From the Editor...

It officially becomes Autumn this week (and it's beginning to feel that way) and it won't be long before we enter the last quarter of 2023. As unbelievable as that may seem, it's coming whether we're ready or not! Here at FBV, we're getting ready for what can be a busy time of the year as fund complexes and the boards that oversee them close out the current year and look forward to what the next year will bring.

We ended the summer with a couple of 10 Things... lists on the new money market fund reforms and on what fund boards should know and ask about artificial intelligence and Chat GPT-like tools, a look inside a few boardrooms that recently have added new independent directors to the mix, news of consolidation of governance at BNY Mellon Funds, and a Viewpoints authored by Susan J. Templeton on mutual fund-to-ETF conversions. 

Our most recent story since returning from our annual end-of-August publishing break was on the IDC's annual Director Practices Study. According to the new data, independent directors earned more in 2022 than in the year prior and the increases in pay were substantially higher than boards saw in 2021. We'll have more news and analysis of the IDC data in the coming weeks, but the trends in compensation are interesting and a good resource for boards that are looking at where—and how—to set their own compensation. "Trends" is the key word here, as that's what's most helpful—not individual directors' actual compensation. Stay tuned.

Enjoy the last official days of summer, and please get in touch if there's a subject you'd like us to cover or about which you'd like to write for our Viewpoints section—we're always looking for new voices.

For now,

Hillary Jackson, founding editor