Viewpoints

Articles written by industry professionals for Fund Board Views, may be opinion, commentary, educational/instructional.

Conflicts of Interest: Fund officers and directors, service providers

By Buddy Donohue

Over the past several weeks, I have written articles exploring conflicts of interest that could challenge a variety of financial industry participants. Those articles explored potential conflicts for fund investment advisers, securities broker-dealers, attorneys, and accountants. In this final article of the series, I will be discussing some of the ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Conflicts of Interest: Accountants

By Buddy Donohue

After exploring the potential conflicts of interest that investment advisers, broker-dealers, and lawyers have, we move on to consider potential conflicts involving accountants. In the previous articles, we were concerned with service provider conflicts and how those conflicts affected their ability to serve their clients. As you will see, conflicts ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Conflicts of Interest: Attorneys

By Buddy Donohue

Fund directors and others in the mutual fund industry almost always refer to the attorney that is providing advice to them as “our lawyer.” They will then tell you how experienced the attorney is, how broad her practice and that of her law firm is, and how she provides the ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Conflicts of Interest: Securities broker-dealers

By Buddy Donohue

Securities brokerage firms are a critical part of the financial landscape, as they provide a vast array of products and services to the financial services industry, the markets, and investors. And while the number of broker-dealers in the United States has declined over the past several years and now stands ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Conflicts of Interest: Investment advisers

By Buddy Donohue

It comes as no surprise that investment advisers have a range of potential conflicts of interest as they provide investment advice to their clients. These conflicts relate to individuals who work at the adviser, to advisory activities, trade execution, and other services provided by the adviser and its affiliates, as ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<

Conflicts of Interest: They’re still around

By Buddy Donohue

As I reflect on my almost 50 years in the financial services industry in a variety of roles—as a regulator, an officer and director of registered investment companies, and an executive and lawyer at financial services firms—I realize the importance of the identification and proper resolution of conflicts of interest. ... >> CONTINUE READING <<<