From the Editor...

The Independent Directors Council has a new managing director at the helm, and he spoke exclusively with Fund Board Views last week. Thomas Kim, who joined the group in October and took over the top job on Jan. 1, said he's spent his first few months getting to know members and the issues they care about. And he's now in the midst of working with colleagues to draft a comment on the re-proposal of the rule on funds' use of derivatives. He shared a little bit about his initial impression of the new draft with us during our interview, and we're eager to read the comment letter when it's ready.

We also reported on one new board and one board on its way out in the last couple weeks. BNY Mellon has put together a brand-new board to oversee the exchange-traded funds it's getting ready to launch. The fund complex already has six board groups, and this new board makes seven. A representative from the New York firm provided some great insight on why BNY Mellon chose to launch an ETF-specific board and how it selected the directors to serve on it. Elsewhere, a merger of two fund groups has resulted in the elimination of one of the two boards involved. The two Colorado fund complexes are working on the deal now, with a goal of completion set for May.

There's a lot of talk about ESG funds these days, and one challenge in that area is deciding whether there should be a common definition. We got industry experts to weigh in on the subject and discuss how boards can think about handling the situation. We also have a Q&A with Ropes & Gray litigators Amy Roy and Robert Skinner, who discuss shareholder litigation and when funds should think about getting involved as active plaintiffs. And finally, take a look at our latest 10 Things... to see how directors' jobs are different now than they were we entered the 21st Century two decades ago.  

For now,

Hillary Jackson, founding editor