From the Editor...

Happy 2024! Somehow, we are in the middle of January already, and the holidays are getting smaller and smaller in the review mirror. As always, the New Year is off to a busy start and we're here working hard to keep readers informed. 

Our first one-on-one interview with a board chair this year was with Kelly Tompkins, who took the helm of First American Money Market Funds on Jan. 1 and has a packed agenda for 2024. His board is watching the Federal Reserve, working to comply with new regulations, onboarding a new director, and focusing on developments that affect the whole market. Take a peak inside the First American MMFs boardroom and see how this board is handling issues of the day. 

Another board facing changes is GSAM Funds, which is merging this week with the Goldman Sachs ETFs board to form a unitary governance structure. This consolidation reverses the efforts of a former chair who, back in the Twenty-Teens, created four stand-alone boards to function alongside the legacy open-end funds boards. Find out why a number of traditional fund complexes have folded in the boards they launched in recent years to oversee new ETFs, and how the GSAM directors are handling the consolidation.

We had guest authors pen our latest 10 Things... list, which looks at what boards who oversee bank loan funds should be thinking about and discussing. ICI's Matt Thornton and IDC's Lisa Hamman did a thorough job with the list, preparing independent directors for what might be coming down the pike for the funds they oversee. Don't miss it—or the prior 10 Things... list, which delves into the challenges boards overseeing small fund complexes may be facing in 2024. 

One of the industry's longest-serving independent directors retired at the end of 2023, though he doesn't seem to be slowing down any! Frank Fabozzi wrapped up 35 years on the BlackRock Funds board on Dec. 31, leaving behind a legacy—in and out of the boardroom—that won't soon be forgotten.

Finally, make sure to download and read our newest Viewpoints ebook, which features all of the articles contributed by industry experts to FBV in 2023. It's full of great information for independent fund directors.

We're hoping you were able to relax a bit over the holidays and have returned renewed and refreshed. Here's to a year of growth, prosperity, and success for all of us!

For now,

Hillary Jackson, founding editor