Jane E. Trust
President and Chief Executive Officer at Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund
CEO
Executive
Board
About Jane E. Trust
Jane E. Trust (born 1962) serves as Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund Inc. (NYSE: PAI) and has served on the Board since 2015 . She is Senior Vice President, Fund Board Management at Franklin Templeton (since 2020) and President and CEO of Franklin Templeton Fund Adviser, LLC (FTFA) (since 2015), with prior senior leadership roles at Legg Mason & Co., LLC—bringing investment management and risk oversight experience and leadership roles within Franklin Templeton and previously Legg Mason to the Fund . She is classified as an “interested person” due to her position with FTFA and/or its affiliates . The Board is led by an Independent Chair, with independent directors constituting more than 75% of the Board and independent chairs across committees, providing governance checks alongside Ms. Trust’s executive role .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Templeton Fund Board Management | Senior Vice President | Since 2020 | Leadership in fund board management across the complex |
| Franklin Templeton Fund Adviser, LLC (FTFA) | President & Chief Executive Officer | Since 2015 | Senior leadership of the adviser to the Fund |
| Legg Mason & Co., LLC | Senior Managing Director | 2018–2020 | Senior leadership role prior to Franklin Templeton integration |
| Legg Mason & Co., LLC | Managing Director | 2016–2018 | Management role at legacy adviser |
| FTFA | Senior Vice President | 2015 | Executive role at the Fund’s administrator (affiliate) |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Since/Scope | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Templeton fund complex | Officer and/or Trustee/Director of funds | Since 2015; oversees 114 portfolios (2025 proxy) | Broad governance across complex |
| Putnam Family of Funds | Trustee | Current; 105 portfolios | Additional complex-wide board responsibilities |
Board Governance and Roles
- Board service: Director since 2015; currently Director, President and CEO of the Fund .
- Committee roles: Member, Investment and Performance Committee (reviews investment performance) .
- Independence: Classified as an “interested person” due to FTFA affiliation; not independent .
- Board structure: Independent Chair (William E. B. Siart), >75% independent directors, and independent committee chairs (except the performance committee includes interested directors); the Independent Chair and committee structure serve as governance mitigants for potential management conflicts .
- Attendance: In fiscal 2024 the Board held eight meetings; each Director attended at least 75% of meetings of the Board and committees on which they served .
Fixed Compensation
- The Fund paid no remuneration to its officers in fiscal 2024; officers (including the President/CEO) are employees of the Investment Adviser or affiliates and may only be reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses for attending Board meetings .
- Directors who are not Independent Directors (i.e., interested directors, including Ms. Trust) receive no salary or fees from the Fund for serving as Directors .
| Metric | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Compensation paid by the Fund to Ms. Trust ($) | None/0 | 0 |
Performance Compensation
- No bonus, equity, or incentive compensation is reported at the Fund level for officers; the Fund discloses that it pays no officer remuneration (compensation, if any, occurs at the Investment Adviser or affiliates and is not included in the Fund’s proxy) .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | As of Dec 31, 2023 | As of Dec 31, 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Dollar range of equity securities in PAI | None | None |
| Aggregate dollar range across Family of Investment Companies | Over $100,000 | Over $100,000 |
- As of each year-end shown, all Directors and officers as a group beneficially owned less than 1% of the Fund’s outstanding shares .
Employment Terms
- Fund officers (including the President/CEO) are employees of the Investment Adviser or affiliates; the Fund does not disclose employment agreements, severance, or change-of-control terms because the Fund does not compensate its officers .
Additional Governance and Shareholder Context
- 2025 meeting agenda: Election of Directors; no say‑on‑pay item on the ballot .
- Section 16(a) compliance: For fiscal 2023, the Fund reports compliance by Directors and officers except for an initial Form 3 for another individual (Michael C. Buchanan) that was inadvertently filed late; no exceptions noted for Ms. Trust in that disclosure .
- Principal shareholders (context for trading dynamics): As of the 2025 record date, 1607 Capital Partners (6.97%) and SIT Investment Associates (6.8%) reported >5% holdings, indicating specialist CEF investor ownership concentration .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance at the Fund level is structurally limited: PAI does not pay its officers, so shareholders cannot influence Ms. Trust’s compensation via Fund-level governance (e.g., there is no say-on-pay), and incentive alignment occurs at the Investment Adviser level rather than through Fund disclosures .
- Alignment via direct PAI ownership appears limited: Ms. Trust reported “None” for PAI share ownership at both year-ends shown, indicating no direct economic exposure to PAI’s market/NAV performance from personal holdings in the Fund .
- Governance mitigants to dual-role risk: While Ms. Trust is both CEO and Director and an “interested person,” the independent Board Chair, high proportion of independent directors, and independent committee leadership provide structural checks on management influence and facilitate oversight of investment performance through the Performance Committee .
- Near-term insider-selling pressure from the executive appears low at the Fund level given the “None” ownership disclosure; monitor future ownership updates and any Section 16 filings for changes .