From the Editor...

The SEC issued two new rule proposals last week, and the move has mutual fund governance professionals worried about the additional responsibilities that would have to be shouldered by fund boards under finalized rules. By and large, board counsel is not unhappy with how boards have been treated in the various individual rules that have been finalized and proposed in the past several years, but there definitely is concern about the cumulative effect. Read more here.

Pondering directors' workload and responsibility naturally leads to thoughts about how they are compensated for the work they do. Management Practice Inc. has analyzed the most recent numbers and released its annual survey on director comp and other board practices. We brought you an exclusive early look at the data, which reveals some interesting results and developments.

Board practices and industry standards are always developing, and one such change in recent years is the number of boards headed up by an independent chair. The board overseeing Edward D. Jones & Co.'s mutual funds has joined the trend—and consolidated governance to move forward with a unified board. Don't miss our look inside the BridgeBuilder Trust boardroom, which is a bit different now than it was just a few weeks ago. 

In other news, our most-recent 10 Things list covers what boards should be doing ahead of the compliance deadlines for the new rules on derivatives use and fair valuation practices, a link to ICI Mutual's latest Claims Trends report, and a detailed and insightful Q&A on the open-end fund-to-ETF conversion process. 

As we head into summer, we're wishing you good health and relaxing days (between meetings, that is). 

For now, 

Hillary Jackson, founding editor