Jeanne Kelly
About Jeanne Kelly
Jeanne M. Kelly (birth year 1951) is Senior Vice President of Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Inc. (HIO), serving since 2007. She is U.S. Fund Board Team Manager at Franklin Templeton (since 2020) and has held senior roles across FTFA and Legg Mason affiliates; HIO’s officers receive no compensation from the Fund itself. Recent fund performance during her current period of service: NAV total return 0.56% and market price total return 3.63% for the six months ended March 31, 2025 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Templeton | U.S. Fund Board Team Manager | Since 2020 | Oversees U.S. fund board operations/processes supporting governance continuity |
| Franklin Templeton Fund Adviser, LLC (FTFA) | Senior Vice President | Since 2006 | Administrative and oversight leadership for FTFA-managed closed‑end funds |
| Legg Mason & Co., LLC | Managing Director | 2005–2020 | Senior management across fund complex; continuity through Legg Mason integration into Franklin Templeton |
| Legg Mason Fund Asset Management, Inc. (LMFAM) | Senior Vice President | 2013–2015 | Product and fund administration leadership |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| LM Asset Services, LLC (LMAS) | President & Chief Executive Officer | Since 2015 | Leadership of service entity supporting fund operations across complex |
| Legg Mason Fund Asset Management, Inc. (LMFAM) | President & Chief Executive Officer | Since 2015 | Executive oversight of fund administration platform |
Fixed Compensation
- Officers of HIO receive no compensation from the Fund; they may be reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses for Board meetings .
| Item | Fund disclosure |
|---|---|
| Base salary | Not applicable; officers are compensated by Franklin Templeton affiliates, not the Fund |
| Target/actual bonus | Not applicable at the Fund level |
| Director fees (context) | Independent Directors are compensated; officers are not. Aggregate Director comp table is disclosed separately in the proxy |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive type | Metrics | Targets | Actuals | Payout mechanics | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund-level officer incentives | Not disclosed | — | — | — | — |
No RSUs/PSUs/options or performance-metric-linked pay are disclosed for HIO officers; compensation is at the affiliate level and not reported in Fund documents .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (management group) | Nominees, Directors and officers as a group beneficially owned less than 1% of outstanding Common Stock as of Feb 7, 2025 |
| Individual officer holdings | Not itemized in proxy; only Director dollar ranges disclosed; officers not listed individually |
| Pledging/hedging | No pledging/hedging disclosures for officers in Fund documents |
| Ownership guidelines | Not disclosed for officers; Director governance and committees detailed separately |
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Appointment/tenure | Executive officers are chosen annually by the Board; hold office until successors are elected and qualified |
| Compensation source | Officers are employees of Franklin Templeton/affiliates; the Fund pays no officer compensation |
| Severance / change-of-control | Not disclosed for officers at Fund level |
| Non‑compete / non‑solicit | Not disclosed in Fund documents |
| Proxy authority | Jeanne M. Kelly is named among the appointed proxies for the Annual Meeting |
Fund Performance Context (during current tenure)
| Metric | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | 6M FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total return, based on NAV | 3.13% | 10.73% | (16.60)% | 7.12% | 12.87% | 0.56% |
| Total return, based on market price | 5.05% | 13.92% | (23.16)% | 8.67% | 24.11% | 3.63% |
Additional current snapshot:
- Net investment income (six months ended 3/31/25): $15.14M
- Distributions: $0.21/share over six months; estimated 75% NII / 25% return of capital
- Net assets and NAV: $384.45M; NAV $4.04; shares outstanding 95,099,215
Track Record, Qualifications, and Execution Risk
- Background: Extensive fund administration and board management leadership across Franklin Templeton and Legg Mason affiliates; birth year 1951; Senior VP of HIO since 2007 .
- Execution risk: Officer role at HIO is administrative (not portfolio management); investment performance is driven by subadvisers Western Asset and Western Asset Limited, not by Fund officers .
- Achievements: Continued governance continuity through Franklin Templeton integration; stable distribution practice communicated to shareholders .
Board Governance (context)
- Directors and committee structure (Audit, Nominating, Compensation, Pricing & Valuation) are fully independent; officers, including Jeanne Kelly, receive no Fund compensation and are non‑Director management .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: With officers receiving no Fund compensation and management group owning <1% of shares, direct pay-for-performance alignment and insider selling pressure are minimal at the Fund level; governance and distribution policy are the key levers for investor outcomes .
- Retention risk: Low at the Fund level; officer employment is within Franklin Templeton’s broader organization and not tied to HIO-specific contracts or severance terms disclosed by the Fund .
- Trading signals: Absence of officer equity awards/vesting or Form 4 activity reduces insider-driven signals; investors should focus on subadviser performance, distribution coverage, and portfolio risk exposures disclosed in N‑CSR/N‑CSRS filings –.