Board agendas, packs and meeting minutes were just a few of the topics unpicked in a recent FBC discussion session focused on the important work co-secs are doing to support the ongoing efficiency and effectiveness of fund boards.
As part of its Fund Board Effectiveness programme, FBC convened a group of fund board company secretaries to share insights and good practice around some of the major process challenges facing fund boards in the UK and cross-border.
Among the topics discussed was good practice around keeping the size of the, often all-too-weighty, fund board pack in check – a source of pain for many directors and co-secs alike. Meanwhile there was much discussion about how firms were balancing a desire for greater harmonisation of board packs where possible, while recognising the need for fund board-specific information and data sets.
Fund board minutes were also put under the microscope as the group discussed the steps that firms were taking to ensure that the robustness of board discussions and individual challenge were accurately reflected and attributed where required.
Insights gleaned from the discussion will inform FBC’s second Fund Board Effectiveness Barometer research study, which will specifically examine the work boards and their co-secs are doing to improve the processes which underpin their fund governance work. The study will be going into field in April, with initial findings available to FBC Corporate Members in June, so watch out for more information in the coming weeks.
FBC will also be holding a Digital Meeting for corporate member firms on this topic on Thursday 8th June – for more information, please visit fundboards.org
We plan to hold more dedicated sessions to support the work of company secretaries supporting fund boards, so if you are interested in getting involved, please contact FBC’s Managing Director, Catherine Battershill, cbattershill@fundboards.org.
