From the Editor...

Big changes are happening in the boardroom at Dimensional Fund Advisors, where the directors oversee both open-end and exchange-traded funds (some that have been converted from one to the other). The end of this year will see three original directors, who have served for the entire 40 years of the firm's existence, retire, and five new directors—three independent and two interested—start the onboarding process. This is, of course, all dependent on approval from shareholders when they vote on Dec. 29. Read our story for a look inside the boardroom of this Austin-based quant investor.

We also recently looked inside the RBB Fund boardroom, where Chairman Arnold Reichman and the board are in succession planning and recruitment mode. The board already has added one new independent director—the first woman to join the group—and is keeping diversity and inclusion front of mind as it plans out the next several years and assesses its needs going forward. Don't miss this fascinating interview with Reichman, who has served for three decades on the RBB Fund board (17 as chair). 

In the courts, the plaintiffs' bar has targeted American Century and its funds board with accusations of "closet indexing." The suit alleges violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and because the funds board signs off on the prospectus, the independent and interested directors are named as defendants. American Century maintains the allegations are false. We'll keep an eye on this one. 

Make sure to read the latest issue of FBV Monthly, a downloadable PDF with all the stories we published in October, to catch up on whatever you might've missed recently. 

And finally, Happy Thanksgiving. We hope this year's holiday is more relaxing than last year, when we were still very much in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, and filled with family and friends (in person, rather than on a computer screen). Enjoy the long weekend, and be well. We will be off on Thursday and Friday this week, resuming our regular publishing schedule on Monday, Nov. 29. 

For now,

Hillary Jackson, founding editor