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Christian Kelly

Chief Financial Officer at PGIM High Yield Bond Fund
Executive

About Christian Kelly

Christian J. Kelly (born 1975) serves as Chief Financial Officer of ISD and other PGIM funds; he has been a fund officer since January 2019 and became CFO in March 2023, alongside his role as Vice President and Global Head of Investment Operations at PGIM Investments since November 2018 . Prior to PGIM, he held senior fund administration and accounting roles at Lord Abbett, Avenue Capital Group, and Deloitte, with a career focused on investment management operations and financial controls . The fund’s proxy does not disclose education or fund-level TSR/financial performance metrics tied to his compensation; officers are compensated by the Manager (PGIM Investments) rather than by the Fund .

Past Roles

OrganizationRoleYearsStrategic Impact
Deloitte & Touche LLPSenior Manager, Investment Management Practice1998–2007 Led audit/consulting engagements in investment management, building technical controls and reporting expertise
Avenue Capital GroupDirector of Accounting2008–2009 Directed fund accounting for alternative investments, strengthening valuation and reporting processes
Lord Abbett & Co. LLCDirector of Fund Administration2009–2018 Ran fund admin operations across mutual funds; process, oversight, and service provider management
Lord Abbett Family of FundsTreasurer & Principal Accounting Officer2017–2018 Served as principal financial/accounting officer for registered funds, enhancing governance and controls
PGIM InvestmentsTreasurer & Principal Financial Officer (PGIM Retail/Annuities)Jan 2019–Mar 2023 Principal financial oversight for retail and annuities fund complexes; transition to CFO role

External Roles

Organization (Fund Complex)RoleYearsNotes
PGIM Retail Funds & Prudential Annuities FundsChief Financial OfficerSince Mar 2023 CFO across multiple registered complexes (mutual funds, ETFs, variable annuity funds)
PGIM Alternatives Funds (incl. Private Real Estate, Private Credit, Credit Income Fund)Chief Financial OfficerSince Jul 2022 (Alternatives); specific funds dates as disclosed CFO for Alternatives vehicles; previously PFO/Treasurer roles in 2022
PGIM Investments LLCVice President, Global Head of Investment OperationsSince Nov 2018 Manages investment operations across PGIM Investments

Fixed Compensation

  • Officers and Interested Directors do not receive compensation from PGIM Investments–managed funds; under the Fund’s Management Agreement, the Manager pays all compensation and expenses of officers and employees of the Fund .
  • The Fund does not provide pensions or retirement benefits to Independent Directors; officers are excluded from the director compensation table (reinforcing no fund-paid officer compensation) .

Performance Compensation

  • No fund-level cash incentive or equity-based compensation for officers is disclosed; all officer compensation is paid by the Manager, with no fund-linked performance metrics reported in the proxy (e.g., revenue/EBITDA/TSR targets) .
  • Consequently, there are no fund-level vesting schedules, RSU/PSU grants, or option awards disclosed for Christian Kelly .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

DateTitle of SecurityShares OwnedOwnership FormDerivative/OptionsPledged/HedgedNotes
01/15/2019ISD common stock0 (No securities beneficially owned)N/ANone reportedNot disclosedInitial Form 3 filing as Treasurer & PFO; no beneficial ownership
  • A search of ISD Section 16 filings shows no Form 4 or Form 5 filings for Christian Kelly in the ISD document list through November 2025 (searched for officer name in Form 4/5; none returned) — indicating no reported insider transactions in ISD during this period. I searched for “Kelly +Christian (J.)” across Form 4 and Form 5 for ISD and found no results.

Employment Terms

ItemDisclosure
Fund Officer Service StartSince January 2019 (officer of the Fund)
CFO AppointmentSince March 2023 (CFO across PGIM Retail/Annuities and Alternatives complexes)
Contract Term, Severance, Change-of-ControlNot disclosed in the Fund’s proxy; officers are employees of the Manager
Non-compete/Non-solicit/Garden LeaveNot disclosed in the Fund’s proxy
Clawbacks/Gross-upsNot disclosed in the Fund’s proxy

Compensation Structure Analysis

  • Shift to CFO: Kelly transitioned from Treasurer/PFO (2019–Mar 2023) to CFO (from Mar 2023) across multiple complexes, reflecting increased responsibility; however, pay mix and performance metric linkages are not fund-disclosed because officers are compensated by the Manager .
  • No equity awards or options from the Fund: With no fund-paid officer compensation, there is no fund-level equity or options data, reducing direct fund-linked selling pressure signals .

Risk Indicators & Red Flags

  • Related-party compensation: Officer compensation is paid by the Manager (an affiliate), standard for registered investment companies; the proxy does not disclose any officer-specific related-party transactions for Kelly .
  • Pledging/Hedging: No pledging or hedging disclosures for officers; Form 3 indicates no beneficial ownership at initial filing .
  • Legal/Investigations: No officer-specific proceedings disclosed for Kelly in the proxy sections reviewed; governance and committee oversight described for the Fund .

Board Governance (context)

  • Kelly is an officer (CFO), not a Director; Board committees and Director compensation pertain to Independent Directors and Interested Directors, not officers .

Investment Implications

  • Alignment: Fund-level officer compensation is paid by the Manager, with no fund-disclosed performance metric linkage or equity awards; direct alignment to ISD shareholder outcomes via compensation is minimal at the fund level .
  • Selling pressure: No reported ISD insider transactions for Kelly and no fund-granted equity/option awards — implying low near-term selling pressure signals from the executive .
  • Retention risk: Role breadth (CFO across multiple PGIM complexes and head of investment operations) suggests organizational importance, but retention levers (contract terms, severance, change-of-control) are not disclosed at the fund level .
  • Execution risk: Kelly’s long track record in fund administration and financial officer roles across major complexes (Deloitte, Avenue Capital, Lord Abbett, PGIM) indicates deep operational expertise, supporting continuity of financial reporting and control functions for ISD .