From the Editor...

How are your independent directors paid, and on what do you base that compensation? There are a variety of information points available to aid mutual fund boards in determining compensation for directors, and one of the most widely used is the Independent Directors Council/Investment Company Institute Directors Practices Study. The 2017 version of the annual study provides the latest figures for compensation levels and detailed data on independent directors as a group and board policies and procedures. Fund Board Views provides an exclusive look at this study, which is officially released only to participating members of the IDC/ICI.

We also recently brought you the sad news that Marty Lybecker of Perkins Coie LLP passed away from complications resulting from a fall in August. Lybecker was well known among '40 Act lawyers and throughout the mutual fund industry. Friends and colleagues remembered his sharp mind, institutional knowledge of the '40 Act (as well as family law and banking regulations), and kindness. "It's a loss to the entire industry," said Molly Moynihan, a partner at Perkins Coie. A memorial service is being planned.

At Shearman & Sterling LLP, Buddy Donohue has been welcomed as an of counsel. Donohue—who has worked as an industry general counsel, in private practice, and at the Securities and Exchange Commission (twice) during his decades-long career—also serves as an independent director on the OppenheimerFunds Denver board. 

Before our August shutdown, we updated readers on the post-merger configuration of the Virtus Funds board, the 36(b) case against First Eagle Investment Management, and 10 Things boards are focusing on this fall. 

Be sure to read our latest Viewpoints, authored by Gwendolyn Williamson at Perkins Coie and covering compliance concerns that may arise in the current changing regulatory environment. In August, Rose DiMartino from Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP also contributed a Viewpoints, hers looking at potential conflicts of interest that should not go unmonitored. If you'd like to write a piece to FBV, please reach out by phone or email. 

For now,

Hillary Jackson, founding editor