Transforming the Dialogue: Fiduciary Essentials

Overview

This Handbook is intended as your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of today’s retirement systems. It’s designed to give fiduciaries the knowledge, tools, and insights needed to make thoughtful, effective decisions. Drawing from the successes and challenges of peers, it tackles the big questions, like: 

This Handbook aims to help you focus on what matters most, transform how you approach challenges, and make better-informed decisions faster. It’s all about helping you lead confidently and clearly in an increasingly complex landscape. The Handbook consolidates lessons learned from our experience in working with a wide range of clients with nearly $3 trillion in assets across public retirement systems (PRSs), multi-employer plans (MEPs), and other institutional investors.  

In 2020, we launched Board Smart®, the first online governance learning resource for public retirement system fiduciaries.   Since then, our expert faculty of former trustees and system executives and investment, legal, and actuarial professionals has developed a rich governance resource for fiduciaries. Over 150 Talks (podcasts, transcripts, and other educational materials) are now available, covering basic to advanced fiduciary and governance concepts. You can choose the format that’s best for you -- from 2-minute highlights to 30-minute podcasts.

“Rick Funston and his team at Board Smart have designed a very practical, impactful way of educating pension plan trustees. Using the progressive disclosure method of communicating, starting with easy-to-digest pieces of information and then allowing board members to drill down into more detail on each subject, makes the complex world of a pension board fiduciary less intimidating. Transforming the Dialogue: Fiduciary Essentials builds upon the Board Smart curriculum and acts as a ready reference for all board members, regardless of tenure.”- Kevin Olineck, Executive Director of Oregon Public Employees Retirement System
“The Fiduciary Essentials Handbook is an invaluable guide to fulfilling fiduciary responsibilities and protecting pension system integrity. A must-read for Trustees and Administrators.”- Katie Girardi, Executive Director, San Luis Obispo County Pension Trust
“This Handbook should be required reading for trustees and pension system staff. From my vantage point, it will not only be helpful to the ongoing development of the system (our system or any other), but also an independent resource to validate policies and practices with trustees or other stakeholders and a great developmental tool for staff advancement purposes.”- Scott Simon, Executive Director, MoDOT & Patrol Employees’ Retirement System

Frederick (Rick) Funston

Author / Editor information

As the CEO of Funston Advisory Services LLC (Governance, Risk and Compliance Solutions) and Board Smart (online governance and fiduciary education), I bring over 50 years of practical experience in helping boards and executive teams elevate their governance, risk intelligence, and strategic performance. At the intersection of insight and action, I guide leaders through complex transitions and oversight challenges. Throughout my career, I have specialized in being a generalist in conflict resolution, de-escalation and consensus building across more than 20 industry sectors spanning public and private companies, not-for-profit and government agencies.

As a former Deloitte National Practice Leader principal, I led governance and enterprise risk management services. I coined the term “Risk Intelligence” to describe the critical capabilities needed to take calculated rewarded risks while avoiding unrewarded ones. My advisory work is rooted in enabling collective adaptation to a fast-changing environment with clarity, resilience, and insight.

A nationally recognized practical thought leader and public speaker, I have been the principal author of four books on governance and risk. The most recent include “Adapt or Fail: A Five by Five Governance Framework for Boards of Directors” with Jon Lukomnik (De Gruyter) and “Transforming the Dialogue: Fiduciary Essentials” (Amazon).

Over the past fifteen years, I have led more than 60 reviews of public retirement systems and institutional investors of all sizes and circumstances overseeing nearly $3 trillion in assets. Whether advising on governance, performance and risk oversight, or leadership development, I focus on helping clients build the capacities to rapidly adapt and succeed.

Let’s connect if you’re seeking strategic guidance on governance, oversight effectiveness, or fiduciary education.