From the Editor...

There is always a lot of talk of merger & acquisition activity in the investment management business, and there's been no shortage of big deals in the past year. Often times, these deals—big and small—impact the fund boards involved, as governance and oversight is consolidated along with fund lineups. This was the case in the Invesco-OppenheimerFunds deal, which will result in only two boards surviving, but not the case in Victory-USAA, where both boards look to be remaining intact. The deal recently announced between Federated Investors and PNC Financial Services Group will involve all of PNC's funds being reorganized into new or existing Federated funds, but no one involved would expressly tell us what will become of the PNC Funds board. We'll share further details as we get them.

In litigation news, ICI Mutual has published its annual Claims Trends report, which breaks down what's happening in various areas of litigation—including cases alleging violations of section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940—reviews regulatory developments, and summarizes the claims it's been seeing on the policies it offers. Take a look at our coverage of the report, and at the report itself for more detail. 

Our latest 10 Things list offers suggestions of what shareholders should know about the boards overseeing their funds, the latest A Seat at the Table provides an in-depth look at Morningstar Funds, and don't miss the latest issue of FBV Monthly, a pdf that contains all of our stories published during the month of April.

For now,

Hillary Jackson, founding editor