Marc A. De Oliveira
About Marc A. De Oliveira
Marc A. De Oliveira, born 1971, serves as Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of Western Asset High Yield Opportunity Fund Inc. (HYI) since 2023, and is Associate General Counsel at Franklin Templeton (since 2020), following senior legal roles at Legg Mason & Co. from 2005–2020 . HYI’s officers receive no compensation from the Fund (only reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses for Board meetings), and as of August 29, 2025, HYI’s directors and officers collectively owned less than 1% of outstanding shares, indicating limited direct pay/ownership alignment at the fund level . Performance context during his tenure includes HYI’s semi-annual total return of 6.85% on NAV and 11.14% on market price for the six months ended November 30, 2024, with historical annual total returns shown below .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Templeton | Associate General Counsel | 2020–present | Legal leadership for fund complex governance and regulatory filings |
| Legg Mason & Co. | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel | 2005–2020 (MD 2016–2020) | Oversight of legal matters across affiliated funds and entities |
| Legg Mason-affiliated funds | Assistant Secretary; Secretary & Chief Legal Officer | Since 2006; since 2020 | Corporate secretarial duties and legal oversight across funds |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| HYI and related funds | Attorney-in-fact (Power of Attorney signatory) | Oct 31, 2025 | Authorized to execute registration statements and related documents |
| HYI | Agent for service/filings (co-copies) | Oct 31, 2025 | Listed on N-2 for legal matters and filings |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount/Terms | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Compensation from HYI | $0 (officers receive no compensation from the Fund) | Officers may be reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses for Board meetings |
| Compensation source | Not disclosed in HYI filings | HYI officers are typically employees of Franklin Templeton; compensation at the adviser level is not disclosed in HYI filings |
Performance Compensation
No performance-based compensation for HYI officers is disclosed; officers receive no compensation from the Fund and no bonus, RSU/PSU, or option awards are reported in HYI’s proxy/N-2/N-CSR filings for officers . Skip if not disclosed.
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Individual ownership (Marc A. De Oliveira) | Not disclosed in HYI filings; officers as a group with directors owned <1% of outstanding shares as of Aug 29, 2025 |
| Shares pledged/hedged | Not disclosed |
| Stock ownership guidelines | Not disclosed |
| Principal holders (>5%) | First Trust Portfolios L.P. and affiliates: 14.69% as of Aug 7, 2025 ; Schedule in N-2 shows 1,637,538 shares (12.78%) based on Oct 17, 2025 filing date |
| Former >5% holder | Sit Investment Associates: 6.81% as of Aug 29, 2025 per DEF 14A ; later Schedule 13G/A shows 0.00% as of Jul 29, 2025 (aggregate) |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title | Secretary and Chief Legal Officer |
| Start date (HYI officer) | Since 2023 |
| Officer election | Officers elected annually by the Board; serve until successors are elected/qualified or death/resignation/removal |
| Removal | Board may remove officers, agents, employees with or without cause; appointment does not itself create contract rights |
| Compensation setting | Compensation of officers fixed by the Board; however, HYI officers receive no compensation from the Fund |
| Indemnification & limitation of liability | Charter/Bylaws eliminate money damages to max extent permitted by Maryland law; indemnify current/former directors/officers and advance expenses subject to standards; SEC public policy limits indemnification for Securities Act liabilities |
| Non-compete / non-solicit | Not disclosed |
| Severance/change-of-control | Not disclosed |
| Clawbacks/tax gross-ups | Not disclosed |
Performance & Track Record
| Metric | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 (year ended May 31) | 6M ended Nov 30, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total return (NAV) | (1.28)% | 15.83% | (7.69)% | (2.36)% | 8.91% | 6.85% |
| Total return (Market Price) | 5.48% | 17.99% | (10.32)% | (2.41)% | 10.24% | 11.14% |
| NAV (end of period, $) | 14.75 | 15.89 | 13.61 | 12.15 | 12.06 | 12.30 |
| Market Price (end of period, $) | 14.15 | 15.48 | 12.86 | 11.44 | 11.45 | 12.14 |
| Net assets (end of period, $mm) | 334 | 360 | 308 | 275 | 273 | 279 |
Additional context:
- HYI maintained a relatively stable distribution policy, paying $0.57 per share in the six months ended Nov 30, 2024 (estimated 85% NII, 15% return of capital) .
- HYI disclosed a limited term with an intent to liquidate and distribute substantially all net assets on or about September 30, 2025; the fund also executed a tender offer (issuer bid) to purchase up to 100% of outstanding shares at NAV as of July 21, 2025 .
Governance & Section 16 Compliance
- HYI reported that during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025, Section 16(a) filing requirements were met for Directors, certain officers, and >10% holders, based on reviews of forms and written representations .
- Marc signs HYI proxy materials as Secretary and is named among proxies authorized to vote at the annual meeting .
Related Party Transactions / Conflicts
No related-party transactions involving Marc are disclosed in HYI’s proxy, N-2, N-CSR, or 8-K filings. Principal holders are third-party fund sponsors or investment advisers (First Trust affiliates), and the Fund disclosed it has no control person (>25%) .
Compensation Structure Analysis
- Guaranteed vs at-risk pay: No HYI officer pay; therefore no mix to evaluate at the fund level .
- Options/RSUs: None disclosed for HYI officers .
- Clawbacks/repricing: None disclosed.
- Peer group/benchmarking: Not applicable for officers; director compensation disclosed separately in proxy (outside Marc’s scope) .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Pledging/hedging: Not disclosed for Marc.
- Legal proceedings/SEC investigations: None disclosed specific to Marc.
- Indemnification: Robust Maryland-law indemnification for directors/officers; SEC policy limits for Securities Act liabilities .
- Ownership alignment: Directors/officers collectively <1% ownership; principal holders include external entities >5%, implying limited officer-level equity alignment .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment is indirect: HYI officers are not compensated by the Fund, and officer-level equity ownership is de minimis; Marc’s incentives are primarily at the adviser (Franklin Templeton) level, not disclosed in HYI filings .
- Retention risk appears low at the fund level given annual officer elections and broad indemnification; however, absence of disclosed employment agreements (non-competes, severance) suggests standard mutual fund complex practices without executive-specific retention economics .
- Trading signals from insider activity are limited; HYI stated Section 16 compliance, but no specific Form 4 activity for Marc is cited here; principal holder dynamics (First Trust >5%) can influence market technicals more than officer actions .
- Operational execution: Marc’s legal oversight is evidenced by filings (N-2 power of attorney and tender offer documentation), supporting governance and transactional execution through 2024–2025 .