Bradford S. Stone
Chief Financial Officer, Vice President and Treasurer at Flaherty & Crumrine PREFERRED & INCOME OPPORTUNITY FUND
Executive
About Bradford S. Stone
Bradford S. Stone is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Flaherty & Crumrine Incorporated (the investment adviser) and serves as Chief Financial Officer, Vice President, and Treasurer of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Opportunity Fund (PFO). He is age 65; he has been an officer of the Funds since 2003 and became the principal financial officer (CFO) of PFO on April 21, 2015, while continuing as a portfolio manager at the Adviser . He is a Director of the Adviser and one of its management shareholders; the Adviser focuses on preferred securities and had approximately $4.07 billion AUM as of January 31, 2025 . The proxy does not disclose TSR or revenue/EBITDA growth metrics for Stone’s tenure; Board commentary characterizes fund performance as “satisfactory” over time given policies and strategies .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Opportunity Fund (PFO) | Vice President & Assistant Treasurer | 2003–2015 | Supported fund operations and financial reporting; remained portfolio manager . |
| Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Opportunity Fund (PFO) | Chief Financial Officer & Vice President | 2015–present | Principal financial officer since Apr 21, 2015; oversight of fund financial statements and controls . |
| Flaherty & Crumrine Incorporated (Adviser) | Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer; Portfolio Manager | Past 5+ years (current) | Executive leadership of Adviser and portfolio management of preferred securities strategies . |
| Flaherty & Crumrine Incorporated (Adviser) | Director | Current | Governance and ownership; part of management shareholder group . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flaherty & Crumrine Incorporated | Director; Executive Vice President & CFO; Portfolio Manager | Current | Owner/Director; executive leadership and investment management at the Adviser specializing in preferreds . |
Fixed Compensation
- Officers of the Funds are compensated by the Adviser, not directly by the Funds; the Adviser bears compensation expenses for its officers and employees connected with investment research, trading, investment management, and administration. The Funds reimburse the Adviser only for travel and out-of-pocket expenses related to attendance at Board/committee meetings .
- For FY 2024, PFO paid the Adviser $1,161,433 in advisory fees; executive officers of the Funds received no compensation from any Fund in excess of $60,000, and the Funds do not provide pension/retirement benefits to directors or executive officers .
| Metric | FY 2024 |
|---|---|
| Advisory fees paid by PFO to Adviser ($) | $1,161,433 |
| Executive officer compensation directly from PFO | No executive officer affiliated with a Fund received >$60,000; pensions not provided |
Advisory fee basis: For PFO, the monthly advisory fee is 0.625% annually on average monthly total managed assets up to $100 million and 0.50% above $100 million; “managed assets” includes assets attributable to leverage minus accrued liabilities (excluding financing debt) .
Performance Compensation
- Not disclosed in Fund proxy statements. Compensation for Stone appears to be determined at the Adviser level, which is not detailed in PFO’s proxy filings .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Adviser ownership: The Adviser is owned by six individuals, including Bradford S. Stone; he is listed as a Director and principal officer (Executive Vice President and CFO), indicating direct economic interest in Adviser profits and long-term value creation .
- Fund share ownership: As of December 31, 2024, Directors, Nominees, and executive officers of each Fund, as a group, owned less than 1% of shares outstanding; individual officer holdings (including Stone) are not itemized in the proxy .
- Pledging/hedging: No pledging or hedging disclosures for officers are presented in the proxy .
| Ownership Metric | As of Dec 31, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Directors/Nominees/executive officers group ownership (% of PFO shares outstanding) | <1% |
| Bradford S. Stone – Adviser ownership status | Adviser owner; Director and EVP/CFO |
Employment Terms
- Term of office: Each officer serves until a successor is elected and qualifies or until resignation/removal .
- Employment contracts/severance/clawbacks: Not disclosed in PFO’s proxy statements; officers are employees of the Adviser and subject to Adviser policies not detailed in Fund filings .
- Change-of-control context (Adviser): The Adviser plans an internal restructuring in 2025 to repurchase shares from retired shareholders and reallocate them to management shareholders (including Stone). Because this may be viewed as an Adviser “change of control,” Funds are asked to approve new investment advisory agreements identical in terms (including fees) to current agreements; day-to-day management and investment objectives/strategies will not change .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Stone’s status as an Adviser owner and Director aligns incentives with Adviser profitability and long-term stewardship of preferred securities strategies; however, direct Fund share ownership by insiders is de minimis at the group level (<1%), which limits direct “skin-in-the-game” at the Fund level .
- Retention risk: Low near term—Board notes no change to day-to-day management or advisory fees from the 2025 internal restructuring; Stone remains integral in Adviser leadership and portfolio management .
- Compensation levers and selling pressure: Officer pay is at the Adviser, driven by advisory fees on managed assets rather than Fund-level salary/bonuses; with no individual Form 4 trading activity disclosed in these filings and no officer-level vesting schedules reported, near-term insider selling pressure signals are not observable from Fund documents .
- Governance comfort: Clear separation—independent Fund directors oversee advisory agreements and audit processes; Stone’s role is as an officer/portfolio manager and Adviser executive, not a Fund director, which limits direct influence on Board compensation decisions while reinforcing operational accountability through the Adviser model .