Creating Effective and Efficient Governance

OPPORTUNITY

A large West Coast mutual fund manager requested an assessment of the firm’s governance framework.  

Specifically, they asked us to take into account the firm’s historical and projected growth of assets under management, investment mandate complexity, the addition of and changes in jurisdictions and regulatory requirements, anticipated organizational change, industry best practices, and internal, regulatory, and institutional client expectations.

PROCESS

We facilitated the functional analysis and formalization of the firm’s Trade Management Oversight Committee with respect to the committee’s roles, responsibilities, evaluation, approval, and reporting processes; and documentation efforts evidencing its evaluation and reporting practices.

We established a standard charter template for the committee that could be used in the formalization of the firm’s other committees as well as a system by which a single person could oversee and manage multiple committee meetings, the preparation and submission of compliance materials, and other administrative efforts to ensure ongoing governance management.

We trained a senior administrator in managing the governance calendar, and provide a detailed administrative calendar for their use over time. 

RESULTS

Our recommendations for process, documentation, and management drove consistency, efficiency, and effectiveness across the firm’s governance framework, while also increasing risk identification and mitigation. Standardization of committee materials and documentation equipped the client with a repeatable process for establishing and formalizing additional committees.