Edmund Burke
About Edmund J. Burke
Edmund J. Burke (year of birth: 1961) has served on the Liberty All-Star funds’ boards since 2006 (Trustee of the Equity Fund; Director of the Growth Fund). He is currently a partner at ETF Action (since 2020) and a Director of Alliance Bioenergy Plus, Inc. (since 2020), and previously spent nearly three decades at ALPS, retiring in June 2019 after senior leadership roles across ALPS Holdings, Advisors, Distributors, Fund Services, and Portfolio Solutions. He is considered independent under the 1940 Act/NYSE standards, serves on the Audit Committee and Nominating & Governance Committee, and had perfect 2024 Board/Audit meeting attendance. He is nominated to continue as Director of the Growth Fund with a term through 2028; his Equity Fund trustee term expires in 2027 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALPS Holdings, Inc.; ALPS Advisors, Inc. | President and Director | Joined 1991; retired June 2019 | Led ALPS parent/adviser; senior oversight across distribution/fund services; deep investment management operations experience |
| ALPS Distributors, Inc.; ALPS Fund Services, Inc.; ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc. | Director | Through June 2019 | Oversight across distribution/fund admin; governance/operations contributions |
| Open- and closed-end investment companies (prior service) | Trustee/Chairman/President | n/a | Governance and leadership experience cited by board in qualifications |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Since | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ETF Action | Partner | 2020 | Data/analytics provider for RIAs |
| Alliance Bioenergy Plus, Inc. | Director | 2020 | Technology company in renewable energy/bioplastics |
| ALPS ETF Trust | Trustee | 2017 | Fund complex oversight (part of “Other Directorships Held”) |
| Financial Investors Trust | Trustee | 2009 | Fund complex oversight |
| Clough Global Dividend and Income Fund | Trustee | 2004 | Public closed-end fund; other Clough funds below |
| Clough Global Equity Fund | Trustee | 2006 | Public closed-end fund |
| Clough Global Opportunities Fund | Trustee | 2006 | Public closed-end fund |
| Fund Complex Portfolios Overseen | Trustee/Director | n/a | 34 portfolios overseen across complex |
Board Governance
- Structure and independence
- All Trustees/Directors are independent; the Boards are led by independent Chairman Thomas W. Brock; the Boards hold four regular meetings annually and at least one independent executive session per year without management .
- Committees and roles
- Audit Committee: Burke is a member; Committee Chair is Maureen K. Usifer; all members financially literate; Usifer designated audit committee financial expert. Audit Committee met four times in 2024 and met with auditors on Feb 20, 2025 to review FY2024 results .
- Nominating & Governance Committee: Burke is a member; Committee Chair is John J. Neuhauser; Committee met twice in 2024; charter reviewed Dec 5, 2024 .
- Attendance and engagement
- 2024 meetings: Equity Fund Board 4; Growth Fund Board 4; Audit Committees 4. All Trustees/Directors were present at all meetings except Mr. Brock (missed August 2024 Audit), implying Burke had perfect attendance. The Funds have no formal policy on shareholder meeting attendance; none of the Trustees/Directors attended the 2024 annual meetings of shareholders .
- Tenure and terms
- Trustee (Equity Fund) since 2006; term expires 2027. Director (Growth Fund) since 2006; up for election to a term ending 2028 in 2025 proxy .
Fixed Compensation
| Metric (USD) | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Aggregate Compensation from the Equity Fund | $60,359 | $68,208 |
| Aggregate Compensation from the Growth Fund | $22,641 | $24,792 |
| Total Compensation from the Fund Complex | $435,000 | $446,000 |
- Compensation oversight: Nominating & Governance Committee reviews independent Trustee/Director compensation. Neither Fund has a bonus, profit sharing or retirement plan .
