U.S. SEC investigating Goldman Sachs over ESG funds – WSJ

(Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s asset-management division over its funds that look to invest based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The investigation is focused on Goldman Sachs’ mutual-funds division, the report said on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The firm manages at least four funds that have clean-energy or ESG in their names.

Goldman Sachs did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The SEC earlier this year proposed a pair of rule changes aimed at stamping out unfounded claims by funds on their ESG credentials, and enforcing more standardization of such disclosures.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)