Viewpoints

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

In-Person Board Meetings Are So 2019
By Jay G. Baris and Nathan J. Greene, Sidley Austin LLP
For all of us, video meetings are the new normal, and at least for now few directors yearn to return to the days of traveling to board meetings. This sudden change in circumstance revealed the virtual elephant in the virtual boardroom: Has the in-person meeting requirement outlived its usefulness? Should ...  >> CONTINUE READING <<<

 

 

How, why fund boards should leverage internal audit
By Kate Ives
Did you know that May is International Internal Audit Awareness Month? I wanted to use this little-known holiday to remind mutual fund board members about an often underutilized resource that can help them navigate some of the new risks posed by COVID-19.
 
Internal audit is normally a function of the adviser. ...  >> CONTINUE READING <<<

 

 

Fund Boards: Much has changed; expectations have not
By Todd Spillane, Mercury Compliance and Risk Services
As the world progresses through these unprecedented and difficult economic times, mutual fund boards are faced with enormous issues to oversee the funds in their charge. Boards must feel certain that management companies have a solid plan to address the concerns currently facing each fund complex. Below I will highlight ...  >> CONTINUE READING <<<

 

 

A decade since Jones v. Harris: Where fund boards stand
By Kelley Howes, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act imposes a fiduciary duty on advisers with respect to receipt of compensation for services they provide to registered investment companies. The only U.S. Supreme Court decision to consider section 36(b), Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., was handed down on March 30, 2010—a full ...  >> CONTINUE READING <<<

 

 

Directors: Put fulcrum fee funds on your radar now

By Bob Kennedy, FUSE Research Network
Top-level industry data suggests that the active strategies overseen by mutual fund boards are facing an uncertain future as passive products continue to attract a disproportionate share of flows and ongoing fee pressure chips away at their margins. As a result, responding to fee pressure continues to occupy an ever-growing ...  >> CONTINUE READING <<<

 

 

Guide to derivatives rule 2.0 (and how we got here)
By Nathaniel Segal, Vedder Price P.C.
In late November 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission checked another item off its ambitious rulemaking agenda with a rule proposal involving one of the more complex but increasingly relevant areas of fund regulation: the use of derivatives instruments by registered funds. Proposed rule 18f-4 under the Investment Company Act ...  >> CONTINUE READING <<<

 

 


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Top of the Agenda - Regulatory
In-person voting relief extended through year-end

Mutual fund boards can continue conducting business—including voting on contract approvals and renewals and other important matters—virtually through the end of 2020, according to the Securities ...
Top of the Agenda - Governance
Recruiting in the time of coronavirus

Mutual fund boards seem well on their way to mastering the art of conducting business virtually, but one area that may still be a challenge during ...