Technical directors wanted

People with particular technical skills are being sought out for the fund boards of emerging asset classes. That has become most apparent at sustainable funds, according to The NED’s Selection Intelligence Service, but it applies in other areas too.

Might fund boards of the future – particularly those in emerging asset classes – look somewhat different from most do today? The NED’s monitoring of fund board selection patterns suggests that the trend is to pick independent directors with specialist skills, relevant to the particular asset class, where that is possible.

The managers that The NED has come across recently, with investment schemes in specialist areas such as renewables and bio-diversity, tend to have very small full time teams. These boutiques often rely on part-time employees, including academics. It makes sense for them to look for independent directors, with knowledge of the asset class that they are in, that can fit into what they are doing in a more collegiate way than is normal at a traditional fund.

To read more on this story see the August issue of The NED.