The Trustee Governance Guide

More than 80% of the financial assets in the United States fall under the purview of a trustee. That's a big responsibility for an estimated 1% (around 1.5 million people) of the U.S. working population charged with overseeing investments for millions and millions of beneficiaries, public sector, and non-profit organizations. In a world proliferated by investment products, increasingly dominated by indexes, faced—particularly in the pension world—with increasing liabilities, more regulation, and a growing number of social and sustainability objectives, what's a trustee to do? The Trustee Governance Guide is here to help guide today’s board trustee through the brave new world of 21st century investing. The book focuses on the critical aspects of the Five Imperatives: Governance, Knowledge, Diversification, Discipline, and Impact. Based on more than a decade of research, practice, and discussions with many key decision makers and influencers across the industry, this book addresses the many topics related to better governance, greater mission-driven financial performance, and impact. The questions the book addresses include: · What is good governance, how do we know it when we see it, and why does it matter? · How much knowledge is necessary to be a competent board member? · How big should my endowment be? · What are the key elements of a diversified portfolio? · How much does cost matter? · What's the difference between socially responsible and ESG investing? · Can I focus on sustainability and still be a good fiduciary? This book provides a way for boards to improve and benchmark their own governance performance alongside their peers, and uniquely covers related investment topics in each chapter.

Build a more effective board with insight from the forefront of corporate governance The Handbook of Board Governance provides comprehensive, expert-led coverage of all aspects of corporate governance for public, nonprofit, and private boards. Written by collaboration among subject matter experts, this book combines academic rigor and practitioner experience to provide thorough guidance and deep insight. From diversity, effectiveness, and responsibilities, to compensation, succession planning, and financial literacy, the topics are at once broad-ranging and highly relevant to current and aspiring directors. The coverage applies to governance at public companies, private and small or medium companies, state-owned enterprises, family owned organizations, and more, to ensure complete and clear guidance on a diverse range of issues. An all-star contributor list including Ram Charan, Bob Monks, Nell Minow, and Mark Nadler, among others, gives you the insight of thought leaders in the areas relevant to your organization. A well-functioning board is essential to an organization’s achievement. Whether the goal is furthering a mission or dominating a market, the board’s composition, strategy, and practices are a determining factor in the organization’s ultimate success. This guide provides the information essential to building a board that works. Delve into the board’s strategic role in value creation Gain useful insight into compensation, risk, accountability, legal obligations Understand the many competencies required of an effective director Get up to speed on blind spots, trendspotting, and social media in the board room The board is responsible for a vast and varied collection of duties, but the singular mission is to push the organization forward. Poor organization, one-sided composition, inefficient practices, and ineffective oversight detract from that mission, but all can be avoided. The Handbook of Board Governance provides practical guidance and expert insight relevant to board members across the spectrum.

The Trustee Handbook for Health Care Governance, Second Edition, is a completely revised and updated second edition of the classic resource that was created for health care executives and board members who must lead their organizations through the maze of complex and ongoing change. Written by James E. Orlikoff and Mary K. Totten--two experts in the field of health care leadership this hands--on guide shows health care leaders how to strengthen their foundations of governance. Step by step they reveal how boards can focus on the most important issues, gain access to vital information and practical tools, and create effective alliances with other leadership programs.

The well-being of any nonprofit organization rests first with itsvolunteer board of directors. This book offers board members theguidance they need to successfully govern their organizations--nomatter what type or size of nonprofit they may lead. Written by Candace Widmer and Susan Houchin, The Art ofTrusteeship shows you how to fulfill ten key trusteeresponsibilities and includes much-needed detail on definingmission, strategic planning, executive selection and evaluation,fundraising, financial oversight, and board self-assessment. Thishands-on guide is filled with illustrative case studies andreal-life examples that clearly show how a variety of creativeboards have tackled challenges and strengthened theirorganizations. "At last, a book that doesn't take a one-size-fits-all approach!The authors recognize that the huge diversity among nonprofitscalls for multiple ways of fulfilling basic board responsibilities.The book allows a board member to dive in at any point and find aconcise, clear set of options for handling the challenges oftrusteeship. It will help even first-time board members find firmfooting on the path to effective governance." --Sara L. Engelhardt, president, The Foundation Center