Trusted Insight for Independent Oversight

MFDF is an independent association for independent directors of mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds, and other registered investment companies.

MFDF helps independent directors navigate an evolving regulatory environment and steward shareholders’ investments. MFDF provides tailored educational resources and facilitates peer-to-peer networking, with offerings that include webinars, white papers, and interactive conferences. As an independent association, MFDF’s membership includes a wide range of fund boards and represents a diverse community of directors.

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Educational Offerings

MFDF provides comprehensive and high-quality educational resources tailored to independent directors. Explore upcoming programs, including webinars, single-day in-person seminars, multi-day conferences, and informal networking discussions.

Insights for the Field

The nature of the work of independent directors is ever-evolving. Read the latest news, practical guidance, comment letters to regulators, and other viewpoints.

Become a Member

Your goal is to steward your investors’ resources. We promise to steward yours. We take our role as your trusted partner seriously. And we pride ourselves on accessible membership dues and meaningful opportunities to learn and connect.

May 21, 2026 Board Bookshelf: Performance Evaluation and Attribution. Analysis and Reporting, Second Edition. By Brian Singer, Russ Wermers, and Bernd R. Fischer. Academic Press. 2026

This textbook, Performance Evaluation and Attribution is a helpful tool – albeit with a lot of dizzying math – for learning the basics and even developing fluency with the principles of fund performance. The authors are academics and industry practitioners and their objective, they write, is to distill academic and practitioner research papers into a unified framework.

May 20, 2026 Federated Hermes Files Administrative Procedures Act Suit Challenging Money Market Liquidity Fee

While the SEC has stated that the liquidity fee would help prevent withdrawals and thereby protect the remaining shareholders, the lawsuit argues that the SEC did not conduct an adequate cost-benefit analysis and overstepped its authority under the Administrative Procedure Act.

May 19, 2026 EY Publishes Considerations for Investment Firms ‘Going Retail’

The report notes that launching in the proper operating model “positions firms for long-term success by establishing key capabilities (e.g., services, partnerships, and data and technology) to grow the retail business, launch more offerings and expand into new distribution channels.”

May 18, 2026 Event of Interest: ACA to Host Webinar ‘State of AI in Compliance and Operations: The Shift Toward Agentic AI’

This session will provide practical insight into the current AI landscape and what it means for compliance and operations teams planning their next move. The program will present a data-driven view of AI adoption today, along with a forward-looking discussion on the shift toward agentic models.

May 14, 2026 MFDF Webinar: MPI’s Annual Mutual Fund Director Compensation Survey

Each spring MPI releases its "Survey of Mutual Fund Director/Trustee Compensation and Organizational Practices", which provides aggregate compensation data received through confidential questionnaires, as well as SEC filings submitted by all fund industry complexes. This webinar will provide highlights from the most recent survey.

Upcoming Events

Full calendar

San Francisco May 27, 2026
Director Discussion Series - Open Forum (San Francisco)
MFDF and KPMG will host an in-person Director Discussion Series lunch meeting in San Francisco to facilitate discussions for independent directors and CCOs to discuss timely issues brought up by participants. The event will be in-person from 11 am to 1 pm (PT) at KPMG's San Francisco office.
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June 2, 2026
MFDF Spotlight: APs and Market Makers - Helpful Takeaways for Fund Boards
As part of MFDF's ongoing ETF oversight series, this MFDF Spotlight webinar will discuss how ETFs utilize APs and market makers, including how those relationships form initially and then may evolve over time. This will broadcast live from 2 pm - 2:30 pm (ET).
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Chicago June 4, 2026
2026 Conference of Fund Leaders Roundtable
MFDF's CFL Roundtable is a program designed specifically for mutual fund chairs and lead independent directors. This in-person meeting will take place on June 4, 2026 at the offices of Kirkland & Ellis' Chicago office from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm (CT).
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Newest Resources

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MFDF Member Series - Leveraging MFDF Membership to Locate Future Directors

Leslie Beckbridge, MFDF's Operations and Member Services Manager, highlighted MFDF's Director Candidate Database, a service that provides curated candidate lists in response to member boards' requirements. The webinar provided an overview of the Database, discussed how members can use it as part of succession planning efforts, and shared insights to get the best results from your inquiry.

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Board Diversity Resources

Explore news and resources relating to fund board diversity.

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