Jeffrey White
Vice President, Principal Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer, and Assistant Treasurer at PUTNAM PREMIER INCOME TRUST
Executive
About Jeffrey White
Jeffrey White (born 1971) serves as Vice President, Principal Financial Officer (PFO), Principal Accounting Officer (PAO), and Assistant Treasurer of Putnam Premier Income Trust (PPT), with service since 2024; his principal occupation is Vice President, Fund Administrative and Reporting at Franklin Templeton (address: One Franklin Way, San Mateo, CA 94403) . Officers serve indefinite terms until resignation, retirement, death, or removal, and are employees of Franklin Advisers or its affiliates or the Trustees’ independent administrative staff . As context, PPT’s net assets were $360,158,654.72 as of December 31, 2024 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Templeton | Vice President, Fund Administrative and Reporting | Since 2024 | Principal occupation per proxy; supports fund financial administration/reporting for the Putnam funds complex . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed in the proxy | — | — | The officer biography table lists only Franklin Templeton as Mr. White’s principal occupation; no external directorships are listed . |
Fixed Compensation
- Officer compensation is paid by Franklin Advisers or its affiliates and is not disclosed at the fund level; therefore, base salary, target/actual bonus, and perquisites for Mr. White are not reported in the PPT proxy .
- Officers who are members of the Trustees’ independent administrative staff have compensation fixed by the Trustees and reimbursed to Franklin Advisers; this footnote does not identify Mr. White as part of that administrative staff cohort .
Performance Compensation
- The proxy provides no disclosure of stock/option awards, vesting schedules, performance metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue/EBITDA), or payouts for Mr. White; as an adviser employee, such details are set by Franklin Advisers and are not reported by the fund .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Section 16(a) compliance: based on filings reviewed, PPT believes all Section 16(a) filing requirements applicable to officers, Trustees, and >10% owners were complied with in the most recent period .
- Officer beneficial ownership amounts, pledging, hedging, and ownership guideline compliance are not presented for Mr. White in the proxy; officers are adviser employees and “will benefit indirectly from the management fees and investor servicing fees paid or allowed by your fund” .
Employment Terms
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Fund Titles | Vice President; Principal Financial Officer; Principal Accounting Officer; Assistant Treasurer |
| Service with Putnam Funds | Since 2024 |
| Principal Occupation (last 5 yrs) | Vice President, Fund Administrative and Reporting, Franklin Templeton |
| Term | Indefinite; serves until resignation, retirement, death, or removal |
| Employer | Employee of Franklin Advisers or its affiliates (officers of the fund are adviser employees) |
| Address on file | One Franklin Way, San Mateo, CA 94403 |
| Non‑compete / Non‑solicit | Not disclosed in fund proxy |
| Severance / Change‑of‑Control | Not disclosed in fund proxy |
| Clawback / Tax gross‑ups | Not disclosed in fund proxy |
Board Governance (context for officer oversight)
- In 2025, shareholders were asked to elect a new slate of eight Trustees (Franklin CEF Board) to oversee the funds, consolidating oversight with Franklin Templeton’s closed-end fund board; standing committees include Audit, Nominating, Compensation, and Pricing & Valuation (all composed of Independent Trustees) .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance linkage: Because Mr. White is an employee of Franklin Advisers and officer compensation is set and paid by the adviser—not the fund—there is limited direct disclosure tying his cash/equity pay to PPT performance. This reduces visibility into fund-level incentive alignment and vesting-driven selling pressure for this officer .
- Retention risk: Officers serve indefinite terms and are part of the adviser’s operating structure; retention and economics are governed by Franklin Templeton policies rather than fund contracts, and no severance or change‑of‑control terms are provided at the fund level, limiting transparency on exit economics and potential turnover risk signals .
- Insider trading signals: The proxy affirms Section 16(a) compliance but does not report officer shareholdings or pledging detail; without disclosed beneficial ownership or Form 4 detail for Mr. White here, insider buying/selling pressure cannot be assessed from the proxy alone (monitor subsequent SEC filings for signal) .
- Governance context: The proposed transition to the Franklin CEF Board centralizes oversight with a dedicated closed‑end fund board and formalizes committee structures; this may enhance process rigor around financial reporting oversight relevant to the PFO/PAO function, but does not change the lack of disclosed adviser‑level officer compensation detail at the fund .
- Scale context: PPT’s net assets of ~$360.2M at 12/31/2024 frame the fee base from which adviser economics are derived, implying Mr. White’s indirect incentive alignment is connected to adviser-level fee revenues rather than a disclosed fund-specific incentive plan .