Ashton Wilson
About Ashton Wilson
Ashton Wilson is Vice President of abrdn World Healthcare Fund (THW) and other abrdn healthcare funds, serving since 2024. He is a Senior Investment Director focused on healthcare portfolio management at abrdn; he joined abrdn in October 2023 from Tekla Capital Management where he was a Senior Vice President, and previously worked at Goldman Sachs & Co. Year of Birth: 1986. Officers may hold officer positions across multiple funds in the abrdn fund complex . Wilson was part of the Tekla team analyzing investments for THW prior to the adviser transition .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tekla Capital Management LLC | Senior Vice President | Through Oct 2023 | Senior investment/portfolio management responsibilities in healthcare; joined abrdn from Tekla in Oct 2023 |
| Tekla World Healthcare Fund (THW) | Portfolio management team member | As of 2021 | Team member analyzing investments for THW; Tekla served as THW’s adviser at the time |
| Goldman Sachs & Co. | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Prior experience at Goldman Sachs & Co. |
External Roles
No public-company board roles or external directorships are disclosed in the proxy biography .
Fixed Compensation
- Fund-level executive pay: Officers (including Wilson) are employees of abrdn Inc. or affiliates and are not paid by the Funds; none of the Funds have bonus, profit sharing, pension or retirement plans .
- Trustee compensation is disclosed separately and does not apply to officers; officers received no compensation from any Fund for the period .
Performance Compensation
- No fund-level incentive plans (bonuses, profit-sharing, equity) are disclosed for officers; the Funds state they have none for the period .
- Performance metrics tied to compensation, vesting schedules, option/RSU awards, clawbacks, or tax gross-ups for officers are not disclosed at the fund level .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| THW shares outstanding (Record Date: Apr 7, 2025) | 39,849,957.6 shares |
| Aggregate beneficial ownership by each Fund’s Trustees and officers | Less than 1% of outstanding equity securities (as of Apr 1, 2025) |
| Ashton Wilson beneficial ownership | Not individually disclosed; officer ownership not itemized in proxy |
| Officer holdings (context) | In 2024, two named officers (Pittard, Ferrari) did not own shares; later, Goodson owned $1–$10,000 of HQH and Ferrari held none (officer holdings vary by fund) |
| Stock ownership guidelines | Not disclosed |
| Pledging/hedging of fund stock | Not disclosed |
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Officer appointment/tenure | Officers are appointed annually by the Fund Board and hold office until a successor is duly elected and qualifies |
| Current role start | Vice President of the Funds since 2024 |
| Employer transition | Joined abrdn in October 2023 from Tekla Capital Management |
| Contract term/expiration | Not disclosed |
| Severance provisions | Not disclosed |
| Change-of-control economics | Not disclosed |
| Non-compete / Non-solicit / Garden leave | Not disclosed |
| Post-termination arrangements | Not disclosed |
Performance & Track Record
- Portfolio management background: Member of the Tekla team analyzing investments for THW prior to abrdn’s adviser transition; Senior VP at Tekla and now Senior Investment Director at abrdn focused on healthcare .
- Fund or personal TSR/revenue/EBITDA performance during tenure: Not disclosed in proxy materials .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment at the fund level is limited by design: officers are compensated by abrdn, not THW/HQH/HQL/THQ, and the Funds disclose no bonus, profit-sharing, or pension plans for officers, reducing direct linkage of officer pay to THW’s NAV/market performance .
- Insider alignment appears modest: aggregate beneficial ownership by Trustees and officers is less than 1% of each Fund’s outstanding equity, and officer-level holdings for Wilson are not disclosed, indicating limited disclosed “skin in the game” at the fund level .
- Governance and retention: Officers are appointed annually and serve until successors qualify, suggesting flexible, board-managed tenures without disclosed employment agreements; detailed severance or change-of-control terms are not provided .
- Sector expertise is a positive: Wilson’s healthcare portfolio management background at Tekla and abrdn, with prior Goldman Sachs experience, supports execution capability in healthcare investing, though quantitative performance metrics are not provided in the proxy .
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