From the Editor...

We're moving increasingly closer to year-end, and many mutual fund boards are focusing on–and even beginning to wrap up—recruitment and succession planning efforts for 2023. Often, boards choose to bring on new directors to work alongside outgoing directors in order to ensure knowledge transfer and provide mentoring opportunities. Recently, we've reported on new independent directors joining the industry, and we'll keep our eye on these personnel movements in the weeks and months ahead. 

At DWS Funds, a generational shift in the boardroom has meant the loss of long-serving directors and a replenishment over the past few years. The latest addition is Mary Daugherty, former independent chair of Mairs & Powers Funds. She joins two new directors who joined in 2021 and six independents who've served for decades. And at UBS Funds, a fourth individual is expected to join the all-independent board next month after a shareholder vote.  

In other news, Independent Directors Council has elected Cynthia Plouché—from Northern Trust Mutual Funds and MassMutual Funds—to a second term as chair of its Governing Council and installed a vice chair who likely will take over the top spot in a year's time. The annual elections also added new members to the Governing Council and ran alongside similar elections at Investment Company Institute. ICI elected a new chair of its Board of Governors and added new board members.

Be sure to check out our most recent 10 Things... list on the Names Rule and Viewpoints on converting mutual funds to ETFs. And finally, don't miss a thing covered here in FBV; you can download the monthly PDF here.

For now, 

Hillary Jackson, founding editor