The First American Funds Board of Directors is 100% independent, with nine directors headed by Virginia Stringer. Ms. Stringer has served as the independent chair of the board since 1997 and is also a board member of two national mutual-fund organizations - the Independent Directors Council of the Investment Company Institute (ICI) and the Mutual Fund Directors Forum. As chair of the First American Funds' board, Ms. Stringer leads the board in all aspects of its responsibilities, including those relating to oversight of the funds, governance, compliance, and shareholder relations.
First American Funds' directors have five regularly scheduled meetings each year and hold additional meetings, as necessary. The board also has three standing committees - the Audit Committee, Pricing Committee, and Governance Committee - which meet regularly during the year.
Audit Committee - The Audit Committee is chaired by Leonard Kedrowski and also includes Benjamin Field III, John Kayser, Richard Riederer, and Virginia Stringer (ex-officio). Among the committee's responsibilities are:
- Overseeing the funds' accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and internal controls;
- Reviewing the funds' financial statements and independent audit;
- Acting as a liaison between the funds' independent auditors and the Board of Directors; and
- Selecting and evaluating the funds' independent auditors.
Pricing Committee - The Pricing Committee is chaired by Roger Gibson and also includes James Wade, Benjamin Field III, and Virginia Stringer (ex-officio). The committee's responsibilities include overseeing:
- The valuation of fund holdings;
- Processes and procedures on which valuations of fund holdings are based; and
- Pricing vendors used by the funds.
Governance Committee - The Governance Committee is chaired by Joseph Strauss and also includes James Wade, Victoria Herget, and Virginia Stringer (ex-officio). The committee has a number of responsibilities, including overseeing:
- Board composition;
- Committee structure;
- Director education; and
- Governance practices (including the periodic review of published industry "best practices").
The board serves as a committee of the whole to review fund performance, and Victoria Herget currently serves as the board's fund review liaison. In that capacity, Ms. Herget works with the management of FAF Advisors on their performance and investment-related reporting to the board. Between board meetings, Ms. Herget serves as liaison between the board and the adviser on fund performance. Ms. Herget also coordinates, on behalf of the board, the substance and formatting of certain reports presented by FAF Advisors during board meetings.
