It is necessary for the public fund industry to let the independent directors of capable fund companies take office and give full play to their due value. On May 20, the CSRC issued the measures for the supervision and administration of managers of publicly offered securities investment funds (hereinafter referred to as the measures for managers) and its supporting rules, which mentioned to strengthen the guarantee for the performance of duties of independent directors and support independent directors to play a professional role. So far, the policy has focused on the independent director of the fund company at least three times during the year. Before the implementation of a series of new regulations this year, the independent director system of fund companies implemented the relevant rules that were implemented ten years ago. Experts interviewed by the reporter of Securities Daily said that since this year, supervision has continued to optimize the performance requirements of independent directors of fund companies, and independent directors have gradually moved from behind the scenes to the front desk. Strengthen the supply of independent director system Improve the level of investor protection On May 20, the CSRC issued the measures for managers, which made it clear that fund management companies should establish and improve the independent director system and provide necessary conditions to ensure that independent directors can effectively and independently perform their duties. Independent directors shall be independent of the fund management company and its shareholders, adhere to the principle of giving priority to the interests of fund unitholders, be diligent and responsible, and make independent, objective, impartial and professional judgments on the fund assets and major matters of the company's operation in accordance with the law. According to the reporter of "Securities Daily", in addition to the above rules, the policy has "pointed out" the independent director of the fund company at least three times this year. The measures for the supervision and administration of directors, supervisors, senior managers and employees of securities fund operating institutions (hereinafter referred to as the "new rules for senior executives") officially implemented on April 1 have detailed provisions on the terms of office and performance requirements of independent directors, focusing on the independence and professionalism of independent directors. On April 26, the CSRC issued the opinions on accelerating the high-quality development of the public fund industry (hereinafter referred to as the opinions), with special emphasis on the necessity and urgency of public fund companies to further improve their internal governance mechanism, which requires the effective exertion of the supervision function of independent directors. "Public funds manage large investment funds and are one of the important institutional investors in the capital market." Zhou Lei, partner of Guohao law firm (Shanghai), told the Securities Daily that it is not difficult to see from the requirements of the opinions that the regulators hope that while the public fund industry is growing, other subjects can also shoulder the responsibility of supervision. The new regulations for senior executives integrate the qualifications of independent directors of fund companies, making them more clear and strict. It can be seen from some adjustments that the regulators put forward higher requirements for the independence of independent directors, mainly because independence is not only a necessary prerequisite for independent directors to better perform their duties, but also an important guarantee. "The overall scale of the public fund industry has increased from 2.9 trillion yuan in 2012 to 25 trillion yuan now, which has become one of the important parts of residents' wealth allocation. This year, the regulators have connected the supervision and management rules on the independent director system, which will help the independent directors to participate in the operation of the fund company from a more compliant and professional perspective and with the goal of safeguarding the rights and interests of investors." The analyst of industrial research company, who is inconvenient to be named, analyzed the reporter of Securities Daily. Zheng Yu, a law professor at the school of international finance and law of East China University of political science and law, told the reporter of Securities Daily that the continuous optimization of the independent director system is to improve the internal governance structure mechanism and risk control and restriction mechanism of the fund company, ensure the deliberation, supervision and decision-making rights of the independent director in the internal decision-making procedures and management process rules of the fund company, and prevent the fund company from disorderly investment and The problems of interest transmission and interest conflict are a kind of institutional supply to improve the level of investor protection. Strengthen the performance of independent directors and ensure their renewed efforts Independent directors are expected to refresh the "sense of existence" However, taking the relevant announcements of nearly 30 days as a sample, the reporter observed that at present, the fund companies have different standards for the disclosure of the resumes of independent directors, and the disclosure of their duties is not sufficient. For example, some fund companies only disclose the education background and current position of independent directors, and there is no specific introduction to other resumes or financial background; For another example, compared with the independent board of directors of listed companies expressing independent opinions or "objections" on multiple matters such as relevant periodic reports and related party transactions, the statements of independent directors of fund companies are less disclosed. A relevant person from the real estate investment department of a public fund company in Beijing disclosed to the reporter of Securities Daily, "the above situation may be due to the less requirements for fund companies to disclose the relevant information of independent directors, and the resumes of independent directors are often disclosed only through the prospectus of fund products." "Compared with listed companies, fund companies do disclose less about the performance of independent directors." The above analysts believe that the regulators have clearly strengthened the protection of the performance of independent directors this year. Next, it is suggested to make efforts from two aspects: first, the fund company should establish and improve the independent director system as soon as possible and regularly disclose the performance of independent directors. Second, the remuneration system of independent directors can be reformed and linked to the overall operation performance of the fund company. In this way, independent directors can not only pay more attention to the operation of fund companies and products, so as to safeguard the interests of holders, but also attract more professionals to join. In addition, the reporter noticed in the communication with the internal employees of many fund companies that some personnel have "no sense" of the post of independent director. Zhou Lei believes that the main reason for the illusion of "no feeling" may be that the independent directors perform their duties mainly by participating in the board of directors of the fund company, and there are relatively few contents that need to be expressed by the independent directors in the previous relevant rules. According to the above-mentioned relevant person, "on the one hand, there are many new products issued by the fund company every year, and the product matters belong to the operation at the executive level. According to the relevant requirements, the independent director only participates in major decisions, which is difficult to participate in everything in practice; on the other hand, the public fund is highly professional, the independent director's specialty is limited, or it is difficult to express opinions on some specific matters." "However, the new regulations for senior executives and the provisions on issues related to the implementation of lt; measures for the supervision and administration of managers of publicly offered securities investment funds gt; (hereinafter referred to as the provisions) In, it defines the matters that need the independent director's key attention by way of enumeration, including whether the management and operation of various entrusted assets of the fund company damage or may damage the interests of fund unitholders, the company's compliance performance guarantee, etc. At the same time, the document also makes it clear that independent directors can discuss major issues of concern. " Zhou Lei predicted that the "sense of existence" of the independent directors of the fund company in the hearts of investors will be refreshed on the premise that the scope of responsibilities of the independent directors is more and more clearly defined and they are clearly given the necessary rights to exercise when performing their duties. Experts believe that Fund companies should fully empower independent directors The new regulations for senior executives and the provisions have made detailed provisions on the number of independent directors on the board of directors of the fund company and the restrictions on individuals serving as independent directors in the fund company. For example, the number of independent directors of the fund company shall not be less than 3, and shall not be less than 1 / 3 of the number of the board of directors. Any person can act as an independent director in up to two securities fund operating institutions. However, the reporter observed the above samples and noted that although fund companies can configure independent directors according to the requirements of the rules, the number is mostly configured according to the lower limit. Zheng Yu believes that the independent director is mainly responsible for the internal operation of the fund company rather than the management of fund products. Next, independent directors should pay attention to the operation logic, internal control rules and internal control effects of fund companies, while fund management companies should empower independent directors. Independent directors can also make a voice for important risk points such as fund managers' assessment standards, incentive schemes, quota indicators and trading behavior, and even a special committee composed of independent directors can decide or review these matters, So that the independent director can really play the role of "brain center" of the fund company. "In the future, independent directors need to pay more attention to product operation logic and fund manager investment mode from a professional perspective, so as to safeguard the rights and interests of investors." The above analysts believe that in view of the significant increase in the scale of public funds and the increase in business complexity in recent years, it is suggested that fund companies should raise the requirements for independent directors on the professional level and strengthen the ability of independent directors to perform their duties. (Xinhua News Agency)