Christopher Kings
About Christopher Kings
Christopher Kings (year of birth: 1974) is an executive officer in the Franklin Templeton fund complex and currently serves as Chief Executive Officer – Finance and Administration for FT, a closed‑end fund listed on the NYSE (symbol FT) . He previously served as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer beginning January 2022, before transitioning to his current role in January 2024; the CFO/CAO/Treasurer role was assumed by Jeffrey W. White in 2024 . FT reported 25,131,894 shares outstanding and total net assets of $199,766,440 as of January 12, 2023; the proxy notes officers and Trustees of the Fund owned, as a group, less than 1% of outstanding shares . Performance metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue/EBITDA growth) are not disclosed in fund proxy filings and are not applicable to fund officers in these documents .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Templeton (Fund complex) | CFO, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer (FT) | Since Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | Executive officer overseeing financial reporting and treasury functions for the Fund |
| Franklin Templeton | Treasurer, U.S. Fund Administration & Reporting | Past 5 years prior to Jan 2022 (per proxy biography) | Leadership in fund administration and reporting across the Franklin Templeton/Legg Mason complex |
External Roles
No external board or executive roles for Christopher Kings are disclosed in FT’s proxy statements reviewed; the biography references officer roles “of certain funds in the Franklin Templeton fund complex,” which are internal to Franklin Templeton .
Fixed Compensation
Note: For FT (a Franklin Templeton closed‑end fund), the Investment Manager or its affiliates pay the salaries and expenses of officers. The Fund does not accrue officer salaries or pension/retirement benefits as Fund expenses; individual officer base salary and cash compensation are not disclosed in FT’s proxy statements.
| Component | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed in FT proxy; salaries paid by Investment Manager/affiliates |
| Target bonus % | Not disclosed in FT proxy |
| Actual bonus paid | Not disclosed in FT proxy |
| Pension/retirement accrual at Fund | None accrued as part of Fund expenses |
Performance Compensation
FT’s proxy filings for the Fund do not disclose incentive plan metrics (RSUs/PSUs/options, weightings, targets, vesting) for fund officers; officer compensation is paid by the Investment Manager and not detailed at the fund level.
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed in FT proxy | — | — | — | — | — |
Additional notes:
- No clawback, tax gross‑up, deferred compensation, or perquisites are disclosed for fund officers in FT’s proxy filings; such policies, if any, would reside at the Investment Manager (Franklin Resources, Inc./affiliates) level, not in FT’s fund proxy .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Officers and Trustees as a group owned less than 1% of the Fund’s outstanding shares as of January 12, 2023; no individual officer beneficial ownership breakdown for Kings is provided in the fund proxy .
- Shares outstanding: 25,131,894; total net assets: $199,766,440 as of January 12, 2023 .
- Officer compensation is paid by the Investment Manager; the fund proxy does not disclose stock ownership guidelines, pledging/hedging policies, or individual holdings for Kings .
Employment Terms
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Current role | Chief Executive Officer – Finance and Administration (since 2024) |
| Prior role(s) | CFO, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer (since Jan 2022) |
| Employment start dates | CFO/CAO/Treasurer since Jan 2022; CEO – Finance & Administration since Jan 2024 |
| Contract term, severance, change‑of‑control | Not disclosed in FT fund proxy (officers are employees of Investment Manager; terms not included in fund filings) |
| Clawback | Not disclosed in FT fund proxy |
| Non‑compete/solicit | Not disclosed in FT fund proxy |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance visibility is limited: As a closed‑end fund, FT’s proxy indicates officer compensation is borne by the Investment Manager and not detailed at the fund level, so investors cannot directly assess Kings’s salary/bonus/equity alignment, vesting schedules, or incentive metrics from FT’s filings; this reduces transparency into compensation levers and potential insider selling pressure at the fund level .
- Role progression and retention: Kings’s move from CFO/CAO/Treasurer (Jan 2022) to CEO – Finance and Administration (Jan 2024) suggests strong internal standing and continuity within the Franklin complex; retention dynamics and incentives are set by Franklin Templeton’s corporate frameworks rather than FT’s fund-level arrangements .
- Ownership alignment appears modest at the fund level: The proxy reports officers and Trustees as a group own less than 1% of shares; absent individual disclosures or Section 16 filings in the proxy, direct ownership alignment for Kings cannot be assessed from FT’s filings alone .
- Monitoring recommendations: Track Section 16 Forms 3/4/5 for FT to evaluate Kings’s beneficial ownership, vesting events, and trading behavior; monitor any Item 5.02 8‑Ks (executive appointments/departures) and Franklin Resources, Inc. corporate disclosures for compensation policy changes that could affect incentives and retention .
References:
- Officer biographies and roles: 2022–2025 FT DEF 14A
- Officer compensation paid by Investment Manager; no pension accrued at Fund level: multiple FT DEF 14A
- Shares outstanding, net assets, and group ownership <1%: FT 2023 DEF 14A