Christian Kelly
About Christian Kelly
Christian J. Kelly (Year of Birth: 1975) is Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer) of PGIM Global High Yield Fund, Inc. (GHY). He has served as a fund officer since January 2019 and as CFO since March 2023, while also holding senior roles across the PGIM Retail, Annuities, and Alternatives fund complexes (PGIM Investments/Prudential affiliates) . He regularly signs SOX Section 302/906 certifications for GHY’s shareholder reports, reflecting direct accountability for financial reporting and controls . Fund filings state the Manager (PGIM Investments) pays all officer compensation; GHY does not disclose individual officer salary/bonus/equity or link officer pay to GHY-specific performance metrics like TSR or NAV .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| PGIM Investments LLC | Vice President, Global Head of Investment Operations (previously Head of Fund Administration) | Since Nov 2018 | Oversees fund administration/investment ops across PGIM complexes supporting financial reporting and control infrastructure . |
| Lord Abbett & Co. LLC | Director of Fund Administration | 2009–2018 | Led admin for Lord Abbett funds; elevated to Treasurer/Principal Accounting Officer of Lord Abbett Family of Funds in 2017–2018 . |
| Avenue Capital Group | Director of Accounting | 2008–2009 | Directed accounting for alternatives platform . |
| Deloitte & Touche LLP | Senior Manager, Investment Management Practice | 1998–2007 | Advised IM clients on audit/controls/reporting (foundation for fund CFO role) . |
External Roles
| Organization / Complex | Role | Effective dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PGIM Retail Funds and Prudential Annuities Funds | Chief Financial Officer | Since Mar 2023 | CFO across PGIM Retail Mutual Funds/ETFs and annuity fund complexes . |
| PGIM Alternatives Funds (incl. PGIM Private Real Estate Fund, PGIM Private Credit Fund, PGIM Credit Income Fund, PGIM Rock ETF Trust) | Chief Financial Officer | Since Jul 2022 (Alts complex); Credit Income/ETF Trust since Sep 2023; Private Credit since Sep 2022; Private Real Estate since Jul 2022 | Cross-complex CFO responsibilities . |
| GHY (PGIM Global High Yield Fund, Inc.) | Officer of the Fund | Since Jan 2019 | Treasurer/Principal Accounting Officer through Mar 2023; then CFO . |
Fixed Compensation
“Pursuant to a Management Agreement with the Fund, the Manager pays all compensation and expenses of officers and employees of the Fund as well as the fees and expenses of all Interested Directors.”
| Item | Disclosure for Christian J. Kelly at GHY |
|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed by GHY; paid by PGIM Investments (the Manager) . |
| Target/actual bonus | Not disclosed by GHY; paid by PGIM Investments . |
| Equity/option awards | Not disclosed by GHY; any equity would be at Prudential/PGIM corporate level, not the Fund . |
| Perquisites/benefits | Not disclosed by GHY . |
| Pension/Deferred comp | Not disclosed for officers; director deferred fee program described separately (not applicable to officers) . |
Performance Compensation
| Component | Metric linkage | Weighting/targets | Payout/vesting | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual/long-term incentives | Not disclosed at GHY | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | GHY does not set or disclose officer performance metrics; officer comp is paid by Manager, so no fund-level pay-for-performance items are provided . |
| Equity (RSU/PSU/options) | Not disclosed at GHY | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | No fund equity program; any equity would be internal to PGIM/Prudential and not reported in GHY filings . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Topic | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership in GHY | Fund proxies present director share ownership (by dollar range) but do not present officer ownership tables; no officer holdings disclosed . |
| Section 16(a) compliance | For FY ended July 31, 2023, the Fund believes all required ownership/change reports were filed (based on EDGAR review/written representations) . |
| Insider transactions (recent) | No insider transaction by Christian J. Kelly in GHY reported over the past 18 months per GuruFocus tracker (external aggregation) . |
| Pledging/hedging | No officer pledging/hedging disclosure in GHY filings; not addressed for officers in the proxy . |
| Ownership guidelines | Director ownership guidelines not specified; no officer stock ownership guidelines disclosed at GHY . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Start date as GHY officer | January 2019 . |
| CFO effective date at GHY | March 2023 . |
| Employer/contracting entity | Officer is an employee of PGIM Investments/Prudential affiliates; the Fund’s Manager pays all officer compensation and expenses . |
| Contract term / auto-renewal | Not disclosed at GHY (officers are not party to Fund employment contracts) . |
| Severance / change-of-control | Not disclosed at GHY; no fund-level severance or CIC economics reported for officers . |
| Clawbacks / gross-ups | Not disclosed at GHY for officers . |
| Non-compete / non-solicit | Not disclosed at GHY . |
| SOX certifications (controls) | Signs Section 302 and 906 certifications for N-CSR filings, evidencing responsibility for disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting . |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment to GHY is structurally limited. Officer compensation is set and paid by the Manager (PGIM Investments), not by GHY, and Fund filings do not disclose any GHY-specific metrics (e.g., TSR, NAV/discount, leverage costs) tied to officer pay. This reduces direct incentive linkage between the CFO’s compensation and GHY’s shareholder outcomes .
- Retention risk appears low given cross-complex responsibilities and long-tenured fund complex role. Kelly has served as a fund officer since 2019 and, since 2022–2023, as CFO across PGIM Retail, Annuities, and Alternatives fund complexes, indicating institutional depth and continuity; key-man concentration at the single-fund level is mitigated by the shared-service model .
- Insider selling pressure appears minimal. No reported insider transactions by Kelly in GHY over the last 18 months per GuruFocus; officer ownership is not disclosed in Fund proxies, and Section 16(a) compliance was met in FY 2023, suggesting no reporting lapses. Net effect: limited signals of near-term insider selling pressure, but also limited visibility into officer “skin in the game” at the fund level .
- Governance and control posture: Regular SOX certifications (302/906) and officer signatures underscore accountability for controls and reporting quality; no officer-related 8-K events or late Section 16 filings mentioned for FY 2023 in GHY’s proxy .
Citations:
- Officer biography/tenure, CFO role:
- Compensation paid by Manager (no officer comp disclosure at Fund):
- Director share ownership (officers not shown):
- Section 16(a) compliance statement:
- SOX certifications/signatures:
- External tracker on insider trades: