Board Priorities for 2018: Governing Amid Disruption, Increased Regulation

As 2018 looms, mutual fund boards can expect to see increased engagement with the SEC, regulatory responsibilities including oversight of fund liquidity risk management programs, and decision-making related to the continued shifts in the industry. There may also be new issues inside the boardroom. Lawyers from Sidley Austin in a piece addressing mostly corporate boards discuss governance issues that fund directors may find helpful, including: risk management and crisis preparedness and board succession planning aligned with changing circumstances. Lawyers from Akin Gump include cybersecurity threats, regulation and corporate social responsibility among their top 10 topics for directors in 2018, plus a special bonus on tax reform. Boardroom diversity continues to receive significant attention, and a recent Bloomberg article recognizes several high-performing corporations with predominantly female boards and how these outperformers may create momentum to improve gender balance on corporate boards. Bloomberg also reported that mutual fund giants, including BlackRock and Vanguard, are supporting shareholder proposals aimed at increasing the number of women and minorities on boards. Across the ocean, the United Kingdom’s Financial Reporting Council has proposed reforms in its corporate governance code that could affect UK boards in profound ways. The Financial Times is reporting that the non-mandatory proposals include provisions that boards consider ethnic and social diversity when selecting members and tighten the definition of independent chairmen to exclude members who have served in that role for longer than nine years. Boards of funds subject to UK regulation will also face the various anticipated impacts of MiFID and Brexit as 2018 gets underway.