Megan Kennedy
About Megan Kennedy
Megan Kennedy serves as Vice President and Secretary of abrdn Emerging Markets ex-China Fund, Inc. (AEF), a role she has held since 2009; she is also a Senior Director, Product Governance at abrdn Inc. (the Fund’s administrator). Year of birth: 1974. As an officer of an externally managed closed‑end fund, her compensation is paid by abrdn Inc. and is not disclosed at the Fund level; the Fund states that officers receive no compensation from the Fund and the Fund itself has no bonus/profit sharing/pension plans, so traditional pay‑for‑performance linkages at the issuer level do not apply . Her role is further evidenced by her signature on the Fund complex’s Rule 17g‑1 fidelity bond filing as “Vice President and Secretary” in July 2025 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| abrdn Inc. | Senior Director, Product Governance (US) | By 2024–Present | Oversees product governance for US registered/unregistered funds; serves as AEF’s Vice President and Secretary, supporting governance, compliance communications, and proxy administration . |
| abrdn Asset Management Inc. (now abrdn Inc.) | Head of Product Management (US) | 2009–at least 2017 | Led US product management for the complex; concurrently served as AEF Vice President and Secretary since 2009 . |
| abrdn Asset Management Inc. | Treasurer, Collective Funds/North American Mutual Funds | Jul 2008–2009 | Finance/treasury leadership across pooled vehicles; pipeline to later product leadership . |
| abrdn Asset Management Inc. | Assistant Treasurer, Collective Funds/North American Mutual Funds | Feb 2008–Jul 2008 | Transition role into treasury leadership for US pooled vehicles . |
| abrdn Asset Management Inc. | Senior Fund Administrator | 2005–Feb 2008 | Fund administration for US-domiciled products; joined abrdn in 2005 . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | No public company directorships or external board roles for Kennedy are disclosed in AEF officer biographies or proxies; officer listings consistently show only abrdn roles . |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | 2023–2024 disclosure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Compensation from AEF | Officers are employees of abrdn Inc./affiliates; none received any compensation from the Fund | Reiterated across multiple proxies; Fund has no bonus, profit sharing, pension or retirement plans . |
| Base salary (Kennedy) | Not disclosed by AEF | Paid by abrdn Inc.; no Fund-level disclosure . |
| Benefits/pension at AEF | None at the Fund | “The Fund does not have any bonus, profit sharing, pension or retirement plans” . |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not applicable at the Fund level for officers | — | — | — | — | The Fund discloses no officer incentive plan; officers are paid by abrdn Inc.; the Fund has no bonus/profit sharing plans . |
- No RSU/PSU/option grants from the Fund are disclosed for officers; no vesting schedules, performance goals, clawbacks, or tax gross‑ups are specified at the Fund level for officers .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Measure | As of 2019 | As of 2020 | As of 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aggregate ownership by AEF Directors and officers | “Less than 1%” of outstanding equity securities | “Less than 1%” of outstanding equity securities | “Less than 1%” of outstanding equity securities |
| Individual officer holdings disclosure | Not itemized; officer biographies do not provide individual share counts | Not itemized; note that certain named officers (CEO/Treasurer) reported no holdings as of period-end | Not itemized; certain named officers reported no holdings as of period-end |
- Pledging/hedging: AEF proxies do not disclose an officer-specific pledging or hedging policy; no officer pledging by Kennedy is reported in AEF filings reviewed .
- Section 16 reporting: Proxies state timely Section 16 filing compliance by reporting persons in recent years .
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Officer status and tenure | Vice President and Secretary of AEF since 2009; officers hold office until successors are elected/qualified and are elected annually by the Board | |
| Employer | abrdn Inc. (Fund administrator); compensation paid by abrdn Inc./affiliates, not by AEF | |
| Employment agreement, severance, change‑of‑control | Not disclosed at Fund level for officers | |
| Non‑compete/non‑solicit, garden leave, consulting | Not disclosed at Fund level for officers |
Additional Governance/Role Evidence
- Secretary of the Fund in 2024 and 2025 proxies (“By order of the Board of Directors, Megan Kennedy, Secretary”) .
- Signatory as Vice President and Secretary on Rule 17g‑1 fidelity bond filing for the abrdn fund complex (July 29, 2025) .
- Named among officers with year of birth (1974) and current abrdn role in officer tables (2024–2025) .
Investment Implications
- Pay‑for‑performance linkage: As an officer of an externally managed CEF, Kennedy’s compensation is not set or paid by AEF and is not disclosed at the Fund level; therefore, there is no observable link between AEF performance (NAV/TSR) and her pay in Fund disclosures, limiting direct compensation alignment analysis .
- Retention risk: Longstanding tenure (officer since 2009) and continuous listing in officer rosters suggest low near‑term retention risk from Fund‑level factors; no employment disruptions or 8‑K Item 5.02 events identified for Kennedy .
- Trading signals/insider pressure: Proxies provide no individual officer ownership detail for Kennedy and note sub‑1% aggregate insider ownership; no Form 4 selling activity for Kennedy was identified in AEF filings reviewed, implying limited read‑through on insider selling pressure .
- Governance continuity: As Secretary and a senior product governance leader at abrdn, Kennedy is central to proxy administration and governance processes, which supports operational continuity around shareholder meetings and regulatory filings .