Added Perspective

Online resource of governance-related white papers, research, special reports and other material.

Diversity and Investment: A Summary of the Research

By Theresa Hamacher, for Investment Adviser Association

Fifty-six studies, 50 years of data, and a clear consensus: There is no trade-off between diversity and investment performance. That’s the capsule summary of the second edition of Diversity and Investment: A Summary of the Research. “More specifically,” says author Theresa Hamacher, president of Versanture Consulting (and independent chair of ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Obfuscation in Mutual Funds

By Ed deHaan, Yang Song, Chloe Xie, and Christina Zhu

Mutual funds hold 32% of the U.S. equity market and comprise 58% of retirement savings, yet retail investors consistently make poor choices when selecting funds. Theory suggests poor choices are partially due to fund managers creating unnecessarily complex disclosures and fee structures to keep investors uninformed and obfuscate poor performance. ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Morningstar Funds' Hamacher in op-ed: Boards need term limits

Theresa Hamacher, independent chair of Morningstar Funds, has penned a commentary piece for Barron's in which she argues that corporate directors—including mutual fund directors—should have term limits.

In the June 23 article, Hamacher maintains that term limits are justified for three main reasons: Directors are not good at self-reviews, directors tend to overvalue ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Claims Trends: A Review of Claims Activity in the Mutual Fund Industry (January 2021–March 2022)

By ICI Mutual

ICI Mutual’s annual Claims Trends reports on significant civil lawsuits, regulatory enforcement proceedings, and operational errors involving fund advisers and their affiliates, registered investment companies, and fund directors and officers. The publication is designed to assist ICI Mutual’s insureds to better assess and manage the risks associated with such matters, ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

PwC 2021 Mutual Fund Directors Governance Survey

PwC 2021 Mutual Fund Directors Governance Survey has gauged the views of mutual fund directors across a diverse range of complexes from large to small, as well as geography, on a variety of matters. The survey was designed to identify insights from the boardroom on matters including industry opportunities and ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Women on Boards: Progress Report 2021

By Christina Milhomem, MSCI

MSCI ESG Research has been tracking and reporting on board gender diversity since 2009. In this annual Progress Report we provide an overview of gender diversity changes across all 2,887 constituents of the MSCI ACWI Index as of Oct. 29, 2021. We have highlighted trends across different markets and at ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<