"[W]hile DOL continues to acknowledge that ETI factors can be a 'tie-breaker,' it cautions plan fiduciaries against converting factors that could be Collateral Benefits into relevant investment return economic factors, such as by concluding that the ESG factors 'promote positive general market trends or industry growth.' Instead, FAB 2018-01 states that fiduciaries must 'not too readily treat ESG factors as economically relevant.' ... DOL hypothesizes that plan participants could have competing views on Collateral Benefits and that a fiduciary could thus violate his or her duty of loyalty by favoring some participants' views over others."

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