Joel Looney

About Joel Looney

Joel W. Looney (birth year: 1961) is Chairman of the Board (since 2003), Class II Director (since 2002), and President of SRH Total Return Fund, Inc. (since 2018). He is Chief Investment Officer of SRH Advisors, LLC (since 2022) and a portfolio manager to the Fund (since 2013), with prior roles across investment management and institutional finance; he holds a B.S. from Marymount College and an MBA from Kansas State University, is a CFP charterholder, and holds Series 63 and 65 certifications . Under the Fund’s long advisory tenure (RMA/SRH), NAV total returns have been competitive: as of May 31, 2024, NAV average annual returns were 10.07% over 10 years and 9.16% since January 2002; market returns were 9.79% (10 years) and 7.75% (since 2002) .

Past Roles

External Roles

Fixed Compensation

The Fund pays only Independent Directors; directors or officers affiliated with the Adviser/Sub‑Adviser (i.e., “Interested Directors”) receive $0 from the Fund. They may receive compensation from Paralel (administrator) or SRH (sub‑adviser) for acting in those capacities .

Independent Director Fee Schedule (context for Board governance)

Performance Compensation

No Fund‑level performance compensation is disclosed for Mr. Looney. The Fund states that only Independent Directors receive compensation from the Fund; directors and officers affiliated with the Adviser/Sub‑Adviser may be paid by Paralel (administrator) or SRH (sub‑adviser), but terms (metrics, bonus, equity awards, vesting, clawbacks) are not disclosed in Fund filings .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

Dollar range category (proxy): “Over $100,000” for Joel W. Looney (Interested Director) .

Insider Transactions (FY 2024 – DRIP participation)

Form 5 reports periodic acquisitions via the dividend reinvestment program and no open‑market sales; Mr. Looney certified holdings and role as President in the filing and signed as of 12/02/2024 . His FY 2023 Form 5 similarly shows only DRIP acquisitions and end‑year holdings of 75,453.5688 shares .

Employment Terms

• Officer election: Officers were elected or re‑elected on February 13, 2025; officers are elected annually and hold office until a successor is elected by the Board .
• Current officer role: Joel Looney serves as President of the Fund (since 2018); his officer biographical and role information are cross‑referenced in the proxy .
• N‑PX signature: Mr. Looney signed the Fund’s N‑PX as President on 08/28/2025 .

No Fund disclosures on Mr. Looney’s employment contract term, severance multiples, change‑of‑control triggers, non‑compete/non‑solicit provisions, clawback, hedging/pledging policies, or deferred compensation (these would reside at SRH/Paralel and are not provided in Fund filings) .

Board Governance & Director Service

• Role and tenure: Chairman and Class II Director; Director since 2002; Chairman since 2003; President since 2018 .
• Independence: Mr. Looney is an “Interested Director” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 by virtue of being an officer of the Fund’s advisory entities (RMA/SRH) .
• Lead Independent Director: Steven K. Norgaard serves as Lead Independent Director (Class III), enhancing independent oversight; the Fund indicates he is qualified to serve, including audit committee leadership and “financial expert” credentials .
• Committee framework: The Board maintains Audit and Nominating Committees and tracks a fee schedule tied to those meetings; the Nominating Committee considers stockholder‑recommended candidates .
• Attendance: Directors serving the full fiscal year attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings; the Fund does not have a formal policy on attendance at the Annual Meeting .

Fund Performance (context under Looney’s officer/director tenure)

The Fund’s managed distribution framework (e.g., annualized distribution rate 3.21% of NAV in early 2025 and 3.16% in early 2024) is reviewed and may include net investment income, realized gains, and return of capital; Board may modify, suspend, or terminate the policy .

Investment Implications

• Compensation alignment: Fund‑level pay for performance cannot be assessed for Mr. Looney because directors/officers affiliated with the adviser receive $0 from the Fund and adviser compensation is undisclosed; investors should assume incentives are set at SRH/Paralel, not in the Fund proxy .
• Insider selling pressure: Form 5 shows only DRIP acquisitions across FY 2023–2024 and no sales, suggesting low forced‑selling from vesting or tax events; FY 2024 end holdings were 78,287.8913 shares vs. 75,453.5688 in FY 2023 .
• Ownership alignment: Proxy lists “Over $100,000” dollar range and <1% ownership (74,308 shares at 2025 record date), indicating material but non‑controlling alignment; note that the Form 5 header includes “10% owner,” while the proxy’s percentage table indicates <1%, so treat the Form 5 “10% owner” label cautiously and defer to proxy percentage .
• Governance risk and mitigants: Dual roles (Chairman + President) raise independence concerns under best‑practice frameworks; mitigants include a designated Lead Independent Director and Independent Director‑only fee structure and committee focus (Audit/Nominating) .
• Retention and execution: Mr. Looney’s continuous Board service since 2002 and officer leadership since 2018, plus CIO/portfolio manager responsibilities at SRH, point to low near‑term retention risk; fund performance under advisory tenure has tracked large‑value benchmarks reasonably with discount dynamics that can affect market returns .

Additional notes: Officer elections and certifications reaffirm current leadership (N‑PX signed 08/28/2025) . No disclosures in Fund filings on severance, change‑of‑control, clawbacks, hedging/pledging, or director/NEO equity vesting schedules for Mr. Looney .