Neil Martin
About Neil Martin
Neil S. Martin serves as Treasurer and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer of The Korea Fund, Inc. (KF) since January 2021; he is an Executive Director and Client Director in J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s closed-end fund business and has been an employee of J.P. Morgan since 1990 . His year of birth is 1971, and his officer biography notes prior treasury and product oversight roles at JPMorgan-affiliated funds and entities . KF’s proxies do not disclose executive performance-linked metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue, EBITDA) for officers; officers are paid by the external Manager rather than the Fund .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan China Region Fund, Inc. (NYSE: JFC) | Treasurer | 2014–2017 | Served as Treasurer until JFC’s liquidation in 2017; fund operations and treasury oversight . |
| JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) | Head of UK Client Service Board Management; UK Product Administration & Oversight | As of 2020 | Led company secretarial services and product administration/oversight (daily NAV oversight, financial statement production, client reporting, vendor management, regulatory responsibilities) . |
| J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Closed-end fund business | Client Director | 2021–present | Client director work included support for closed-end funds such as JFC; part of AM’s closed-end fund leadership bench . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed | — | — | KF proxy biographies list internal JPMorgan roles; no external public-company directorships for Neil Martin are disclosed in KF filings . |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fund-paid officer compensation | None – officers are paid by the Manager, not by KF . | None – “The Fund makes no direct payments to its officers.” . | None – officers/employees of the Manager or affiliates are paid by those firms . |
| Base salary (Fund) | Not applicable . | Not applicable . | Not applicable . |
| Target bonus % (Fund) | Not applicable . | Not applicable . | Not applicable . |
The Manager supervises KF’s investments and pays compensation and certain expenses of personnel who serve as officers; KF does not directly compensate its officers .
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not applicable (Fund-level officer incentives not disclosed) | — | — | — | — | — |
KF’s proxies do not provide performance metric frameworks, payout curves, or vesting schedules for officers because compensation is paid by the external Manager, not by the Fund .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | 2015 | 2017 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Officer shares owned (Neil Martin) | No officer owned shares . | No officer owned shares . | No officer owned shares . | No officer owned shares . | No officer owned shares . | No officer owned shares . |
| Officers + Directors group ownership (% of outstanding) | <1% . | <1% . | <1% . | <1% . | <1% . | <1% . |
| Shares pledged as collateral | None disclosed for officers . | None disclosed . | None disclosed . | None disclosed . | None disclosed . | None disclosed . |
| Stock ownership guidelines for officers | Not disclosed . | Not disclosed . | Not disclosed . | Not disclosed . | Not disclosed . | Not disclosed . |
Employment Terms
- Officer appointment and tenure: KF officers “hold office at the pleasure of the Board” and until successors are appointed or earlier resignation/removal .
- Employer/compensation source: Officers are employees of the Manager or its affiliates and are compensated by those firms; KF pays no direct officer compensation .
- Severance, change-of-control, non-compete, non-solicit, garden leave, consulting: Not disclosed in KF filings for officers; such terms, if any, would be governed by employer (J.P. Morgan) agreements rather than the Fund .
- Officer contact/address: Unless otherwise noted, officer address listed as c/o JPMorgan Funds Limited, 60 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0JP, UK; select 2024 filing footnotes list certain officers with 277 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10172 .
Compensation Structure Analysis
- Pay-for-performance alignment at Fund level: Not applicable; KF does not operate an officer incentive scheme—compensation is paid by the external Manager and not linked to KF’s disclosed fund-level metrics in the proxy .
- Cash vs equity mix; RSU/PSU/options: No Fund-granted awards to officers disclosed; no vesting schedules from KF .
- Clawbacks, tax gross-ups, golden parachutes: Not disclosed for officers in KF filings .
- Repricing/modification of awards: Not applicable; no Fund-issued officer equity awards disclosed .
Related Party Transactions
- KF proxy sections reviewed do not disclose related-party transactions involving Neil Martin; the Fund’s governance discusses Director remuneration, not officer transactions .
Performance & Track Record
- Role execution: Biography notes long-tenured J.P. Morgan experience (since 1990) and treasury/product oversight roles; specific performance metrics (TSR, revenue growth, EBITDA growth) are not provided for officers in KF filings .
- Major initiatives: Prior treasury responsibility at JFC until liquidation in 2017; KF filings do not attribute fund performance outcomes to officers individually .
Compensation Committee Analysis (context)
- Governance, Nominating and Remuneration Committee referenced regarding Director compensation and special assignments; no officer compensation determination at KF level (paid by Manager) .
Investment Implications
- Insider trading/selling pressure: Minimal—no officer share ownership reported across multiple years; thus no Form 4-driven selling pressure signal for Neil Martin .
- Alignment: Officer pay and employment are with J.P. Morgan (external Manager), not KF; fund-level pay-for-performance linkage for officers is not present in KF disclosures, limiting direct alignment signals at the Fund level .
- Retention risk: Retention is primarily a function of J.P. Morgan employment terms; KF Board can replace officers at pleasure, suggesting continuity risk is manageable via Manager staffing rather than individual retention economics .
- Governance oversight: Board-directed oversight of officers and compliance (CCO reporting); compensation for officers is external, with KF focusing governance resources on Director remuneration and Manager oversight .