JB Beckett is an experienced independent director, author of “New Fund Order” and a Fund Boards Council Corporate iNED Member.
In his monthly column, Diary of an iNED, JB records his experiences on the boards of two very different organisations as he navigates the highs and lows of a plural career at a time when the fund industry is beset with challenges and opportunities in equal measure.
JB can be contacted at jandjbeckett@sky.com.
In this wide-ranging, slightly contemplative diary entry, JB muses on the implications of coronavirus on fund board engagement, explores the existential by asking if anyone knows what an investor wants, and ends on a very intriguing note by opening the door to a discussion on the need for an assessment of value for investment advice……
Diary of an iNED Osmosis: ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ of AoV What do spaghetti westerns have to do with the FCA’s requirement for Assessment of Value? Why the AoV disclosure is inevitably a learning process and what do good, bad and ugly examples look like? JB sets his sights on the first…
2020 Vision: Are Fund Boards Short-sighted on Remuneration?’ One of the more challenging questions ahead for iNEDs will be confronting executive remuneration. Pay has again come into focus following more negative news from ‘that fund’. What should iNEDs consider what is reasonable versus what constitutes a conflict of interest or of detriment to fundholders? Does…
Riders on the Storm: Slippy conditions, presence and papers as read In this final diary entry for 2019, JB focuses on the importance of presence, even in a digital world, focusing on the detail, and presents a rather long list of things he would like to see change, and develop, in fund board land; and…
Hell’s Bells: Jumpers and Annual Reports A Winter’s Tale It will soon be time to celebrate, but there is much work to be done, especially for the hardworking fund board iNED thinking about a range of issues, but especially about Assessment of Value. In this diary entry, JB provides some very helpful and practical tips…
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?