From the Editor...
Who doesn't need a good book recommendation every now and again, especially for vacation? We know a lot of our subscribers are taking advantage of the last of the summer weeks and stepping away—mostly, anyway—from work, and we thought it would be fun to put together a list of good reads. We didn't limit it to market-related material, though there are some of those titles on there, and we asked for both fiction and non-fiction. Here's hoping you find at least one book on our latest 10 Things list that piques your interest.
As we finish up our vacations and start to begin thinking about autumn and closing out the year, many are looking to the Securities and Exchange Commission to see what gets accomplished before the expected departure of Chair Mary Jo White following the presidential election. There are a number of initiatives in play, including proposed rules on liquidity risk management and fund use of derivatives, an ongoing focus on cybersecurity at financial services firms, and, more recently, the staff's work on improving transparency of board diversity—which may or may not apply to mutual fund boards.
In the boardroom, an issue we've been monitoring is the generational shift underway as many of the industry's long-serving independent directors begin to approach or hit retirement age. Many boards are in the midst of dealing with this, devising succession plans and initiating recruitment efforts. The board overseeing T. Rowe Price Group's funds is one board that is right in the middle of this process currently. More, no doubt, will follow.
In addition to our proprietary content, we post previously published work that pertains to fund boards and fund governance professionals—whether it directly addresses fund boards, as a recent piece by IDC's Amy Lancellotta, Ropes & Gray's Paulita Pike, and ICI's Paul Schott Stevens in the Virginia Law & Business Review does, or discusses corporate governance practices that may be similar to what takes place in fund boardrooms. Please check out our Added Perspective section, which we hope to build into a useful resource for readers.
For now,
Hillary Jackson, founding editor, Fund Board Views