Nancy Yao

About Nancy Yao

Independent Class III Trustee of abrdn Global Infrastructure Income Fund (ASGI), trustee since 2020; term expires 2026; year of birth 1972. Current academic roles include assistant professor adjunct and assistant dean at Yale University’s David Geffen School of Drama, teaching financial accounting and governance; prior experience spans 25+ years across Asia, finance, and governance at Goldman Sachs, Yale-China Association, and CFRA. Education: MBA from Yale School of Management; AB in Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental College. She serves on the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations .

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Independence: Independent Trustee; committees comprised entirely of Independent Trustees under NYSE standards .
• Committee assignments: Audit Committee member (Chair: John Sievwright) and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee member (Chair: P. Gerald Malone) .
• Board leadership: Board Chair is Independent Trustee P. Gerald Malone .
• Meetings and attendance: FY2024—Board held 5 regular and 1 special meeting; Audit Committee met 4 times; Nominating Committee met once. Trustees attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings during FY2024 . FY2023—Board held 5 meetings; Audit Committee met 4 times; Nominating Committee met once. Trustees attended at least 75% of meetings during FY2023 .
• Executive sessions: Independent Trustees meet in executive session at least quarterly .

Fixed Compensation

• The Fund does not have any bonus, profit sharing, pension, or retirement plans for Trustees .

Performance Compensation

No performance-based compensation elements are disclosed for Trustees; compensation appears cash-based via retainers/fees typical for closed-end fund boards .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Expertise & Qualifications

• Financial and research analysis experience in and covering the Asia region; experience in world affairs .
• Academic expertise in accounting and governance; leadership roles in non-profit institutions .
• Board service across multiple abrdn funds, contributing to risk oversight and audit processes .

Equity Ownership

• Independence reinforcement: As of Apr 1, 2025, none of the Independent Trustees or their immediate family members owned shares of the Investment Adviser or Investment Sub-Adviser or their affiliates (other than registered investment companies) .

Governance Assessment

• Committee effectiveness: Yao’s Audit Committee role supports oversight of financial reporting, auditor independence, and valuation; all audit and permissible non-audit services are pre-approved, with KPMG fees disclosed and independence affirmed, indicating strong controls .
• Attendance and engagement: Board and committee activity levels (FY2024: six Board meetings; Audit met 4x; Nominating met 1x) plus ≥75% attendance indicate engagement; Yao served on both key committees in this period .
• Compensation alignment: Cash-based director pay increased modestly at the Fund level (to $37,500 in FY2024) and materially at the complex level (to $399,505), reflecting broader responsibilities across 8 registrants; absence of performance pay reduces misalignment risk but also limits direct pay-for-performance linkage .
• Ownership alignment: Personal dollar-range ownership in ASGI and across abrdn funds suggests some skin-in-the-game, though aggregate board ownership remains <1% of shares; no pledging disclosed .
• Conflicts and related-party exposure: Independence affirmed; no ownership in Adviser/Sub-Adviser by Independent Trustees or immediate family members; Audit Committee practices and charter mitigate auditor-related conflicts .
• Shareholder signals: FY2024 showed concentrated holders (Saba Capital 10.31%; Morgan Stanley 5.8%), suggesting active oversight pressures; as of Apr 7, 2025, no 5%+ beneficial owners, potentially reducing near-term activism risk .

RED FLAGS

• None disclosed for Yao specifically: no related-party transactions, no hedging/pledging, no delinquent filings; FY2023 late Form 3s pertained to other Trustees, not Yao .
• Monitor complex-level time commitments given oversight of 8 registrants, which may dilute focus if board workloads intensify; attendance thresholds were met in FY2023–FY2024 .

Insider Filing Compliance