Thomas Bumbolow

About Thomas Bumbolow

Thomas R. Bumbolow is an Independent Trustee of the Saba Capital Income & Opportunities Fund (BRW) serving since January 2021 and a member of the Fund’s Audit Committee. He is currently Head of Distribution & Business Development at American Life & Security Corp. and has prior experience in fixed-income sales and trading over a 20-year career at JPMorgan Chase; he holds a B.A. in Economics from Boston College. Date of birth: 05/17/1976. His qualifications highlighted by the Fund emphasize extensive financial and asset management experience and current engagement in insurance/reinsurance distribution.

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Independence and tenure: Independent Trustee since January 2021; oversees one fund in the Fund Complex (BRW). The Board has five members, four independent.
• Committee assignments: Audit Committee member; Audit Committee chaired by Karen Caldwell (designated Audit Committee Financial Expert). Audit Committee met three times in FYE Oct 31, 2024.
• Board activity and engagement: Board held four meetings in FYE Oct 31, 2024. No formal policy on attending the Annual Meeting; no Trustees attended the 2024 annual meeting (June 20, 2024).
• Governance structure: Board Chair is an Interested Trustee (Andrew Kellerman), a partner at the Adviser (Saba Capital). No standing Compensation Committee; Independent Trustees collectively consider Trustee and officer compensation.
• Nominating & Corporate Governance: Committee charter requires at least three independent members; outlines independence and qualification standards and annual evaluation of Board/committees.
• Retirement policy: Independent Trustees retire at age 75 unless extended by majority of other Independent Trustees to avoid a shareholder meeting requirement.
• Risk oversight: Board recognizes, among others, conflicts-of-interest risk affecting affiliates and oversees risk via reports from the CCO and service providers.

Fixed Compensation

Fee schedule and individual pay (no equity components disclosed for Trustees):

• Fee schedule (current policy)

  • Independent Trustee annual retainer: $15,000 per year (FYE Oct 31, 2024)
  • Audit Committee Chair additional fee: $7,500 per year (Caldwell)

• Bumbolow – amounts paid by period

Additional notes:

• Trustees are reimbursed for reasonable expenses in connection with Board/committee meetings.

Performance Compensation

Other Directorships & Interlocks

• Number of funds overseen in Fund Complex by Bumbolow: 1 (BRW). No other public company directorships disclosed; other Trustees (e.g., Caldwell, Desai) have additional Fund II roles, but Bumbolow does not.

Expertise & Qualifications

• Capital markets and fixed income: 20 years at JPMorgan Chase across fixed-income sales and trading.
• Distribution/insurance/reinsurance: Senior distribution leadership at American Life & Security Corp.; prior distribution role at Midwest Holding.
• Entrepreneurial and advisory: Co-founder of protoCapital; advisor to Limitless Ventures.
• Education: B.A. in Economics, Boston College.
• Governance: Independent Trustee and Audit Committee member, aligning background with financial oversight responsibilities.

Equity Ownership

Dollar range of beneficial ownership (Trustee self-reported ranges in proxies):

Note: BRW had 42,529,493.52 common shares outstanding as of the 2025 record date; Bumbolow’s reported dollar range of $0 implies effectively 0% ownership.

Governance Assessment

• Strengths

  • Relevant financial markets and fixed-income expertise, plus distribution leadership in insurance/reinsurance; useful for oversight of valuation, liquidity, and investment risks highlighted by the Fund’s risk framework.
  • Active role on the Audit Committee alongside an experienced chair and designated financial expert; committee met three times in FYE 2024.
  • Nominating & Corporate Governance charter sets explicit independence and qualification criteria, and mandates periodic Board/committee evaluations.

• Risk indicators and red flags

  • Governance structure: Board chair is an Interested Trustee and partner at the Adviser (Saba), which concentrates agenda-setting power with an affiliated person.
  • Shareholder engagement optics: No Trustees attended the 2024 annual meeting; the Board has no formal attendance policy for the annual meeting.
  • Alignment concern: Reported dollar range of $0 in BRW (and $0 across the Fund Complex) suggests no personal economic stake in the Fund as of March 31, 2025.
  • Compensation oversight: No standing Compensation Committee; Independent Trustees collectively set compensation, which can reduce process formality versus a dedicated committee.
  • Conflicts acknowledged: The Board explicitly cites “conflicts of interest affecting affiliates” as a key risk area, underscoring the need for strong independent oversight.

• Other observations

  • Retirement policy at 75 supports refreshment; Independent status and Audit Committee membership are positive for independence.

Skipped items: No individual board or committee attendance percentages disclosed; no equity or option awards to Trustees; no related-party transactions tied to Bumbolow disclosed in the proxy materials; no other public company directorships for Bumbolow disclosed.