Top of the Agenda - Governance

Franklin Templeton ETFs name independent chair, enlarge board

By Hillary Jackson

The Franklin Templeton ETF Trust board has named an independent chair for the first time since forming in 2016 and has added a fourth independent director to the boardroom. Rohit Bhagat, who has served as lead independent director for the past eight years, succeeded Jennifer Johnson, CEO and president of ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Deloitte: Boards evolve, refine valuation practices two years on

By Hillary Jackson

Two years after the new rule on fair valuation practices went into effect, the mutual fund industry—including boards—continues to evolve and refine the process, particularly with regard to valuation risk assessment, according new data from Deloitte. "More risks are being identified, [but] there is good control linkage and mapping between ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Macquarie case gives boards opportunity to review policies, procedures

By Hillary Jackson

A Macquarie Investment Management trust's nearly $80 million settlement with the Securities Exchange Commission, announced earlier this month, centered on valuations of illiquid assets and involved nearly a dozen of the adviser's retail mutual funds. The board overseeing those funds was not found to be at fault, but still the ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Fund boards find diversity efforts pay off

By Hillary Jackson

Building and maintaining a diverse membership has become a top priority for many mutual fund boards in recent years, and new data shows this focus is reaping rewards. The number of boardroom seats occupied by women and individuals representing a racial or ethnic minority group remains high relative to years ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Boards prefer in-person, but still want flexibility to meet virtually

By Hillary Jackson

Mutual fund boards continue to take advantage of relief from in-person voting requirements that the Securities and Exchange Commission provided four years ago, at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. And while new data shows that boards are not relying on the conditional relief as much as they did during ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

AllianceBernstein to move to unitary board in 2025

AllianceBernstein Funds are moving to a unitary board structure, consolidating two separate boards into one with six independent and two interested directors overseeing all 94 open-end, closed-end, and exchange-traded funds. The move reduces the overall number of directors by almost half, as seven current directors will step off at year-end ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<