On the Ides of March, Ken Bertsch will become the new executive director of the Council of Institutional Investors.

Managing roughly $10,000 in assets for every man, woman and child in the United States under their control, CII’s primarily defined benefit pension fund members have a Caesar-like power on retirement security and the financial markets of the nation.

On Wednesday morning, the association’s incoming head held a half-hour phone interview with Financial Advisor magazine.

Bertsch, who holds a law degree from Fordham University, has spent most of his career in fund governance roles at powerhouses ranging from Morgan Stanley Investment Management to Moody’s Investors Service to TIAA-CREF.

In addition, he has served as president and CEO of the Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals and has held various positions at the Investor Responsibility Research Center.

Here is the interview:

Financial Advisor: Circa March 2, 2016, what is keeping pension fund managers up at night?

Bertsch: They’re the same things that have always kept pension fund managers up at night, but now it is a bit more serious. There’s more stress now about underfunded funds, and we are still in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

On the corporate governance front, what is foremost among worries is our funds have won shareholder rights over the years but there is a question of how to use those rights in the most effective way, such as how do you use votes in director elections to ensure accountability.

FA: Some investor advocates are worried there is a move afoot to roll back investor disclosure requirements. They cite the SEC’s disclosure effectiveness project, which they claim is driven by issuers’ desire to reduce disclosures and the agency’s refusal to reappoint James Doty as chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. As more evidence of a drive to reduce vital disclosures, they point to the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s proposed weaker materiality standards.

Are these worries legitimate, and do you share them?

Bertsch: The focus needs to be on effective disclosure. I am confident the SEC is focused on it, but as the agency considers views of various stakeholders, there is a risk that disclosures could be damaged. So there needs to be good investor advocacy.

FA: Who is taking the lead on environmental, social and governance investing: retail investors or institutional investors? Do you see ESG as a major component of institutional fund managers’ decision-making and do you expect it to grow significantly?

Bertsch: Institutions have had the lead on ESG issues because of their scale, and that will continue to be the case. The major push is for integration of ESG into investment generally for institutions and individuals. We’re midstream on this trend. ESG is important and will continue to be more important.

FA: Do your members work with high-frequency traders, and do you see their dominance of daily stock exchange volume as an asset or a liability for institutional investors and, separately, mom and pop investors?

Bertsch: With institutional investors focusing on the long term, I see micro-second high-frequency trading largely as just noise on the market.

FA: What is the relationship of pension funds with activist investors, and do you see that relationship changing?

Bertsch: There has been more skepticism by institutional investors on activists, especially related to financial engineering. Some activists are pushing for change in strategy or management, but others are focused just on share buybacks. I think share buybacks are not seen as a cure-all by many of the institutions.

FA: What is the impact of proxy advisory firms on the bottom line of pension funds?

Bertsch: Proxy advisory firms play a useful role in helping institutions vote. But institutions need to take responsibility and not simply rely on the proxy services.