Board Books: Let’s Fill in the Blanks

Friends, lets take a trip down nostalgia lane!

In a thinly veiled attempt to expose my age, the gear of yesteryear that got this boy all fired-up was not exactly in the iPhone or PlayStation form. High-tech for me was Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots, Etch-a-Sketch (the original iPad), Pogo-Sticks and the all-time favorite of ‘make-out parties’…Mad Libs.

This got me thinking. Why don’t we borrow a page from the ‘ol Mad Libs format in writing about a subject that we sometimes tend to overlook in the 40 Act world. A humble document of great significance: Board Books.

So, this week, I have added an interactive portion to the blog. Now, grab a pencil and jot down your choices BEFORE scrolling down to the story.

1. Major Communications Service Provider Name ______________

2. Noun __________

3. A really gory slasher movie title __________

4. A popular kitchen utensil ______________

5. Negative adjective ___________

6. A romantic sounding Spanish man’s first name _____________

7. Woman’s name ______________

8. A human body part ___________

9. Positive adjective ____________

10. Your nemesis ______________

Board Books are like getting hit by a board

“Board meeting time again already!! What a pain in the ___8___." I guess I need to start preparing the Board Books. As usual, I’ll create the Table of Contents, then divide the sections into tabs and clearly label the three-ring binders. Performance Information, Fund Specific Information, Securities, Soft Dollars, 144-A’s….Ugh, I feel like sticking a rusty ___4___ into my forehead.

This process is more stressful than my date last week. ___6___ asked me to the movies, telling me that his favorite romantic movie was playing. Well, it turned out to be ___3___. Then, he decided to surprise me by taking me to meet his mother, who, to put it nicely, was a bit of a ___5___ ___2___. What a headache!!

Whoops…Look at me. I drifted. The Board Meeting is next week and I need to get back to making sure everything is compiled properly and is factually accurate! I think I need some expert help on this. I’ll call ___1___, my solutions-oriented Communications Service Provider. I know I’ll get ___7___on the line. She’s always so ___9___. Although, I do know that others are probably dealing with board book problems as well, so it might take her a few minutes to get back to me, especially if she is talking to my equivalent at our competitors, office, ___10___. He is always in worse shape than I am.


I’m sure you get the picture here. Much like completing a Mad-Lib puzzle, the Board Book process is something that has so many different variables that each person views it differently. Dealing with it is not simple, so if you know someone that could benefit from some key tips, tell them to just contact ___(the funniest, most articulate Blogger you have read today)___.

No, wait. Tell them to contact yours truly instead.

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Tony Anzivino hails from the greatly misunderstood state of New Jersey. He's worked in Financial Shareholder Communications world from the age of 12, starting with Janitorial duties at his Father's firm. He likes biking, hiking and ketchup.