From the Editor...

Mutual fund boards have been busy so far this year selecting and welcoming new members, in some cases to fill seats vacated by end-of-year retirements and in others to staff new funds that are on the drawing board for 2018. New directors have joined the boardrooms at American Century Investments and AIG Funds, as well as at Aberdeen Asset Management, where a new board (full of experienced Aberdeen directors) will oversee a new closed-end fund (formed by the consolidation of eight existing funds).

At Aberdeen, the undertaking is much larger than simply forming a new board. It involves consolidating eight country- and region-specific CEFs into a single emerging markets fund and expanding the board that will oversee it. On Friday, shareholders in the what will be the "survivor fund" voted to approve three new directors to the board and in favor of the steps necessary to complete the consolidation. Now, shareholders of each of the other seven funds will have their vote, with an expected completion date before the end of April. 

Meanwhile, startup ProcureAM is new to the ETF game and has plans to launch separate  funds that invest in the marijuana supply chain, companies that support reducing global warming, and space-related industries and technologies. The adviser currently is looking for directors to serve on that board. 

In the bigger realm of corporate governance, Deloitte has published its fifth report on women directors around the globe. The 84-page report, which comes out every other year, provides a comprehensive snapshot of gender diversity in different parts of the world and is well worth a read. 

We hope your year is off to a good and productive start, and we're already looking forward to the spring conferences that afford us the chance for face-to-face interaction with our readers. 

For now,

Hillary Jackson, founding editor