Company Announcements

Shareholders Voted to Elect Saba Nominee Paul Kazarian at Both Neuberger Berman Funds by a Wide Margin – But Neuberger Berman Rigged the Election to Enable Its Incumbent Directors to Hold onto Their Seats

Mr. Kazarian Received More Than 2x as Many Votes as the Incumbent Directors at NBXG Received, Even Without Counting Saba’s Votes

Neuberger Berman’s Impossible-to-Achieve Majority Vote Standard Shines Light on Closed-End Fund Managers Silencing Shareholders’ Voices, Which Saba is Currently Fighting in Court

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 22, 2024-- Saba Capital Management, L.P. (together with certain of its affiliates, “Saba” or “we”), the largest shareholder of the Neuberger Berman Municipal Fund (NYSE: NBH) and the Neuberger Berman Next Generation Connectivity Fund (NYSE: NBXG) (collectively, the “Funds”), today commented on the rigged election Neuberger Berman held at the Funds’ 2024 Joint Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”).

Based on the preliminary results of the Annual Meeting, shareholders overwhelmingly voted to elect Saba’s director candidate, Paul Kazarian, to the Funds’ Boards of Directors (the “Boards”). However, due to Neuberger Berman’s majority vote standard, Mr. Kazarian will not be granted his seat and Neuberger Berman’s incumbent directors will hold onto their seats despite failing to receive a majority of the votes cast.

Boaz Weinstein, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Saba, commented:

“Despite the clear mandate for change from NBH and NBXG shareholders, Neuberger Berman’s impossible-to-achieve vote standard allows its directors to hold onto their seats in perpetuity – even when they lose an election. Directors who are responsible for deplorable shareholder returns and excessive discounts to NAV should not be permitted to continue serving on the board of any closed-end fund, especially when shareholders resoundingly reject them as they have at these two funds. Shame on Neuberger Berman for running a rigged election that allows incumbent directors who lose by a huge landslide to keep their seats.

After Neuberger Berman and the Investment Company Institute recently claimed that we are ‘drowning out the voice of retail investors’ and exerting ‘an outsized influence over the proxy machinery’ with our votes, this year’s Annual Meeting outcome clearly disproves both falsehoods.¹ If you look at the preliminary results from NBXG, even without the approximately 4.8 million shares Saba voted, our director candidate Paul Kazarian won by a landslide – receiving more than 2x as many votes as the incumbents. Clearly, entrenched managers like Neuberger Berman are the ones preventing retail investors’ voices from being heard.

This rigged election has occurred at a time when closed-end fund shareholder rights are under attack on several fronts. Right now, managers such as Neuberger Berman and their lobbyists are attempting to push through proposals at the NYSE and CBOE to eliminate closed-end fund shareholders’ right to annual elections. Saba and countless other investors, governance experts and independent academics find it appalling that these bad actors are attempting to eliminate one of shareholders’ most fundamental rights just so that their hand-picked directors can serve unchecked for life, without any recourse for ordinary investors.

It is imperative that shareholders’ voices are heard and acknowledged – not silenced. This is why Saba continues to do everything in its power to protect the rights of closed-end fund shareholders.”

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¹ Comment letters submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Neuberger Berman and the Investment Company Institute in July 2024.

About Saba Capital
Saba Capital Management, L.P. is a global alternative asset management firm that seeks to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns for a diverse group of clients. Founded in 2009 by Boaz Weinstein, Saba is a pioneer of credit relative value strategies and capital structure arbitrage. Saba is headquartered in New York City. Learn more at www.sabacapital.com.

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Longacre Square Partners
Charlotte Kiaie / Kate Sylvester, 646-386-0091
ckiaie@longacresquare.com / ksylvester@longacresquare.com

Source: Saba Capital Management, L.P.