A corporate governance structure that includes board members that are independent, yet work as strong partners to the executive board, has clear long-term benefits for REIT performance, says Bill Ferguson, chairman of global professional services firm Ferguson Partners.

Speaking on the REIT Report, Ferguson said “it’s a fine balance…the board is there to be a fiduciary and represent the shareholders’ interests, but the bottom line is that they also need to be a good partner to the leadership team to make sure that the strategy and the execution of the business makes sense.”

Issues surrounding governance, in addition to a range of other ESG topics, will be explored at Nareit’s upcoming REITworks: 2022 Conference held on Sept. 12-13 in La Quinta, California.