactions to complex commercial litigation.