Alan Goodson

About Alan Goodson

Alan Goodson (Year of Birth: 1974) serves as President and Principal Executive Officer of abrdn Income Credit Strategies Fund (ACP), and is Executive Director and Head of Product & Client Solutions—Americas at abrdn Inc.; he joined abrdn in 2000 and has been a Fund officer since 2017 . He holds a BEng (Hons) in Naval Architecture from the University of Southampton and is a Fellow of the ICAEW (FCA) . Fund performance under abrdn’s advisory since December 1, 2017 shows mixed outcomes recently: for periods ended April 30, 2025, ACP’s average annual total return at NAV was 10Y: 3.10%, 5Y: 8.42%, 3Y: 4.27%, 1Y: 5.22%, and 6M: -1.26%; market returns were 10Y: 3.25%, 5Y: 9.69%, 3Y: -0.12%, 1Y: 1.79%, and 6M: -6.33% . For the prior year period ended April 30, 2024, NAV returns were 10Y: 2.34%, 5Y: 0.99%, 3Y: -2.90%, 1Y: 14.13%, and 6M: 12.85%; market returns were 10Y: 2.85%, 5Y: 1.10%, 3Y: -6.06%, 1Y: 16.20%, and 6M: 23.69% .

Notes: abrdn assumed responsibility as investment adviser/sub-adviser on Dec 1, 2017 .

Past Roles

External Roles

Fixed Compensation

• Officers of the Fund “do not receive any compensation directly from the Fund or any other fund in the Fund Complex for performing their duties as officers.” Compensation tables in ACP’s proxy apply to Trustees; there is no officer cash/equity compensation disclosed at the Fund level .
• Implication: Goodson’s cash/equity compensation is paid by abrdn Inc. (the adviser), not by ACP; metric linkages (if any) are not disclosed in ACP filings .

Performance Compensation

• The Fund discloses no officer incentive plan metrics (e.g., revenue/EBITDA/TSR, PSU targets) for Fund officers; no RSUs/PSUs/options granted by ACP to officers are disclosed .
• Item 18 “Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation” in the N-CSR is marked “Not applicable,” indicating no listed clawback policy disclosure applicable to the Fund .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

Additional alignment indicators:

• No pledging/hedging disclosures for officers were identified in ACP’s proxy; none are stated for Goodson .
• Section 16 reporting: Goodson serves as officer/PEO and appears in power-of-attorney schedules for Section 16 administration across abrdn funds, but the ACP document set did not surface Form 4 transactions by Goodson; other officers have Form 3 filings . Note: Officers are required to file Section 16 reports as applicable; the proxy notes reporting compliance for the prior fiscal year .

Employment Terms

• Title and capacity: President; Principal Executive Officer of ACP; signs Rule 30a-2 and Section 906 certifications in N-CSR .
• Officer tenure: Officer since 2017; listed as President in 2025 proxy; in 2024 proxy, Goodson was Vice President and Christian Pittard was President—indicating a leadership transition by 2025 .
• Appointment/term: Officers are appointed annually by the Fund’s Board and hold office until a successor is duly elected and qualified .
• Clawback policy: “Not applicable” under Item 18 of N-CSR (Rule 10D-1 listing standards reference) .
• No severance, change-in-control, non-compete/non-solicit, garden leave, or post-termination consulting terms are disclosed for Fund officers; as abrdn employees, any such terms would reside in abrdn Inc. employment arrangements and are not disclosed in ACP filings .

Board Governance (context)

• Goodson is an officer (President), not a Trustee; Board comprises four Independent Trustees and one Interested Trustee; Independent Trustees meet in executive session at least quarterly and retain independent counsel .

Fund Performance Context During Tenure

• NAV/market returns as of April 30, 2025 show 5-year average annual returns at 8.42% (NAV) and 9.69% (market), with recent six-month softness; discount moved from -0.61% (10/31/2024) to -5.71% (4/30/2025) as NAV declined from $6.53 to $5.95 and market price from $6.49 to $5.61 .
• Distribution policy: Monthly distribution reduced from $0.10 to $0.0775 effective January 2025; implied annualized distribution rate over the six months ended April 30, 2025 was 16.39% on NAV and 17.38% on market price .

Expertise & Qualifications

• Executive Director and Head of Product—Americas with >20 years at abrdn; oversees product governance, development, and client solutions across multiple registered and private vehicles; Director/Vice President of abrdn Inc. .
• Education: BEng (Hons), University of Southampton; professional credential: FCA (ICAEW) .

Investment Implications

• Alignment: As of April 1, 2025, Goodson held no ACP shares, and officers do not receive compensation from the Fund; pay/performance linkages, vesting schedules, or insider selling pressure at the Fund level are not present in ACP disclosures—any incentives reside with abrdn Inc. and are undisclosed here .
• Retention/continuity: Goodson functions as the Fund’s PEO and signatory on N-CSR certifications, evidencing operational accountability; officers are appointed annually by the Board with no disclosed severance or change-in-control economics at the Fund level—retention levers likely sit within abrdn’s corporate arrangements .
• Trading signals: Lack of disclosed ACP equity ownership by Goodson suggests minimal direct insider selling pressure from Fund securities; no ACP Form 4 transactions for Goodson surfaced in the returned document set, though officers remain subject to Section 16 reporting .
• Performance context: Multi-year NAV returns stabilized/improved through 2025 on a 5-year basis, though near-term softness and a widened discount emerged alongside a distribution reset; governance features include an independent Board with quarterly executive sessions .

Citations:

• Officer roles/biography and tenure:
• Officer compensation statement:
• Ownership:
• Certifications/PEO signatures:
• Performance tables and distribution/NAV/price:
• Section 16 context and POA schedules:
• External bio/education: