Christian Pittard
About Christian Pittard
Christian Pittard (Year of Birth: 1973) is an executive officer of ASGI with service since 2020; he currently serves as Vice President (since 2024) after previously serving as Chief Executive Officer and President from 2020 to 2024 . He is Head of Closed End Funds at abrdn and Managing Director of Corporate Finance, having executed a significant number of closed-end fund transactions in the US and UK since joining abrdn from KPMG in 1999; he previously led the Americas and North American Funds businesses, and has served in senior product roles at abrdn; earlier proxies list him as Global Head of Product Opportunities and Director of abrdn (Holdings) PLC since 2010 . As of October 31, 2023, the Fund disclosed that Mr. Pittard did not own shares of ASGI, and officers and trustees in aggregate owned less than 1% of outstanding shares . The Fund’s proxies state executive officers receive no compensation from the Fund and it does not maintain bonus, profit sharing, pension or retirement plans, so there are no disclosed fund-linked TSR, revenue, or EBITDA performance metrics tied to his pay .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASGI | Chief Executive Officer and President | 2020–2024 | Officer leadership per proxy; Fund Officer since 2020 |
| ASGI | Vice President | 2024–present | “Vice President since 2024; Fund Officer since 2020” as disclosed |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| abrdn Investments Limited | Head of Closed End Funds | Current (2025) | Responsible for US and UK closed-end fund businesses |
| abrdn Investments Limited | Managing Director, Corporate Finance | Current (2025) | Executed significant number of closed-end fund transactions in US and UK since joining in 1999 |
| abrdn (Holdings) PLC | Director | Since 2010 | Board-level role at abrdn (Holdings) PLC |
| abrdn | Global Head of Product Opportunities | Through at least 2024 | Global leadership in product opportunities |
| abrdn (US) | Head of the Americas & North American Funds | Prior to 2025 (previously) | Led US operations and North American funds |
Fixed Compensation
- The Fund’s proxies state that all officers are employees of and compensated by the Investment Adviser or its affiliates; none of the Fund’s executive officers received any compensation from the Fund for the periods disclosed, and the Fund does not have bonus, profit sharing, pension or retirement plans .
- As a result, base salary, target bonus, and actual bonus for Mr. Pittard are not disclosed in ASGI filings; any compensation would be at the adviser level and outside Fund proxy scope .
Performance Compensation
- No Fund-level equity awards, options, or performance-based incentives are disclosed for executive officers; the Fund does not pay officers and maintains no bonus or pension plans .
- Accordingly, there are no disclosed performance metrics (e.g., revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR) tied to Mr. Pittard’s compensation at the Fund level, nor any vesting schedules or payout formulas in Fund documents .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Date | Value |
|---|---|---|
| ASGI shares beneficially owned by Christian Pittard | As of Oct 31, 2023 | None |
| Aggregate officer/trustee ownership of ASGI | As of Oct 31, 2023 | Less than 1% of outstanding equity |
| Pledged shares disclosed for Mr. Pittard | As of Oct 31, 2023 | No pledging disclosure in proxy |
| Section 16(a) compliance (officers and trustees) | FY 2023 | To the Fund’s knowledge, timely filings aside from listed late Form 3s by certain trustees (no mention of Pittard) |
Employment Terms
- The Fund’s proxies do not disclose employment contracts, severance, change-of-control provisions, non-compete, or garden leave terms for executive officers; officers are employees of the Investment Adviser or its affiliates and compensated by them, not by the Fund .
Performance & Track Record
- Fund proxies provide officer biographies and governance information but do not disclose officer-specific TSR or value-creation metrics; no officer pay-for-performance linkage is presented because executive officers are not compensated by the Fund .
- Role evolution: Mr. Pittard transitioned from CEO/President (2020–2024) to Vice President in 2024 while maintaining senior responsibilities at abrdn (Head of Closed End Funds; Managing Director, Corporate Finance), reflecting continued sponsor-level leadership .
Compensation Committee Analysis
- The Board’s standing committees are the Audit Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee; committees are comprised entirely of Independent Trustees and conduct annual charter and self-assessment reviews; there is no separate compensation committee in the Fund’s governance structure .
- Trustee compensation is disclosed; officers receive no compensation from the Fund, aligning with the Fund’s adviser-compensated officer structure .
Investment Implications
- Executive officer pay is not a source of trading signals for ASGI: the Fund does not compensate officers and provides no performance-tied incentives or vesting schedules at the Fund level; pay structures and retention levers for Mr. Pittard exist at the adviser (abrdn) and are not disclosed in Fund proxies .
- Alignment via Fund ownership is limited: the proxy explicitly states Mr. Pittard did not own ASGI shares as of Oct 31, 2023, and aggregate officer/trustee ownership was <1% .
- Governance oversight is trustee-centric with independent committees; monitoring sponsor-level strategy and Board actions may be more informative than officer-level compensation for assessing ASGI performance and risk .
- Role change from CEO/President to Vice President in 2024 should be noted for influence and continuity assessment; however, he retains significant closed-end fund leadership responsibilities at abrdn, indicating ongoing sponsor engagement with the Fund complex .