From the Editor...

Diversity & inclusion is a top-of-the-agenda issue for the mutual fund industry—as well as most of corporate America—and Independent Directors Council is taking a lead on supporting fund boards in this area. In addition to launching a dedicated working group last year, IDC this month inked partnership agreements with two organizations with a goal of increasing D&I in fund boardrooms. Read our story to find out all the details. 

IDC also released its latest figures on gender and racial diversity in U.S. mutual fund boardrooms. The percentages of 2020 were largely the same as in 2021, but the progress made over the past five to 10 years is striking. We've noticed that in our reporting, too.

Pacer ETFs has nominated two new independent directors who are expected to join the board once shareholders vote in mid-November. Following that vote and the end of year retirement of a one board member, the Pacer Funds board will be two-thirds female. And at Boston Trust Walden Funds, the board set out to have a board that reflects the fund complex's SRI-focused investment approach. With independent Chairman Mike Van Buskirk scheduled to retire in June of next year, the search took place over much of this year, and the board's diversity goals were met with the hiring of two new independents. 

We will continue to keep an eye on comings and goings in boardrooms across the industry, to give our readers a flavor of who's joining boards and why those individuals were selected.

Finally, if there's a topic you'd like to write—or read—about in our Viewpoints section, please let us know. We are always looking for new voices to add to FBV, and Viewpoints is where industry experts can get published on a topic that's pertinent to our readers (and the writers' peers, colleagues, and clients). Viewpoints is not behind our paywall, so it's a great way to get exposure to our readership and a wider audience as well. Email me at hillary.jackson@fundboardviews.com.

For now,

Hillary Jackson, founding editor