Diary of an iNED

Asset Management has created a monster, the Star Manager! Beyond the specific headlines and issues, Woodford poses a broader question of the industry’s value to society; wealth creation, the economy, social equality and even environment. The debacle questions active fund management, fund advocacy and whether fund board governance is actually working on behalf of fundholders, to the very core of what we hold dear as fiduciary, and the agent-principal relationship. Will iNEDs face ‘the pit and the pendulum’ in my Halloween entry?

For my second iNED blog I wanted to consider our impact and sustainability, both, at the personal level and for customers. Most iNEDs will now be well into their new roles; having at least attended their first Board and engaging on the who, what, where and when delivery of the first Assessment of Value (AoV). Like me, you may be joining sub-committees such as Risk, Fair Value and involved with other projects in addition to the AoV delivery. Equally, you will be getting to know your Chair, fellow iNEDs and the rest of the Board. As we engage, how do we measure our own impact as iNEDs?

Well, we have to start (again) somewhere… Being a NED is not easy. It is never going to be easy. Being a new shiny “independent” NED even less so, but as JB Beckett describes in his new monthly column for Fund Boards Council, this could be the start of something important for him, and for…