Invesco Advisers Inc. has agreed to pay a $17.5 million fine to resolve the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s claims that it misinterpreted how many of its assets were ESG integrated.
SEC said on Friday that the company made misleading statements between 2020 and 2022 that 70 to 90 percent of Invesco Ltd assets under management integrated ESG factors into their investment decisions.
However, the agency found a significant amount of those assets were in passive exchange-traded funds without ESG considerations. Furthermore, Invesco Advisers reportedly had no formal policy defining ESG integration.
“Companies should be straightforward with their clients and investors rather than seeking to capitalize on investing trends and buzzwords,” said Sanjay Wadhwa, acting director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, in a statement.
Invesco Advisers didn’t admit to or deny the SEC’s allegations.
“Invesco Advisers Inc cooperated fully with the investigation and will continue to take a client-led approach of offering investment strategies tailored to the specific investment objectives of its clients,” Andrea Raphael, a spokeswoman for Invesco, said in a statement.
Raphael said the agency’s order “makes no allegations or findings related to disclosures about specific funds or investment strategies.”
