Directors of multiple series trusts are seeing more activity as smaller advisors and start-ups are seeking less expensive ways to run their funds.
Boards are asking for more information on social media as they slowly become interested in how the advisor wants to use it and the legal and compliance issues surrounding such use, according to David Sturms, partner at Vedder Price.
The board of the AARP Funds has decided to liquidate the fund complex due to high expense ratios and competitive pressures.
The board of the $133 million Appleseed Fund has approved a set of new screening criteria that excludes "too-big-to-fail" banks, which it defines as those that hold $10 trillion or more in notional value of derivatives on their balance sheets.
The compliance committee of the boards of the Aquila Group of Funds has ramped up its focus on risk, and is now called the risk and compliance committee.
Board vigilance has been heightened on issues surrounding risk management internationally, as the sovereign debt crisis in Europe continues.
Best execution has become a focal point for the board of the Forum Funds, according to Michael Parish, chairman.
Boards are getting more involved in the peer selection process as they review their 15(c) contract renewal process and the sources of the comparative information they are using.
The board of the Advisor Series Trust has been retooling the number and length of meetings in order to accommodate an increasing number of advisors.
The Kansas City board of the American Century funds is working on its succession planning, according to Donald Pratt, chairman.
Compensation for chief compliance officers rebounded slightly at larger firms in 2009 but stayed relatively steady for the majority of CCOs.
New disclosure rules on board diversity will inevitably lead to more use of executive recruiters, according to Management Practice.
Money fund boards are focusing on how a manager is able to accommodate new requirements intended to improve liquidity, increase credit quality and shorten maturity limits.
Boards are focusing on a fair amount of regulatory uncertainty in the current economic environment, according to Lea Anne Copenhefer, partner at Bingham McCutchen.
There isn't any reason why a board can't require same day or real time disclosure of omnibus account information at the account or shareholder level, according to Niels Holch, executive director of the Coalition of Mutual Fund Investors.
Industry officials say fund boards should be wary of mindlessly signing off on management's agenda even at management's insistence.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has ruled that non-binding proposals must be considered for inclusion in proxy materials.
As fund assets come back up directors are looking to add in breakpoints on fees during the contract renewal process.
As interest in digitizing the boardroom has grown over the past two years, boards are also customizing the use of the board portal and the types of reports they post.
The Jones v. Harris Associates case underscores the importance of having a robust and documented process for contract renewal, according to participants in a recent webcast.
Boards are hungry for more empirical evidence versus information based on opinion, according to Dave McCrystal, executive v.p. of corporate development at The Keane Organization.
In light of the nearly 1,000 point plunge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average last month, boards have been inquiring more about valuations and how the dip affected their funds.
The board of the RiverSource Funds is having a series of extra meeting to discuss the rationalization of fees and the fund lineup following the acquisition of Columbia Management by its parent company Ameriprise Financial last fall.
The board of the RS Funds is looking toward growth for the complex as well as capitalizing on other opportunities in the marketplace, according to Anne Goggin, independent chair.
Beyond validating a board's use of business judgment when comparing fees during the 15(c) contract renewal process, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Gartenberg standard for fees in the case of Jones v. Harris Associates may push boards to be even more independent over time.
After experiencing capital inflows over the past six months, the board of the Arbitrage Fund has refocused its discussions with management on the investment team, according to Jay Goldberg, independent director.
As the board of the BB&T Funds is thinking about expanding, the directors are laying out some criteria that may govern the decision-making process, according to Laura Bingham, independent trustee and nominating committee chair.
Boards are now taking a closer look at risk disclosures in prospectuses covering such areas as derivatives, conflicts of interests, and calculations of expenses.
As asset management firms look to attract and retain the best talent, boards should also be looking at their compensation programs to make sure they are aligned with the best interests of the shareholders, according to John Griffin, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The board of the Monteagle Funds participates in an annual dinner with the advisor to the funds, the sub-advisors, administrator, independent auditors and independent counsel.
The board of the Neuberger Berman funds has implemented a term limit for committee chairs this year--a policy the board had already been adhering to informally.
The board of the Northern Lights Fund Trust is working to further refine and streamline board reporting materials and procedures for its roughly 40 advisors and 50 funds.
