Brian Wixted
About Brian W. Wixted
Independent Trustee of Thornburg Income Builder Opportunities Trust (TBLD) since 2020 and Chair of the Audit Committee; designated an “audit committee financial expert.” Year of birth: 1959. Career spans >40 years in investment management finance and accounting, including SVP–Finance & Fund Treasurer at Oppenheimer Funds; prior leadership roles at Bankers Trust Company’s Mutual Funds Group, CS First Boston Investment Management, and Merrill Lynch Asset Management. Credentials include CPA (AICPA and NJ Society member) and B.S. in Accounting from Creighton University; current roles include Principal Consultant at CKC Consulting (since 2017) and Advisory Partner at AI Capital (since 2019) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oppenheimer Funds, Inc. | Senior Vice President – Finance and Fund Treasurer | 1999–2016 | Led fund finance and treasury functions |
| Bankers Trust Company – Mutual Funds Group | Principal and Chief Operating Officer | Not disclosed | Operating leadership for mutual funds platform |
| CS First Boston Investment Management Corp. | Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | Not disclosed | Finance leadership |
| Merrill Lynch Asset Management | Vice President and Accounting Manager | Not disclosed | Accounting leadership |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Variable Insurance Products Trust | Trustee and Audit Committee Chair | 2019–present | Oversees audit for 104 funds |
| CKC Consulting Corporation | Principal Consultant (asset management consulting) | 2017–present | Advisory work in asset management |
| AI Capital | Advisory Partner | 2019–present | Advisory partner role |
Board Governance
- Board structure and independence: Wixted is an Independent Trustee; Audit Committee and Nominating & Corporate Governance (NCG) Committee are fully independent and chaired by independent trustees .
- Committee roles: Wixted serves as Audit Committee Chair and is designated an audit committee financial expert .
- Committee activity (FY2024): Audit Committee held 4 meetings; NCG Committee held 3 meetings .
- Board changes: Benjamin D. Kirby resigned Oct 1, 2024; Board size reduced from five to four trustees on Nov 6, 2024; Board currently includes three Independent Trustees (including Wixted) and one Interested Trustee serving as Board Chair (Nimish S. Bhatt) .
- Retirement policy: Independent Trustees must retire by end of the calendar year in which they reach age 75 .
- Shareholder meeting attendance policy: Trustees are not required to attend annual shareholder meetings .
Committee summary (FY2024):
| Committee | Role (Wixted) | Meetings (FY2024) | Charter last reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit | Chair; Financial Expert | 4 | June 13, 2024 |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance | Member | 3 | June 13, 2024 |
Fixed Compensation
Fee schedule for Independent Trustees (cash-only):
| Component | Amount (USD) |
|---|---|
| Annual retainer (Independent Trustees) | $50,000 |
| Lead Independent Trustee fee | $8,000 |
| Audit Committee Chair fee | $6,000 |
| NCG Committee Chair fee | $6,000 |
| Committee membership fee (each committee) | $1,500 annually |
Brian W. Wixted – aggregate cash compensation:
| Metric | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Aggregate compensation from Trust/Trust Complex | $51,625 | $57,500 |
Notes:
- The Trust pays no salaries to interested trustees or officers; Independent Trustee compensation is fee-based as above .
- Prior to Jan 1, 2023, fees were lower; current schedule reflects the post‑2023 structure .
Performance Compensation
- Equity-based or performance-linked director compensation: None disclosed (no RSUs/PSUs/options, no performance metrics or meeting fees in current schedule) .
| Performance-linked element | Status |
|---|---|
| Stock awards (RSUs/PSUs) | None disclosed |
| Option awards | None disclosed |
| Performance metrics tied to pay (e.g., TSR, EBITDA) | None disclosed |
| Clawback / Change-in-control terms for directors | None disclosed |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Since | Potential Interlock/Conflict Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Variable Insurance Products Trust (registered investment company) | Trustee; Audit Committee Chair | 2019 | No conflicts with TBLD disclosed |
| CKC Consulting; AI Capital | Advisory roles (consulting/advisory partner) | 2017; 2019 | No related-party transactions with TBLD disclosed |
- Independence safeguards: Trustees and immediate family members do not beneficially own any class of securities of the investment adviser or principal underwriter, reducing adviser-related conflicts .
- Non-audit fees: None for Trust or Adviser from the independent auditor in FY2023–FY2024; all services pre-approved by Audit Committee (supports auditor independence) .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Audit committee financial expert; CPA; long-tenured fund finance executive; prior roles at Oppenheimer Funds, Bankers Trust, CS First Boston IM, and Merrill Lynch AM .
- Professional memberships: AICPA and NJ State Society of CPAs .
- Degree: B.S. in Accounting, Creighton University .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | 12/31/2023 | 12/31/2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Dollar range of equity securities in TBLD | None | $25,000–$50,000 |
| Aggregate dollar range across family of investment companies | None | $25,000–$50,000 |
| Shares pledged as collateral | Not disclosed | |
| Ownership of adviser/underwriter securities (trustees/family) | None (per proxy statement) |
Observation: Wixted increased personal stake during 2024 to the $25k–$50k range, suggesting improved alignment versus 2023 (None) .
Governance Assessment
Key positives
- Strong independence and audit oversight: Wixted is an independent trustee, Audit Chair, and designated audit committee financial expert; Audit and NCG committees fully independent; robust committee activity (4 and 3 meetings in FY2024) .
- Auditor independence: No non‑audit fees for Trust or Adviser; all services pre‑approved by Audit Committee .
- Ownership alignment improved: Wixted reported $25k–$50k ownership as of 12/31/2024 vs. none in 2023 .
Watch items / potential red flags
- Interested Chair structure: Board Chair is an Interested Trustee; while common in investment companies and mitigated by independent committee leadership, some investors prefer an independent board chair .
- All‑cash director compensation: No equity-based or performance-linked elements for directors; alignment relies on voluntary share ownership (now present for Wixted) .
- Attendance disclosure: Committee meeting counts disclosed, but individual director attendance rates are not; trustees are not required to attend the annual shareholder meeting .
Compliance and filings
- Section 30(h)/16(a) compliance: The Trust reports timely filings for officers/trustees/adviser, with one late Form 3 for a different officer (not Wixted) in the latest year .
- Beneficial ownership concentration: Not directly tied to Wixted, but FY2025 proxy lists several intermediaries with significant record holdings; no single beneficial owner disclosed >25% except intermediaries in nominee/record capacity .
Overall, Wixted brings deep fund accounting and audit oversight expertise, chairs an active Audit Committee with clean auditor-independence posture, and increased his personal ownership in 2024—positives for investor confidence. The interested Chair structure and lack of equity-linked director pay are governance watch items mitigated by independent committee leadership and disclosed share ownership .