Viewpoints

Articles written by industry professionals for Fund Board Views, may be opinion, commentary, educational/instructional.

Fund Boards: Considerations for conversations with pricing vendors

By Jon Jacobs, ICE Data Services

Valuation is one of the most important functions performed by mutual funds. Federal securities laws require board approval of a fund’s valuation procedures and those of its service providers. Results of Deloitte’s annual Fair Valuation Pricing Survey indicate that fund directors continue to be involved in due diligence of pricing ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Global regulation and its impact in U.S. fund boardrooms

By Julian Sluyters

The Investment Company Act of 1940 has been the gold standard of mutual fund regulation globally since its inception. Since enacting the UCITS brand in the mid-1980s, European and other foreign regulators have been playing catch-up. All that has changed since the most recent financial crisis.

Over the past several years, ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

What Are Interval Funds, and Why Should Trustees Care?

By Dave Carson, Ultimus Fund Solutions

With an interval fund, as with any relatively innovative tool you can use, you may need to tilt your head and look at it from different perspectives for a while to determine what it really is and how to use it. Best applications may take some time to be realized, ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Op-Ed: The Must Know of D&O

By Paulita Pike, Ropes & Gray

For most, D&O insurance is as exciting a topic as tooth enamel. In fact, prevailing views about the two (insurance and enamel) are likely quite similar: Each is important to have in the appropriate amount, but details are deferred to the “experts.” In this framework, the expert is king. When ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Funds as Plaintiffs: A New Set of Questions

By Marissa Parker and Joseph T. Kelleher, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP

Last year, plaintiffs filed an unprecedented 412 new federal class-action securities cases, meaning that the “likelihood of securities litigation against U.S. exchange-listed companies was greater in 2017 than in any previous year.”[1] In the first quarter of 2017, more cases alleging violations of the Exchange Act’s Section 10(b)/Rule 10b-5 were ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

In shift to asset allocation, on what should fund directors focus?

By Avi Nachmany

This past year was an important period for the investment management industry. Globally, extraordinary stock market appreciation triggered rising flows into pooled investment funds (mutual funds, ETFs, UCITs, CITs, etc.). Such inflows totaled a record of near $2 trillion. Yet, participation in the industry’s organic growth remains highly concentrated, with ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<