Ryan Wheeler
About Ryan Wheeler
Ryan Wheeler (born 1985) serves as Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of Putnam Premier Income Trust and other Putnam closed-end funds; he has held this officer role since 2024 . He is Director, Fund Administration and Reporting at Franklin Templeton, and previously was a Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, indicating a background in fund reporting and Big Four accounting . Fund filings do not present executive-specific performance metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue, EBITDA) tied to Wheeler’s tenure; portfolio manager incentive structures are described separately and are not applicable to his administrative officer role .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Templeton | Director, Fund Administration and Reporting | Since 2024 | — |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP | Director | Prior role (dates not disclosed) | — |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | — |
| No external public-company directorships or committee roles are disclosed for Wheeler in PPT’s proxy materials . |
Fixed Compensation
| Element | Disclosure for Wheeler | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Officer compensation framework | Officers who are members of the Trustees’ independent administrative staff have compensation fixed by the Trustees and reimbursed to Franklin Advisers by the funds; specific amounts are not disclosed | |
| Portfolio manager pay (not Wheeler) | PMs receive base salary, annual bonus split between cash and restricted FR stock/fund shares (50–65% cash), plus potential long-term equity-based awards; bonuses consider 1-, 3-, 5-year investment performance vs. peers/benchmarks and qualitative factors |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not applicable to Wheeler’s officer role | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wheeler’s role is administrative (Vice President and Assistant Treasurer), and the fund discloses portfolio manager incentive constructs rather than officer-specific variable pay plans for him . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Section 16 compliance: PPT states all applicable officers, current Trustees, and >10% owners complied with Section 16(a) filing requirements in the most recent relevant fiscal periods; individual beneficial ownership amounts for Wheeler are not presented in the proxy .
- Multiple Form 3 filings on record during 2024–2025 for other reporting persons show “No securities are beneficially owned,” but Wheeler-specific Form 3/4 content is not shown in the retrieved PPT filings .
Employment Terms
| Term Area | Disclosure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Officer term | Each officer serves an indefinite term until resignation, retirement, death, or removal | |
| Indemnification & D&O insurance | The fund indemnifies its Trustees and officers against certain liabilities/expenses and provides liability insurance, subject to good-faith and duty-of-care conditions | |
| Clawback (erroneous comp recovery) | Item 18 “Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation”: Not applicable | |
| Non-compete / Non-solicit / Garden leave | Not disclosed | |
| Severance / Change-of-control economics | Not disclosed |
Investment Implications
- Transparency limitations: Officer-level compensation amounts, bonus targets/metrics, and equity holdings for Wheeler are not disclosed, constraining pay-for-performance analysis and insider alignment assessment .
- Role/skills signal: Current responsibility for fund administration and reporting at Franklin Templeton and prior Director role at PwC point to strong financial reporting and controls expertise, but no explicit performance-tied compensation levers are provided for Wheeler’s officer role .
- Governance/coverage: Officers are indemnified and covered by D&O insurance under standard fund provisions, and Section 16 compliance is affirmed for applicable insiders—monitor future Form 4 activity for real-time trading signals and any 8‑K 5.02 changes in officer appointments .