Susan Kerr
About Susan Kerr
Susan Kerr is Vice President – AML Compliance at Franklin Universal Trust (FT), serving since 2021; her biography lists extensive anti–money laundering and distribution compliance roles across Franklin Templeton and legacy Legg Mason entities. She was born in 1949 and is based at 280 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Officer salaries and expenses are paid by Franklin Advisers, Inc. (not the Fund), and the proxy does not disclose officer-specific compensation plans or performance metrics, limiting visibility into pay-for-performance linkages at the fund level .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role/Title | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Templeton | Senior Compliance Analyst | Past 5 years (per proxy disclosure) | Not disclosed |
| Legg Mason & Co., or affiliates | Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer | Past 5 years (per proxy disclosure) | Not disclosed |
| Franklin Distributors, LLC | Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer; Senior Compliance Officer | Past 5 years (per proxy disclosure) | Not disclosed |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | None disclosed in officer biography | — | No external directorships or committee roles disclosed |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Disclosure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed; salaries and expenses of officers are paid by Franklin Advisers, Inc. (the Investment Manager), not by the Fund | |
| Target bonus/actual bonus | Not disclosed | |
| Pension/SERP | No pension or retirement benefits accrued as Fund expenses | |
| Perquisites | Not disclosed |
Performance Compensation
| Metric (e.g., TSR, revenue, EBITDA, ESG) | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed for Fund officers | — | — | — | — | — |
| Note: FT’s proxy does not provide officer incentive plan structures, performance metrics, or vesting details for fund officers; officer compensation is borne by the Investment Manager rather than the Fund . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Value/Status | As-Of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual beneficial ownership (Susan Kerr) | Not disclosed | — | |
| Officers and Trustees as a group | Less than 1% of FT shares outstanding | January 10, 2025 | |
| Shares outstanding | 25,131,894 | January 10, 2025 | |
| Officer vested vs. unvested shares | Not disclosed | — | |
| Options outstanding (exercisable/unexercisable) | Not disclosed | — | |
| Pledging of shares | Not disclosed | — | |
| Ownership guidelines | Board members (not officers) must invest a portion of fees until holdings ≥5x retainer | Policy described; ranges shown for Trustees |
Employment Terms
- Officers are appointed by the Trustees and serve at the pleasure of the Board; no fixed term, severance, non-compete, or change-of-control provisions are disclosed for officers in the proxy .
- No officer employment contracts, retention or sign-on bonuses, or clawback/tax gross-up provisions are disclosed at the Fund level; officer compensation and benefits are paid by the Investment Manager and not detailed in FT’s proxy .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance visibility is low: FT’s proxy does not disclose officer-level salary/bonus targets, equity awards, or performance metrics for Susan Kerr; officer pay is handled by the Investment Manager, limiting direct linkage to FT performance signals for investors analyzing the fund’s officers .
- Insider alignment/pressure appears limited at the fund level: officers and Trustees as a group own less than 1% of FT shares, with no officer-level ownership or pledging details disclosed, suggesting minimal direct insider trading or vesting-related selling pressure at the fund entity level .
- Retention risk cannot be quantified from fund filings: officers serve at the pleasure of the Board with no disclosed severance or change-of-control economics; tenure disclosure shows Kerr has served since 2021 in an AML leadership capacity, but broader employment terms are not provided in FT’s proxy .
- Role relevance: Kerr’s remit centers on AML and regulatory compliance across the Franklin Templeton complex; while essential for operational integrity and regulatory risk control, the proxy provides no evidence of incentive structures tied to fund TSR or financial metrics at the FT entity level .