Performance Compensation
| Element | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Bonus/Profit Sharing | None; “Neither Fund has a bonus, profit sharing or retirement plan.” |
| Equity/Option Awards to Independent Directors | No equity/option awards disclosed in the proxies; compensation shown only as aggregate cash amounts from the funds |
| Performance Metrics (e.g., TSR, EBITDA) | None disclosed for independent director compensation |
| Clawback/COC/Severance for Directors | Not disclosed/applicable to independent director compensation programs in the proxies |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company/Trust | Role | Since | Potential Interlock Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALPS ETF Trust | Trustee | 2017 | Same adviser family as fund complex historically; advisory/service provider relationships monitored by independent board |
| Financial Investors Trust | Trustee | 2009 | Same as above |
| Clough Global Dividend and Income Fund | Trustee | 2004 | External fund board role; no disclosed related-party transactions with USA funds |
| Clough Global Equity Fund | Trustee | 2006 | External fund board role |
| Clough Global Opportunities Fund | Trustee | 2006 | External fund board role |
| Alliance Bioenergy Plus, Inc. | Director | 2020 | Technology company; no related-party transactions disclosed with USA funds |
Expertise & Qualifications
- The Board cites Burke’s extensive management and operational experience in investment management as former CEO and president of AAI’s parent, a former director of AAI and affiliates, and long board service across open- and closed-end funds .
- Financial literacy acknowledged via Audit Committee membership; overall board independence under NYSE/1940 Act standards confirmed .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Shares Owned – Equity Fund | 2,500 | 6,500 |
| Shares Owned – Growth Fund | 2,800 | 6,300 |
| Dollar Range – Equity Fund | $10,001–$50,000 | $10,001–$50,000 |
| Dollar Range – Growth Fund | $10,001–$50,000 | $10,001–$50,000 |
| Aggregate Dollar Range – Family of Investment Companies | $10,001–$50,000 | $50,001–$100,000 |
- Ownership concentration: Each Trustee and all Trustees/Officers as a group owned less than 1% of outstanding shares of each Fund as of Dec 31, 2024 .
- Related-party holdings: As of Dec 31, 2024, no Independent Trustee/Director or immediate family members owned any securities of another investment adviser or portfolio manager of the Funds or their affiliates .
Insider Trades
| Source | Period | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| 2024–2025 Proxies (DEF 14A) | FY 2023–2024 | Proxies do not list individual Form 4 director transactions; they disclose aggregate holdings and confirm no trustee/director purchased or sold securities exceeding 1% of any class of shares of AAI or any portfolio manager or affiliates during the most recent fiscal year . |
Governance Assessment
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Strengths
- Independence and board structure: 100% independent board with an independent chair; active Audit and Nominating & Governance Committees; annual self-evaluations and executive sessions bolster oversight .
- Attendance and engagement: Burke attended all regular Board and Audit Committee meetings in 2024; Audit Committee actively engaged with auditors on Feb 20, 2025 .
- Alignment: Burke increased fund shareholdings from 2023 to 2024 in both funds; aggregate family holdings moved up to the $50k–$100k range, improving alignment signals .
- Conflicts monitoring: Board confirms independence under 1940 Act/NYSE; no related-party ownership ties to advisers/portfolio managers; N&G charter outlines rigorous independence criteria .
-
Watch items / potential red flags
- Prior affiliation: Burke held senior roles at ALPS (adviser/service affiliates) until June 2019; although currently independent, investors may monitor for any perceived residual conflicts with service providers to the Funds .
- Multi-board commitments: 34 portfolios overseen may create time-commitment risk; current attendance mitigates but should be monitored .
- Shareholder meeting engagement: No formal policy on director attendance at annual meetings; none of the directors attended in 2024, an optics concern for engagement-minded shareholders .
- Pay structure: Director pay appears entirely cash-based with no performance linkage or equity-based vesting; while typical for closed-end fund boards, lacks explicit performance alignment mechanisms .
-
Compensation structure takeaways
- Year-over-year increases: Burke’s total compensation from the broader fund complex rose to $446k in 2024 from $435k in 2023; fund-level cash increased at both Equity and Growth Funds, consistent with elevated board workloads or scheduled fee adjustments .
- No variable-pay features: Proxies specify no bonus/profit-sharing/retirement plan for directors and disclose no equity/option awards; compensation reviewed by N&G Committee .