WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York-based investment adviser WisdomTree Asset Management agreed to pay $4 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges over misstatements and compliance failures relating to what the firm said was an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment strategy.

From March 2020 until November 2022, WisdomTree said three ESG exchange-traded funds did not invest in companies involved in fossil fuels and tobacco, but the SEC found the funds in fact invested in companies that were involved in coal mining and transportation, natural gas extraction and distribution, and retail sales of tobacco products.

WisdomTree agreed to a cease-and-desist order and censure and to pay a $4 million civil penalty, without admitting or denying the SEC's findings.