From the Editor...

There is always a lot going on in, and around, the boardroom, and these virtual times are no different. Some would say fund directors are busier than ever.

In the Schwab Funds boardroom, the directors overseeing Charles Schwab & Co.'s mutual and exchange-traded funds are in the process of recruiting for a seat that will open up at the end of the year when a board veteran retires. The directors who sit on the Schwab Funds board also are about to enter new territory as the adviser prepares to offer its first actively managed semi-transparent ETF and its first ESG-focused fund. That means education in the boardroom to get everyone up to speed on the new product. 

The Touchstone Funds directors are on their own learning curve, familiarizing themselves with the new assets that will come under their purview once adviser Touchstone Investments acquires 12 AIG funds later this year. Will any of the AIG Funds board members join the Touchstone Funds boardroom? Read our story to find out. 

Who is about to join the PIMCO board overseeing almost 30 of the Newport Beach, Calif.-based adviser's closed-end funds? She's an investment banking veteran with a lot of corporate board experience, and she'll enter the boardroom as the newest independent director next month, provided shareholders elect her. Another board, overseeing Pioneer Funds, has also welcomed a new director with investment banking and prior board experience. He joined March 22 and actually bumped up the number of board members around the table. 

With all this change going on in boardrooms, it might be a good idea to think about self-evaluations, and MFDF's Joanne Skerrett has written a very informative piece on just that. Give it a read!

Elsewhere in the market, the SEC is focusing on ESG, and industry lawyers suggest that fund boards should as well, and ICI Mutual has provided a look at the litigation and claims landscape in the fund industry. What's the latest with section 36(b) lawsuits? What other trends are emerging that have insurers paying attention? Don't skip the story.

We're focused exclusively on boards and boardrooms here at FBV, and our goal is always to provide the information that will help independent directors make the best decisions possible. Thanks for reading! 

For now,

Hillary Jackson, founding editor