From the Editor...

This is a big year for the Invesco Funds board, as Invesco's acquisition of OppenheimerFunds is due to close this quarter and then the post-deal work will begin in earnest—including merging the two OppenheimerFunds boards into the two Invesco Funds boards. In the midst of all the deal-related work the Invesco Funds board is surely doing, the directors also have had to handle succession planning as independent Chairman Bruce Crockett hits mandatory retirement age this year. Crockett will stay on an extra year to see the board through the acquisition, but he'll work closely with newly named vice chairman and heir apparent Christopher Wilson, who spoke with us recently about some of what's been going on inside the Invesco Funds boardroom. 

Industry consolidation is a central theme in Management Practice Inc.'s latest survey of fund director compensation, as it is shaping what boards look like and how much directors are paid within specific segments of the market. While MPI doesn't release all its proprietary data, Partner Jay Keeshan did give us a good idea of where the numbers are on comp and other aspects of the fund governance industry. 

Another big area of interest recently has been the idea of converting open-end funds into exchange-traded funds, and our latest Viewpoints covers what fund boards should be thinking about and asking during just such an event. Brian McCabe and Teo Larsson-Sax from Ropes & Gray do a great job of detailing the fund board's role in the process and covering potential issues that may make their way to the boardroom. It's early days yet, but this may be coming to a boardroom near you before too long. 

In the legal realm, another 36(b) case has been dismissed, this time against Security Investors, which had been a defendant in a case against Western Asset Management Co. The charges against WAMCO had been dismissed earlier this year. 

We hope you all had a lovely long Memorial Day weekend and were able to take a moment to remember those who died serving. 

For now,

Hillary Jackson, founding editor