Richard A. Silver
About Richard A. Silver
Independent director of The China Fund, Inc. since 2018; year of birth 1947. He is the Audit Committee Chair and an experienced investment management executive, formerly treasurer and CFO for Fidelity Mutual Funds and executive vice president at Fidelity Investments, and prior senior vice president/treasurer/CFO of The Colonial Group, Inc.; he also chaired the Investment Company Institute Accounting/Treasurers’ Committee for ~7 years .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fidelity Mutual Funds / Fidelity Investments | Treasurer and CFO; Executive Vice President | Not disclosed | Oversaw accounting, financial reporting and operations across 400 mutual funds and 2,300 portfolios |
| The Colonial Group, Inc. | Senior Vice President, Treasurer and CFO | Nearly 19 years | Headed the company’s financial services group |
| Investment Company Institute | Chair, Accounting/Treasurers’ Committee | ~7 years | Industry standard-setting in fund accounting/treasury |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Korea Fund, Inc. | Director | Not disclosed | Interlock: Other CHN directors Julian Reid (Chair) and Yan Hu also serve on The Korea Fund board |
Board Governance
- Independence: The CHN board consists entirely of directors “not interested persons” under the 1940 Act; directors (including Silver) meet NYSE independence standards .
- Committee assignments: Audit, Valuation & Compliance Committee (Chair); Governance, Nominating & Compensation Committee (Member); Contracts Committee (Member); Investment Committee (Member); Discount Management Committee (Member) .
- Attendance: FY2024—Board held four regular meetings; each director attended every board and committee meeting; directors also attended the 2024 annual meeting . FY2023—Board held four regular and three special meetings; each director attended all meetings (except one miss by Ms. Hu); directors attended the 2023 annual meeting .
- Engagement: Audit Committee met five times in FY2024 and FY2023; Governance Committee met four times in FY2024 and three times in FY2023, indicating active oversight cadence .
- Network interlocks: Multiple CHN directors concurrently serve on The Korea Fund (Reid, Silver, Hu), an interlock that may influence perspectives and information flow .
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY2023 | FY2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Aggregate compensation from CHN (Silver) | $65,500 | $62,334 |
| Current Director Fee Structure (as disclosed) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Annual retainer (all directors) | $47,000 (paid in cash) |
| Quarterly meeting fees (after attendance) | $10,000 per quarter |
| Special in‑person Board/Committee meeting fee | $3,000 per meeting |
| Special telephonic Board/Committee meeting fee | $1,000 per meeting |
| Chairman of the Board additional retainer | $14,000 |
| Audit Committee Chair additional retainer | $8,000 |
| Prior annual fee schedule (effective Jan 1, 2024) | Chairman: $71,000; Audit Chair: $65,000; Other Directors: $57,000 |
Notes: CHN’s disclosures show a move between a flat annual fee schedule and a retainer-plus-meeting-fees structure across 2024–2025. Silver, as Audit Chair, receives the incremental chair retainer under both structures .
Performance Compensation
| Performance-based element | Disclosed? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Equity awards (RSUs/PSUs), options | None disclosed | CHN does not disclose equity grants for directors; officers are not compensated by the Fund . |
| Bonuses, performance metrics (TSR, EBITDA, ESG) | None disclosed | Director pay appears strictly cash-based retainers and meeting fees . |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Name | External Public Board | Role | Interlock Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard A. Silver | The Korea Fund, Inc. | Director | Shared service with CHN directors Reid and Hu |
| Julian Reid | The Korea Fund, Inc. | Chairman & Director | Serves concurrently on CHN (Chair) and Korea Fund |
| Yan Hu | The Korea Fund, Inc. | Director | Serves concurrently on CHN and Korea Fund |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Financial oversight expertise: Decades in fund treasury/accounting and reporting; led large-scale operations across hundreds of funds and portfolios .
- Industry leadership: Chaired the ICI Accounting/Treasurers’ Committee for ~7 years, signaling deep technical governance knowledge .
- Audit leadership: Serves as Audit Committee Chair, signing committee reports and overseeing auditor independence and financial statement processes .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Ownership Detail |
|---|---|
| Richard A. Silver | Dollar range of CHN equity: $10,001–$50,000 |
| Directors and officers as a group | Less than 1% of CHN outstanding shares |
Notes: CHN reports dollar ranges for director holdings; specific share counts for directors are not disclosed. Major shareholders include institutions; no director-level pledging or hedging is disclosed in the proxies reviewed .
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Silver’s deep financial management background aligns with Audit Chair responsibilities; full attendance and active committee cadence support board effectiveness; independence under the 1940 Act/NYSE strengthens oversight posture .
- Alignment: Director compensation is cash-based with modest chair premia; Silver holds a personal stake in CHN within the disclosed $10,001–$50,000 range, offering some alignment though overall board ownership is immaterial (<1%) .
- Potential conflicts and signals: Interlocks with The Korea Fund may concentrate perspectives but also facilitate cross-fund governance insights; no related-party transactions or director-level perquisites are disclosed in the reviewed proxies; Section 16 filings for directors were timely in FY2024 (exception noted for an officer), and in FY2023 a filing delay was noted for Ms. Hu—not Silver .
- Additional context: The October 2025 special proxy proposes liquidation and dissolution of CHN, unanimously recommended by the Board; while fund-level, it underscores active governance and discount management focus in response to persistent NAV discount and market conditions .
RED FLAGS: None directly attributable to Silver in reviewed filings—no attendance issues, no related-party transactions, no equity repricing, no tax gross‑ups, no pledging disclosed. Interlocks across CHN/Korea Fund warrant monitoring for potential conflicts of interest should overlapping matters arise .