Jane E. Trust

About Jane E. Trust

Jane E. Trust (born 1962) is a Trustee and the President and Chief Executive Officer of Western Asset Inflation-Linked Opportunities & Income Fund (NYSE: WIW). She has served on WIW’s board since 2015 and is classified as an “interested person” due to her leadership roles within Franklin Templeton/Franklin Templeton Fund Adviser, LLC (FTFA), the Fund’s administrator and an affiliate of the adviser . WIW’s board is led by an independent Chair and is composed of more than 75% Independent Trustees, which partially mitigates dual-role concerns (management/board) associated with Ms. Trust’s executive-officer-plus-trustee status .

Past Roles

External Roles

Fixed Compensation

• WIW does not compensate its officers; during the fiscal year ended Nov 30, 2024, the Fund paid no remuneration to its officers (who are employees of the adviser or affiliates). Officers may only be reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses for attending board meetings .
• As a Trustee, Ms. Trust receives no trustee fees from WIW due to her affiliate relationship; interested trustees are not compensated by the Fund for trustee service .

Performance Compensation

• Not disclosed by WIW. The Fund’s proxy does not report base salary, target/actual bonus, equity awards, or performance metric weightings for Ms. Trust, as her compensation is paid by Franklin Templeton/FTFA (not by WIW) .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• WIW reports trustee and officer holdings by dollar range. Ms. Trust reported “None” for WIW share ownership across the last three reporting years; she reports “Over $100,000” in aggregate holdings across the “family of investment companies” she oversees (Franklin Templeton complex), but not in WIW itself .

• As of the 2025 record date, all trustees and officers as a group owned less than 1% of WIW shares outstanding; the top reported holder is Cascade Investment (23.4%) with other institutional holders reported separately (context for alignment and potential control dynamics) .

Ownership policies and practices:

• Stock ownership guidelines, pledging or hedging policies, and any pledges by Ms. Trust are not disclosed in WIW’s proxy filings. No Form 4 insider trading detail is presented in the proxy; WIW’s 2024 proxy includes a Section 16(a) compliance statement (no exceptions noted for Ms. Trust) .

Employment Terms

• Officer/Board status: Ms. Trust is Trustee and President & CEO of the Fund and is deemed an “interested person” due to her positions within FTFA/affiliates .
• Committee roles: Member of the Investment and Performance Committee (the only committee that includes interested Trustees); the Audit, Governance, and Contracts Committees are fully independent .
• Board leadership and independence: Independent Chair (William E.B. Siart); >75% Independent Trustees; independent committee chairs across all standing committees .
• Meetings/attendance: During FY2024, the Board held eight meetings; each Trustee attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings .
• Term/tenure: Ms. Trust has served since 2015; her current term as Trustee expires in 2027 (Class II) per most recent elections .
• Employment agreements, severance, change-in-control, non-compete, and clawback provisions for Ms. Trust are not disclosed in WIW’s proxy (as compensation is not paid by WIW) .

Board Governance (Director Service, Committees, Independence)

• Service history: Trustee since 2015; President & CEO since 2015 .
• Committees: Investment and Performance Committee member (reviews investment performance) .
• Independence: Not independent; designated “interested person” under the Investment Company Act because of her positions with FTFA/affiliates .
• Board structure: Independent Chair; Independent Trustees >75% of the Board; independent chairs for Audit, Governance, Contracts, and Performance Committees (though Performance includes interested trustees as members) .
• Meeting attendance: At least 75% in FY2024 for each Trustee (board and committees) .
• Director compensation at WIW: Interested Trustees (including Ms. Trust) receive no compensation from the Fund for trustee service; independent trustee fee schedule disclosed separately (Ms. Trust: “None”) .

Compensation Structure Analysis (Pay-for-Performance, Signals)

• Mix and metrics: Not disclosed at WIW; since officers are paid by Franklin Templeton/FTFA, the Fund’s proxy provides no detail on Ms. Trust’s cash/equity mix, targets, or performance metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue/EBITDA) tied to her compensation .
• Guarantee vs at-risk pay; metric target rigor; equity award repricing/modifications; clawbacks; tax gross-ups: Not disclosed in WIW’s filings .
• Director fees: Not applicable to Ms. Trust (none from WIW) .

Performance & Track Record

• WIW’s proxy highlights Ms. Trust’s experience in investment management and risk oversight as an executive and portfolio manager, and leadership roles within Franklin Templeton (and previously Legg Mason), as the basis for board qualification .
• Fund-level TSR or operating metrics during her tenure are not provided in the proxies, and there is no say-on-pay disclosure for officers in the WIW filings .

Investment Implications

• Alignment: Ms. Trust reports no WIW share ownership (“None”), reducing direct stock-based alignment to WIW’s market performance; her fund-complex holdings are “Over $100,000,” but not in WIW specifically .
• Selling pressure/vesting: With no WIW holdings disclosed and no WIW-based equity awards, insider selling pressure tied to vesting or option exercises appears negligible based on WIW’s filings .
• Governance risk vs mitigants: Dual role (Trustee + President/CEO) introduces independence considerations, but WIW maintains an independent Chair, strong independent majority, and fully independent audit/governance/contracts committees, which are best-practice mitigants in the closed-end fund context .
• Compensation transparency: Because WIW does not pay its officers, there is limited transparency into Ms. Trust’s compensation structure, performance metrics, severance/CIC protections, and clawbacks—reducing visibility into pay-for-performance alignment from WIW’s perspective .
• Trading signals: Lack of WIW insider ownership and absence of WIW-related equity awards imply limited insider activity as a short-term trading signal; focus should remain on board governance posture and adviser/subadviser performance oversight via the Investment and Performance Committee .