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DWS CEO Stefan Hoops has echoed<\/strong> predictions that European managers and firms which \u201ccontinue to advocate ESG\u201d will be the beneficiaries of outflows from US asset managers in the future. Speaking to analysts for the listed asset manager\u2019s Q1 results, Hoops said he \u201cwould not expect an increase in interest in ESG funds\u201d, but firms who have stuck to their beliefs on ESG would be the beneficiaries of any future inflows. He also said that ESG-lite funds which include defence companies or have recently added defence companies will have seen strong performance over the past 18 months and will attract interest from \u201cpeople that are not really directly targeting ESG\u201d.<\/p>\n The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)<\/strong> is no longer a member of the IFRS Sustainability Jurisdictional Working Group or an observer of the Sustainability Standards Advisory Forum, a spokesperson from the standard setter has confirmed. The first group aims to enhance compatibility between the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)<\/a> and ongoing jurisdictional efforts on sustainability disclosures.<\/p>\n Its members include the Chinese Ministry of Finance, the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the European Commission. The advisory forum has been established to support the IFRS Foundation and ISSB in its objectives, formalise engagement with relevant jurisdictional and regional bodies, and facilitate technical discussions on standard-setting issues. An SEC spokesperson told Responsible Investor: \u201cConsistent with the policy direction of new SEC leadership, the SEC withdrew its membership in the JWG and its observer status on the SSAF.\u201d<\/p>\n The Church of England Pensions Board (CoEPB)<\/strong> will support a shareholder proposal calling on workers\u2019 pay at Next, it announced<\/a> this week. Co-ordinated by ShareAction, the resolution<\/a> calls on the retail giant to disclose its approach to setting base pay and conduct a cost\/benefit analysis of uplifting pay for all its UK workers to the \u201creal living wage\u201d. It has been filed by AXA Investment Managers, Scottish Widows, Trust for London, the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and Cardano Group. \u201cGrowing income inequality presents a systemic risk to our portfolio and the communities our members are living in and will retire into,\u201d said Clare Richards, director, social, responsible investment, at the CoEPB. \u201cGreater disclosure by Next of its pay practices would demonstrate how the company seeks to balance the needs of its stakeholders and lowest paid workers.\u201d Next\u2019s AGM will be held on 15 May.<\/p>\n Two anti-ESG laws have been reintroduced<\/strong> to the US Congress by Republican politicians. The Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act (H.R. 2988) and Ensuring Sound Guidance Act of 2025 (H.R. 2358) were passed by the House of Representatives under the previous administration, but never made it to the senate. The bills, introduced by Rick Allen of Georgia and Andy Barr of Kentucky, would prevent non-pecuniary ESG factors being used in default investment options for retirement funds and specify that \u201cpecuniary factors may not be subordinated to or limited by non-pecuniary factors in determining whether an investment advisor is acting in the best interest of a customer\u201d, respectively.<\/p>\n The Canadian University of Guelph<\/strong> has completed the divestment of fossil fuels from its C$520 million ($376 million; \u20ac332 million) endowment after becoming one of the first universities in the country to make such a commitment in 2020. The university said it has achieved a 74 percent reduction in the weighted average carbon intensity of its portfolio against a 2018 baseline as part of the divestment plan, which allows an exception for specific investments which \u201csupport the transition to a low carbon economy\u201d.<\/p>\n New Zealand\u2019s External Reporting Board (XRB)<\/strong> has released<\/a> a request for information on the value of international alignment of climate reporting to relevant stakeholders. The deadline to respond is 13 June. This is the first of two RFIs the XRB will issue this year. The second will seek information about the potential need for reduced disclosures for smaller companies reporting and differential reporting for specific sectors. This will be published once the government announces its decisions on reporting thresholds.<\/p>\n