Boards are considering how the valuation process and, more specifically, how price certification work in the post credit crisis financial marketplace, according to Alexey Surkov, partner at Deloitte & Touche.
PricewaterhouseCoopers is ramping up its focus on directors with Webcasts geared solely to director issues.
Next month the board of the Unified Series Trust is bringing in the head of fund accounting to give a presentation on expenses.
As more fund groups are thinking about going into the exchange-traded fund business, boards should look at the potential impact of this move on the existing mutual fund family.
Boards should delve deeper into economies of scale during the 15(c) contract renewal process, according to Jeff Keil, principal of Keil Fiduciary Strategies.
Boards are becoming reluctant to approve more diverse types of fund strategies and the use of exotic asset classes in fund portfolios.
Directors are trying to get a better handle on how their service providers monitor risk and other operational breaches that could expose the fund to potential losses.
From a historical perspective, both Gartenberg and Jones v. Harris are correct, according to Amy Yeung, assistant general counsel at Zenimax Media, and Kristen Freeman, formerly of Duke University School of Law.
The thin line between board oversight duties and those of management has become even more blurred due to new regulations, according to one independent chair.
Is there a lack of independence in independent directors? According to the recent article, Why Have Mutual Fund Independent Directors Failed as "Shareholder Watchdogs?", the interests of independent directors are not sufficiently aligned with the interests of shareholders.
Some fund boards are looking into dedicated limits for independent directors' insurance coverage or raising their limits, according to Wendy Dowd, v.p. and underwriting manager at Chubb Specialty Insurance.
Boards may reevaluate their self-assessment approaches, nominating committee charters and/or governance policies to make sure they meet the Securities and Exchange Commission's new disclosure rules on qualifications for board members, the board's oversight of risk management and leadership structure of the board.
In 2010, board agendas are finally returning to a state of normalcy, with most focusing on the long term.
Boards have been placing more emphasis on distribution, including understanding the different distribution channels and the roles that intermediaries play.
After its annual self assessment, the board of the Forum Funds has decided to go from six meetings to four.
The board of the JNL Series Trust has increased the annual retainer received by each independent trustee by $10,000.
The board of the Rainier Funds has been focusing more on performance, including receiving more frequent updates and additional reports from portfolio managers, according to Gary Sundem, independent director.
In light of the Securities and Exchange Commission's expanded disclosure requirements on boards' oversight of risk management, some are revisiting their role, according to John O'Hanlon, partner at Dechert.
Investors in open-end mutual funds have no reason to vote, lobby boards or sue their fund managers for excessive fees, according to John Morley, John R. Raben/Sullivan & Cromwell executive director of the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law.
This month, the boards of the Aquila Group of Funds along with the chief compliance officer are slated to review the risk matrix, according to Ted Mason, chairman of several of the boards.
After two successful meetings in Germany last year, the board of the DWS Investments funds has decided to continue the meeting strategy for 2010.
Several Neuberger Berman closed-end fund boards have decided not to use Fitch Ratings' new ratings criteria on the funds' auction market preferred shares, citing significant changes to the discount factors and flexibility of the funds' offerings.
A group of economists who have served as consultants in a number of excessive fees cases, including a recent case brought against American Funds advisor Capital Research and Management Company, have put pen to paper in a new book: "The Mutual Fund Industry: Competition and Investor Welfare."
The board of the Sentinel Funds will be paid a flat fee next year rather than a combination of a retainer and a per meeting fee.
As a result of shares constantly trading at a discount, the board of closed-end fund Adams Express Company has been discussing alternative structures – one of which includes converting to an open-end fund or, more uniquely, an actively managed exchange-traded fund, although a conversion is not imminent, according to Doug Ober, interested chairman.
Boards that share insurance with the fund and the advisor are digging deeper into premium allocation issues, according to Claude Tusk, partner at Dechert.
At a recent meeting the board of the Hartford Funds spent some extra time reviewing its risk procedures.
The board of the HSBC Investor Funds is aiming to keep better tabs on performance by adding it to the existing valuation committee duties, according to Larry Robbins, independent trustee.