Funds with an independent chairman at the helm of the board dont necessarily have lower fees or better performance, fund consultants Geoffrey Bobroff and Thomas Mack tell The Wall Street Journal, in a letter to the editor refuting recent criticism from
Bobroff and Mack said they came to their conclusion through an independent study, commissioned by
The study found, in fact, that funds with independent chairman have delivered sub-par performance to those overseen by a chairman from management, and the fees of funds with independent chairmen are not necessarily lower but range widely, from competitive to high. Noting that Bogle criticized their studys methodology, the consultants said they "stand by" their studys design, "which was developed before the data was analyzed and kept sharply focused on the question at hand: Whether independent chair funds have provided better performance or lower expenses than management chair funds."