Mutual Funds Today...Who's Watching YOUR Money?
by Dan Calabria

Price: $25.95

256 Pages, Paperback, 8.5 x 11

ISBN- 978-0-578-00786-1

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A former independent director and mutual fund executive has put his thoughts about fund directors and the state of the industry in a new book: "Mutual Funds Today…Who’s Watching YOUR Money?" Dan Calabria, who has more than 40 years of industry experience, hopes his book will provide investors with information to make smart decisions about investing in mutual funds and also kick-start directors into recognizing their responsibility to shareholders. "In my opinion they are doing a less than satisfactory job," Calabria said of directors.

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Calabria's primary objective was to cut through the hype, jargon and legalese that prevents investors from truly understanding how to manage their serious dollars in a well managed mutual fund.

The book, points to a number of issues plaguing the industry that directors need to step up and do something about. These include the lack of annual shareholder meetings, the ever-pesky 12b-1 fees and the tsunami of revenues from which the industry is "suffering." "Directors have to grow a spine and help shareholders."

"I'm not suggesting anyone reduce revenues but I am suggesting we pay more than lip service to break points and economies of scale," Calabria said.

The book will also serve as a wake-up call for boards. Calabria argues that independent directors do too little and are paid too much while looking out for the interests of the advisors, not shareholders. "They aren't being the watchdogs they are meant to be," he said. "Directors must at all times put shareholders interests in front of the advisors."

The fact that directors can also set their own compensation without shareholder approval irks Calabria. "They are paid very handsomely - ­ it's become a personal ATM machine," he said. "When annualized directors are making as much as the average corporate CEO but it's only a part-time job and anyone that would like to argue with that, I'd love to debate."

The former director is also a huge proponent of continuing education and training periods for directors. "Any time a director is appointed to a board they should serve a two-year period in a non-voting role and receive half the fees," he suggests. "You can't tell me that any new directors are going to step in and hit the ground running."

Calabria, who started in the mutual fund industry in 1963, has worked for a number of fund firms including Dreyfus Funds, Oppenheimer Funds and Templeton Funds. He joined the board of the AEGON Transamerica/IDEX funds in 1996 and served as an independent director for 11 years until retiring last October. He had also served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Mutual Fund Directors Forum.