Fred Jensen
About Fred Jensen
Fred Jensen is Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) of Western Asset Mortgage Opportunity Fund Inc. (DMO), serving since 2020; he was born in 1963 and is currently a Director—Global Compliance at Franklin Templeton (since 2020) . His prior experience includes senior compliance leadership roles across Legg Mason entities and earlier CCO roles at The Reserve Funds and Ambac Financial Group, reflecting deep SEC ’40 Act and broker-dealer compliance expertise . As a closed-end fund officer, Jensen receives no compensation from the Fund (officers may be reimbursed only for reasonable travel to attend Board meetings); Board risk oversight includes regular sessions with the CCO on risk issues and control frameworks . Effective April 17, 2020, Mr. Jensen became CCO of the Fund .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Templeton | Director—Global Compliance | Since 2020 | Not specified in proxy |
| Legg Mason & Co. | Managing Director | 2006–2020 | Not specified in proxy |
| Legg Mason (Office of the Chief Compliance Officer) | Director of Compliance | 2006–2020 | Not specified in proxy |
| Legg Mason Global Asset Allocation | Chief Compliance Officer | Prior to 2014 | Not specified in proxy |
| Legg Mason Private Portfolio Group | Chief Compliance Officer | Prior to 2013 | Not specified in proxy |
| The Reserve Funds (investment adviser, funds, broker-dealer) | Chief Compliance Officer | 2004 | Not specified in proxy |
| Ambac Financial Group (investment adviser, funds, broker-dealer) | Chief Compliance Officer | 2000–2003 | Not specified in proxy |
Fixed Compensation
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Base salary/bonus from the Fund | Officers of the Fund receive no compensation from the Fund |
| Expense reimbursement | Officers may be reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses to attend Board meetings |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive type | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund-level officer incentives | — | — | — | — | — | — | None at Fund level; officers receive no compensation from the Fund |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Group ownership (Directors and officers as a group) | Less than 1% of outstanding shares as of Aug 29, 2025 |
| Group ownership (prior year) | Less than 1% as of Aug 30, 2024 |
| Group ownership (two years prior) | Less than 1% as of Aug 31, 2023 |
| Individual officer share details (e.g., Jensen) | Not provided in Fund proxy; proxies present group-level ownership and director ranges, not officer-by-officer counts |
| Pledging/hedging policies | Not specified for officers in the cited Fund proxy materials |
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Appointment and term | Executive officers are chosen annually by the Board; hold office until successors are duly elected and qualified |
| Employment affiliation | Jensen serves as Director—Global Compliance at Franklin Templeton (since 2020) |
| Compensation from the Fund | None; officers may be reimbursed for reasonable travel expenses to Board meetings |
| Employment contracts, severance, CoC | No officer employment agreements, severance, or change-of-control economics are discussed in the Fund’s proxy materials reviewed |
| Effective CCO appointment | Effective April 17, 2020, Mr. Jensen became CCO of the Fund |
| Risk oversight interface | Board meets with the CCO at regular meetings to discuss risk issues, policies, procedures, and control environment |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance linkage at the Fund level is absent for officers: Jensen receives no compensation from DMO, so his Fund-related cash/equity incentives and any vesting overhang are not drivers of trading signals in DMO shares .
- Insider alignment appears limited at the Fund level: Directors and officers as a group have consistently owned less than 1% of shares in recent years, reducing ownership-driven signaling value and suggesting minimal insider selling pressure risk from officers .
- Governance and risk: As CCO since 2020, Jensen’s stability and recurring engagement with the Board on risk controls support operational risk management continuity; however, there is no disclosed officer-level clawback, hedging, pledging, or severance framework within DMO’s filings to evaluate additional incentive or retention levers .
Citations:
- 2025 DEF 14A officer roster/compensation statement and background
- 2024 DEF 14A officer roster/Board risk oversight
- 2021 DEF 14A officer roster/compensation statement
- 2020 N-CSRS officer list and CCO effective date
- Group ownership <1%: 2025 , 2024 , 2023
- Additional Board risk oversight references: 2023 , 2022