From the Editor...
It's no secret that the Securities and Exchange Commission has been busy in recent years proposing and finalizing a record number of regulations that impact mutual funds and the boards that oversee them. It can be a lot to keep track of, so we've devoted our latest 10 Things... list to the rules and regs that are likely to be the most relevant to independent fund directors. It should be a handy resource for tracking compliance dates for finalized rules and the status of various proposals. We hope readers find it useful.
In the boardroom, there has been some activity of late. We were the first to report that recently retired industry lawyer Barry Barbash has a new gig as chair of the Pershing Square USA Ltd. closed-end fund and that Neuberger Berman Funds is in the process of replacing Admiral James Stavridis, who has served in that boardroom since 2015. We also covered the latest happenings at Advisors Series Trust, a follow up of sorts to our one-on-one interview with David Mertens that we conducted last November after he became independent chair of the board. What Mertens told us then is pretty much just what's happening now, and the new details provide insight into how the board has acted on its plans to reshape itself in the face of resignations and retirements.
We also recently published a roundup of what's happening with closed-end funds and activist investors. There continues to be new activity in that space and developments in ongoing efforts, so we'll run our Closed-End Funds Roundup as things progress along in the courts, in boardrooms, and elsewhere. Feel free to let us know if you have news that should be included.
And finally, our FBV Monthly June issue is out! It's a handy PDF containing all the articles we published during the month that we believe is a great resource to have on hand—print it, save it to your desktop, refer to it if you missed something or need a refresher.
Hope you're enjoying summer and keeping cool!
For now,
Hillary Jackson, founding editor