Wishing all our FBC Corporate Members, clients, and subscribers a wonderful festive break.
The FBC office will be taking a break until the new year from Friday 15 December and back in January 2024 – but fund governance never sleeps, and we keep an eye on our emails in case you need anything.
We look forward to working with you all in 2024!
FEATURES & ANALYSIS
FBC Member Event: Chairs/CEOs Council Meeting
14 November 2023
FBC’s annual meeting opened with a keynote and Q&A with the FCA’s Director Wholesale Buy-side, Asset Management Department – Wholesale Supervision, Camille Blackburn.
This was followed by a panel discussion with Chief of Staff at Legal & General Investment Management, Rhodri Mason, President of Europe & Asia and board Chair at Capital Group, Hamish Forsyth, and Jane Leach, Chair at J O Hambro.
Read more from the meeting here.
FBC Corporate Members can also read a full summary of the discussions here.
FBC Member Event and Key Messages Memo: Authorised ESG & Sustainable Investment Funds – Multi-firm Review
5 December 2023
Hot on the heels of the FCA publishing findings from its multi-firm view of authorised fund managers (AFMs) and ESG & sustainable investment funds, FBC produced a key messages for fund board directors memo and hosted a meeting for members, with the opportunity
to discuss the review with the FCA’s Christopher Davis, Head of Asset Management & Funds Market Interventions, and Senior Associate, Fiona Law.
More details of the meeting are here.
FBC Corporate Members can view the full recording of the meeting and the key messages for fund board directors here.
Research and FBC Member Event: New FBC Research in Risk Management
30 October 2023
FBC senior advisers, Brandon Horwitz and Peter Christmas, hosted a meeting on risk management with insights from Vicky Kubitscheck, fund board Non-Executive Director and Board Adviser specialising in risk, regulation and governance. The panel debated some of the key findings of FBC’s new research note, Risk Management: Key Considerations for fund boards.
Vicky also provided FBC Corporate Members with an exclusive extract from of her chapter on ‘Risk Management in the Boardroom’, featured in the recently published ‘A Director’s Guide to Governance in the Boardroom’.
Read more on the importance of risk management, the expectations of the FCA and the FBC member meeting here.
FBC Corporate Members can view the event recording, Vicky’s chapter extract and the full Research Note here.
VIEWPOINT
Has ESG Come of Age?
Philip Warland, public policy specialist and chair of FBC’s Advisory Council, opines on the tumultuous trajectory of ESG in fund management across UK and Europe.
Read Philip’s insights here.
SPOTLIGHT
FBC’s Fund Board Effectiveness Barometer – Board Assurance
As the regulatory demands on fund board directors continue to grow, FBC is launching research into the increasing use of formal approaches to reviewing how effectively they are discharging their governance duties.
Read more on the forthcoming research, aimed to provide governance professionals with valuable insights to help inform their own approaches to Board Assurance Reviews.
FBC Corporate Members can also register for the member meeting on this topic here.
CROSS BORDER INSIGHTS
…. LETTER FROM LUX
This quarter, Sheenagh Gordon-Hart, Independent Director at the Director’s Office, focuses on the year end regulatory and statutory reporting requirements, and Director’s fees.
…. ALDCROFT ON ASIA PACIFIC
Stewart Aldcroft, Hong Kong (HK) resident, veteran of the Asian asset management industry and member of the FBC Advisory Council, has a full HK round up this quarter, covering the influx of visitors, the evening economy, developing regulations to allow for crypto funds or tokenised investment, and China access. Read Stewart’s full article here.
…. A VIEW FROM THE LIFFEY
In this new regular feature, Simon Hynes, senior adviser to FBC and a portfolio iNED with roles in Ireland, the UK and the Isle of Man, provides his insights on key regulatory happenings in the Irish market and the implications for UK based fund management firms. Read Simon’s inaugural column here.
PROFILE
Gail Thomson, Head of Fund Governance and Oversight at RBS Coutts
Gail Thomson, Head of Fund Governance and Oversight at RBS Coutts, part of Natwest Group, spent 15 minutes with FBC CEO Shiv Taneja, chatting about her personal career path and professional insights and views.
With over 20 years experience in the industry, Gail oversees the end-to-end governance and oversight for the whole funds business, from service provider oversight and cost to regulatory reporting and breach management.
FBC IN THE COMMUNITY
We are very pleased to announce the charities which we will be supporting in 2024 – British Red Cross, Computers for Kids, and Mind. Chosen by our FBC team, we make a donation to each charity in recognition of the time and expertise our many speakers and experts give to support our work in fund governance. More information on each of the charities and our responsible business journey is here.
BOARD BUSINESS
IN THE NEWS
This fortnight’s FBC blog is out now. To catch up on the past couple of weeks’ fund governance news you can use, click here.
FBC Calendar
Date: 6 February 2024
Time: 2-3pm UK time
New Fund Board Composition Analysis
This digital event will focus on the new data in the second annual iteration of the FBC Database, providing key insights into the composition of UK fund boards. FBC members can benefit from regularly updated data throughout the year and a benchmarked report on request.
FBC Corporate Members can register here.
Date: 22 February 2024
Time: 2-3pm UK time
SDR and Investment Labels: How are fund boards overseeing implementation?
In this session we will be exploring activity in response to the FCA’s Sustainability Disclosure Regime (SDR) and fund labelling policy. FBC senior adviser, Brandon Horwitz, will be joined by a panel of your peers to share best practices and participate in a Q&A.
FBC Corporate Members can register here
Date: 21 March 2024
Time: 2-3pm UK time
Exploring and Maximising Service Provider Oversight – Part 2
Following FBC research into Service Provider Oversight (SPO) conducted with fund boards in 2023, this digital event will provide further details on relationships with service providers and how fund boards can get the most out of those relationships longer term.
FBC Corporate Members can register here.
Date: 23 April 2024
Time: 2-3pm UK time
Examining Board Performance
As the regulatory demands on fund board directors continue to grow, many fund boards are adopting more formal approaches to reviewing how effectively they are discharging their governance duties. This digital event will present key findings from new FBC Fund Board Effectiveness Barometer Research.
FBC Corporate Members can register here.
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Forgotten your Member Portal password?
If you are an FBC Corporate Member, to reset your password simply go to the Member Portal login page from fundboards.org and click ‘Forgot Password’ – a new one will be emailed within a few hours (please check your spam in case it lands in there!). Once logged in, you can set a new memorable password.
