From the Editor...

Happy New Year!

With the start of any new year, there is the possibility of new opportunities and change. This year, 2018, is no different, of course. Already, two new commissioners have been sworn in to the Securities and Exchange Commission, filling long-empty seats, and a number of independent directors have stepped into leadership positions following end-of-2017 retirements. At least one high-profile fund industry lawyer has taken on a new challenge, and several industry players are moving into new sectors of the market. We are keen to document all the happenings of 2018 that impact those serving in the nation's mutual fund boardrooms.

One of the most surprising moves of the first two weeks of the year came last week when Jay Baris traded in his position as chair of Morrison & Foerster's Investment Management Group for a partnership at Shearman & Sterling. At Shearman, he'll join Buddy Donohue, Nathan Greene, Paul Schreiber, and others in a growing practice.  

In the boardroom, American Century has named the board that will oversee its soon-to-launch suite of exchange-traded funds (while a new director takes the helm of its Kansas City board) and impact investing firm Impact Shares continues its search for directors to serve on the board of its ETFs.

Mutual Fund Directors Forum kicked off 2018 by publishing a new paper aimed at guiding boards on D&O insurance, a response to the uptick in litigation and increased regulation over the past several decades. And industry consultant Avi Nachmany has penned an exclusive Viewpoints for FBV, examining what directors should know—and ask—about asset-allocation strategies and protocols.

We're continuing to monitor the SEC's Division of Investment Management and its review of director duties, and also will continue to move forward conversations about some of the biggest issues from 2017. 

We certainly hope you had a chance to relax over the holiday season and recharge for the new year, which remains—with all its possibilities—mostly ahead of us. 

For now,

Hillary Jackson, founding editor