Judge Reed O'Connor of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas has held that American Airlines breached its fiduciary duty of loyalty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by having BlackRock manage a portion of its 401(k) plan assets. O'Connor said some BlackRock votes in proxy fights are examples of "ESG activism." ERISA lawyer Josh Lichtenstein said the case "is not about ESG funds at all" and that "this, to me, looks like the same claim could be brought against literally any 401(k) plan in America."

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Paul Atkins, whom President-elect Donald Trump intends to nominate for chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has historically been skeptical of enforcement actions that punish corporations, arguing that they unfairly harm shareholders. He is expected to favor a focus on direct investor losses and fraud. Wall Street is likely to experience a shift in focus of SEC enforcement under Atkins from under current Chair Gary Gensler.

Outgoing Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has advised the next administration to maintain investor protections, warning that broadening the definition of accredited investors or reducing disclosure requirements could harm retail traders. "Investors get to decide what risks to take as long as the issuers have been putting out full and fair, truthful disclosures," Gensler said.

Rostin Behnam, in his final official remarks as chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, emphasized his ongoing commitment to advocating for the regulation of cash markets for digital asset commodities. Despite stepping down, Behnam plans to continue pushing for the CFTC to address regulatory gaps in these markets, citing concerns over customer protection and market stability.

The Treasury Department and IRS have proposed changes to SECURE 2.0 provisions regarding Roth catch-up contributions and automatic enrollment. Under the new proposal, employers would no longer be required to mandate Roth catch-up contributions for employees earning $145,000 or more. This change aims to simplify plan administration and address cost concerns raised by plan sponsors.