Jeremy M. DePalma
About Jeremy M. DePalma
Jeremy M. DePalma is Treasurer of the Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund (ERH), serving since 2012 for certain funds in the complex and since 2021 for the remaining funds; he is a Senior Vice President of Allspring Funds Management, LLC (since 2009), and previously served as Senior Vice President of Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC (2008–2010) and head of the Fund Reporting and Control Team within Fund Administration (2005–2010). Year of birth: 1974. Address: 101 Seaport Blvd, Boston, MA 02210 . ERH’s proxy discloses no officer-specific performance metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue, EBITDA) and states officers received no compensation from the Fund in FY2024 and FY2025, indicating compensation is paid by the adviser rather than at the Fund level .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allspring Funds Management, LLC | Senior Vice President | 2009–present | Senior leadership within adviser supporting fund administration/treasury function |
| Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC | Senior Vice President | 2008–2010 | Senior role in fund complex operations prior to Allspring transition |
| Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC | Head, Fund Reporting & Control (Fund Administration) | 2005–2010 | Led Fund Reporting and Control Team in Fund Administration |
External Roles
- None disclosed in ERH’s 2024 and 2025 proxy statements for Mr. DePalma .
Fixed Compensation
Notes: ERH discloses that officers (including Treasurer) who are employees of Allspring Funds Management or affiliates are paid by the adviser/affiliates; ERH did not pay any compensation or expense reimbursement to its principal executive officers in FY2024 or FY2025 .
| Component (Fund-paid) | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fund-paid compensation | $0 | $0 |
| Fund-paid expense reimbursement | $0 | $0 |
The proxy provides no disclosure of base salary or cash compensation amounts paid by Allspring Funds Management to Mr. DePalma (not a Fund expense) .
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed by ERH (officer compensation paid by adviser; no Fund-level performance plan detail provided) | — | — | — | — | — |
- ERH provides no disclosure of performance metrics (e.g., revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR-based PSUs) tied to Mr. DePalma’s compensation, vesting schedules, stock/option awards, or bonus targets, as officer pay is borne by the adviser and not the Fund .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | As of Date | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Individual beneficial ownership (Jeremy M. DePalma) | Not disclosed | ERH proxy does not itemize officer holdings; Forms 3/4/5 for officers are available at allspringglobal.com but not summarized in the proxy |
| Officers and Trustees as a group – beneficial ownership of ERH | Oct 2, 2024 | Less than 1% of ERH outstanding shares |
| Officers and Trustees as a group – beneficial ownership of ERH | Oct 1, 2025 | Less than 1% of ERH outstanding shares |
| Section 16(a) reporting compliance | FY2024 | ERH believes all required officer/Trustee filings were timely |
| Section 16(a) reporting compliance | FY2025 | ERH believes all required officer/Trustee filings were timely |
- Pledging/hedging: No disclosure in the proxy related to pledging or hedging by Mr. DePalma .
Employment Terms
- Employment relationship: Officers who are employees of Allspring Funds Management or its affiliates are compensated by those entities; ERH pays no officer compensation or reimbursements for FY2024 and FY2025 .
- Employment agreement terms (severance, change-in-control, vesting acceleration, non-compete/solicit, clawbacks, tax gross-ups, deferred compensation, pension/SERP, perquisites): Not disclosed by ERH for Mr. DePalma (as officer compensation arrangements reside with the adviser rather than the Fund) .
Risk Indicators and Governance Notes
- Section 16(a): ERH states all required officer/Trustee filings were timely in FY2024 and FY2025 .
- Legal proceedings/SEC investigations: None disclosed for Mr. DePalma in ERH’s 2024 or 2025 proxy statements .
- Board governance context: Mr. DePalma is an officer (Treasurer), not a Trustee; ERH’s Board is entirely independent Trustees and oversees the adviser; officer compensation is not a Fund expense .
Performance & Track Record
- Role scope: As Treasurer, responsibilities are operational/financial (fund reporting/administration), not portfolio management; ERH discloses no officer-specific performance metrics or TSR attribution .
- Stock performance during tenure: Not discussed in relation to Mr. DePalma in the proxy statements .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: ERH discloses no direct Fund-paid compensation for officers and no officer-level performance metric linkage at the Fund; individual officer holdings are not itemized, and the officers/Trustees as a group hold less than 1% of ERH shares—limiting transparency into Mr. DePalma’s pay-for-performance alignment and “skin-in-the-game” at the Fund level .
- Retention and change-in-control risk: Employment economics (e.g., severance/CIC, vesting acceleration) are not disclosed at the Fund level because compensation is paid by the adviser; retention risk would largely reflect Allspring Funds Management’s internal policies/agreements rather than ERH, which reduces direct visibility for ERH shareholders .
- Trading signals: The proxy does not summarize officer Form 4 activity; monitor Section 16 filings (Forms 3/4/5) for real-time signals on insider buying/selling and potential selling pressure tied to vesting or tax events .
- Bottom line: From ERH disclosures alone, there is insufficient evidence to tie Mr. DePalma’s compensation to ERH performance or to quantify equity-based alignment; portfolio and governance analysis should emphasize the Board’s oversight of the adviser and the Fund’s investment policies, while separately tracking Section 16 filings for any insider activity updates .