Top of the Agenda - Governance

Colorado firms to merge funds, eliminate one board

By Hillary Jackson

Colorado mutual fund firms Shelton Capital Management and ICON Advisers this week announced a restructuring deal that will involve ICON's 17 funds being transferred into a Shelton Capital trust or merged into similar funds in the trust and overseen by the Shelton Funds board. The ICON Funds board will cease ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

AB Funds adds independent

By Hillary Jackson

The board overseeing Alliance Bernstein Funds has added a new independent director to its ranks, part of its regular practice of "periodic refreshment" designed to maintain the right mix of age and experience in the boardroom, according to Chairman Marshall Turner. The addition of Jorge Bermudez bumps the size of ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

DWS Funds board shrinks as three depart after decades of service

By Hillary Jackson

The board of DWS Funds has seen some personnel changes recently, with three long-serving independent directors leaving the board's ranks in the past year. As a result, the all-independent board, which oversees 79 funds, is down to seven members. It is unclear if the empty seats will be filled or ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Guggenheim, Rydex Funds boards merge

By Hillary Jackson

The boards overseeing Guggenheim Funds and Rydex Funds have merged into a unitary board with nine independent directors and one interested member. The Rydex Funds board had remained intact since what was then Guggenheim Partners acquired a controlling interest in Rydex parent Security Benefit Corp. nearly 10 years ago, even ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

BNY Mellon ETFs planned for 2020, oversight TBD

By Hillary Jackson

BNY Mellon is planning to launch broad-indexed equity and fixed-income exchange-traded funds in 2020 and has yet to name a board to oversee the funds. In an October filing for the eight ETFs, the adviser listed only a single interested board member, Jeff Prusnofsky, a vice president and senior managing ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

GSAM board to add two new independents

By Hillary Jackson

A board overseeing two Goldman Sachs Asset Management trusts is asking shareholders to approve two new independent directors, boosting the number around the table up to eight. The board has been chaired by Jessica Palmer for nearly two years and is the oldest of GSAM's five fund boards.

The board, which ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<