The IOSCO Report is an example of how completely amorphous the concept of ESG/sustainable investment is in practice.  

The Report begins by saying that ESG investments may include factors having to do with issues such as "climate change or poor labor or governance practices."  It continues to say that regulators are troubled by the "lack of a consistent and comparable framework to aid retail investor understanding of sustainable finance."  

The absence of a…

NASAA's advice is well meaning. It is not entirely practical. Particularly in light of Regulation Best Interest, broker-dealers are less likely to give advice to clients on digital assets, as the risks of making a recommendation are too great. Many retail investors are not able to afford a registered investment adviser. So, as a practical matter, investors will take their advice from unregulated or free sources. NASAA should consider ways in which the quality of information available to…

The MSRB provided a description of the proposed changes as well as a reasonably comprehensive overview of CE requirements generally. Given that FINRA also , this would be a good time for firms to review their CE programs, both as to substance and as to process.

In adopting , the SEC effectively imposed costs on broker-dealers that made it prohibitively expensive for broker-dealers to provide recommendations or investment advice to retail customers. (See .) One of the many predictable outcomes of that decision is that investors look for advice elsewhere (i.e., from unregulated providers).