Faith Colish

Faith Colish served as an independent director of one or more, and eventually all, of the Neuberger Berman funds’ boards from 1982 until the end of 2017, when she reached the boards’ mandatory retirement age. During that time Faith served as the first Chair of the boards’ Contract Review Committee, and Chair of their Compliance Committee and their Portfolio Transactions Committee (which covered topics like portfolio valuation, best execution, and securities lending). She also served on the Closed End Fund Committee. In 2008, in the wake of the Lehman bankruptcy, she was appointed chair of a board Task Force to consider the applicants to become the new owners of the funds’ investment adviser. After completing her service as a fund director, Faith served for a year as Special Regulatory Consultant to assist the boards in consideration of specific regulatory issues.

During her tenure as a board member, Faith was chosen Institutional Investor Fund Independent Trustee of the Year (Large Funds) for leadership in restructuring funds as cluster funds (2001); Fund Directions Fund Independent Trustee of the Year (Large Funds) as Chair of Task Force to review change of control of adviser following Lehman bankruptcy (2008); and Fund Directions Lifetime Achievement Award and Hall of Fame (2016).

While serving as Vice President – Law at Scudder Stevens & Clark (1969-1971), Faith was an officer of the Scudder Duo-Vest funds and a director of Scudder Development Fund, the first SEC-registered mutual fund to invest in OTC securities.

Faith graduated from Columbia Law School in 1960. Her practice was almost entirely devoted to securities regulation, including service in the SEC Office of General Counsel (1960-1962) and as Special Counsel to the New York Regional Administrator (1967-1968). She was Assistant Counsel to the Investment Company Institute (1968-1969). In private practice she specialized in representing and advising financial service providers, including mutual funds, broker-dealers, and investment advisers.  She stepped down from the active practice of law in 2019 and is now Counsel Emerita to Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP, available to consult with lawyers at that firm on matters within her expertise. She remains active in American Bar Association committees and task forces, including working on the update of the Fund Directors Guidebook. Her primary pro bono activity is teaching English as a Second Language in programs designed for immigrants. Faith looks forward to sharing her experience with contemporaries and with those new to the role of a fund director, and to continuing to learn.