A new study finds that low-paid mutual fund directors with large stakes in the fund or funds of their family fare the best, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The findings echo the arguments of opponents to the SEC's challenged-independent director rule.

David Weinbaum of Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management; Martijn Cremers of Yale's School of Management; Joost Driessen of the University of Amsterdam, and Pascal Maenhout of INSEAD co-wrote the paper, titled "Does Skin in the Game Matter? "

The researchers examined the pay of independent and interested directors of the largest 25 mutual fund families in the U.S.

Funds with relatively low-paid (less than $75,000) directors and "substantial" ownership in the fund or funds of their family earned 1.5 to 4 percent more per year, the professors found.

"Overall, our results suggest that investors are indeed better off if the captains own the ship," wrote the researchers.

On average, independent directors own approximately $8,000 worth of the fund they are on the board of, and $67,000 in the fund's family; interested directors invest an average of $23,000 in the fund they oversee and $88,000 in related funds.  

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