Oxford Lane Capital (OXLC) DEF 14ADefinitive proxy

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

_____________________________________

SCHEDULE 14A
(RULE 14a-101)
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(a) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

_____________________________________

Check the appropriate box:

Oxford Lane Capital Corp.

(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

_____________________________________________________________

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

OXFORD LANE CAPITAL CORP.

8 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 255

Greenwich, Connecticut 06830

September 7, 2022

Dear Stockholder:

You are cordially invited to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting (the “Annual Meeting”) of Stockholders of Oxford Lane Capital Corp. (the “Company”) to be held on October 21, 2022 at 8:30 a.m., Eastern Time, in the second floor conference room of the Company’s corporate headquarters, located at 8 Sound Shore Drive, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830. Stockholders of record of the Company at the close of business on August 26, 2022 are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. Details of the business to be conducted at the Annual Meeting are provided in the accompanying Notice of Annual Meeting and the 2022 Proxy Statement.

It is very important that your shares be represented at the Annual Meeting. Whether or not you plan to attend, we hope you will vote as soon as possible. If you are unable to participate at the Annual Meeting, we urge you to follow the instructions on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials to vote your proxy on the Internet. We encourage you to vote via the Internet, as it saves us significant time and processing costs. However, on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, you will also find instructions on how to request a hard copy of the proxy statement and proxy card free of charge, and you may vote your proxy by returning your proxy card to us after you request the hard copy materials. Returning the proxy or voting by Internet or telephone does not deprive you of your right to attend the Annual Meeting and to vote your shares in person.

We reserve the right to reconsider the date, time, and/or means of convening the Annual Meeting, including holding the Annual Meeting by means of remote communications. If we take this step, we will announce the decision to do so in advance, and details on how to participate in the Annual Meeting will be issued by press release and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) as additional proxy material. We urge you to retain your control or proxy voting number after you vote in case changes are made to the Annual Meeting format and such information is again required.

We look forward to seeing you at the Annual Meeting. Your vote and participation, no matter how many or how few shares you own, are very important to us.

OXFORD LANE CAPITAL CORP.

8 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 255

Greenwich, Connecticut 06830

(203) 983-5275

To the Stockholders of Oxford Lane Capital Corp.:

The 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Oxford Lane Capital Corp. (the “Company,” “OXLC,” “Oxford Lane Capital,” “we,” “us” or “our”) will be held in the second floor conference room of the Company’s corporate headquarters, located at 8 Sound Shore Drive, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 on October 21, 2022, at 8:30 a.m., Eastern Time, for the following purposes:

1.      To elect two directors of the Company, as outlined below:

(a)     One director, Mr. Jonathan H. Cohen, to be elected by the holders of the Company’s outstanding common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Common Stock”), and outstanding preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Preferred Stock”), voting together as a single class, with such director to serve for a term of three years, or until his successor is duly elected and qualified; and

(b)    One director, Mr. Mark J. Ashenfelter, to be elected by the holders of the Company’s outstanding Preferred Stock, voting as a single class, with such director to serve for a term of three years, or until his successor is duly elected and qualified.

2.      To transact such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting.

THE COMPANY’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS, INCLUDING ALL THE INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS, UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE “FOR” THE COMPANY’S DIRECTOR NOMINEES DESCRIBED IN THE PROXY STATEMENT.

Information about the director nominees is provided in the proxy statement.

The following information applicable to the Annual Meeting may be found in the proxy statement and accompanying proxy card:

•        the date, time and location of the meeting;

•        a list of the matters intended to be acted on and our recommendations regarding those matters;

•        any control/identification numbers that you need to access your proxy card; and

•        information about attending the meeting and voting in person.

You have the right to receive notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting if you were a stockholder of record at the close of business on August 26, 2022. We are furnishing the proxy statement and proxy card to our stockholders on the Internet, available at https://www.proxy-direct.com/oxf-32929, rather than mailing printed copies of those materials to each stockholder. If you received a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials by mail, you will not receive a printed copy of the proxy statement and proxy card unless you request them. Instead, the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials will instruct you as to how you may access and review the Proxy Statement, and vote your proxy, on the Internet. You may request hard copy proxy materials at no charge to you by following the instructions provided in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials.

Whether or not you expect to be present in person at the Annual Meeting, and whatever the number of shares you own, you are requested to vote in accordance with the voting instructions in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, or by requesting hard copy proxy materials from us and returning a proxy card so that you may be represented at the Annual Meeting. Please note, however, that if you wish to vote in person at the Annual Meeting and

your shares are held of record by a broker, bank, trustee, or nominee, you must obtain a “legal” proxy issued in your name from that record holder. In the event there are not sufficient votes for a quorum or to approve any of the foregoing proposals at the time of the Annual Meeting, the Annual Meeting may be postponed or adjourned in order to permit further solicitation of proxies by the Company.

We reserve the right to reconsider the date, time, and/or means of convening the Annual Meeting, including holding the Annual Meeting by means of remote communications. If we take this step, we will announce the decision to do so in advance, and details on how to participate in the meeting will be issued by press release and filed with the SEC as additional proxy material. We urge you to retain your control or proxy voting number after you vote in case changes are made to the meeting format and such information is again required.

We are not aware of any other business, or any other nominees for election as director, that may properly be brought before the Annual Meeting. Thank you for your continued support of the Company.

Greenwich, Connecticut

September 7, 2022

This is a very important meeting. To ensure proper representation at the Annual Meeting, please follow the instructions on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials to vote your proxy via the Internet or request, complete, sign, date and return a proxy card. Even if you vote your shares prior to the Annual Meeting, if you are a record holder of shares, or a beneficial holder who obtains “legal” proxy from your broker, bank, trustee, or nominee, you still may attend the Annual Meeting and vote your shares in person.

OXFORD LANE CAPITAL CORP.
8 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 255
Greenwich, Connecticut 06830
(203) 983-5275

This Proxy Statement is furnished in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Board of Directors of Oxford Lane Capital Corp. (the “Company,” “Oxford Lane Capital,” “OXLC,” “we,” “us” or “our”) for use at the Company’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) to be held on October 21, 2022, at 8:30 a.m., Eastern Time, in the second floor conference room of the Company’s corporate headquarters, located at 8 Sound Shore Drive, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830, and at any postponements or adjournments thereof. This Proxy Statement, the Notice of 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and the Annual Report of the Company for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 are being provided to the stockholders of record of OXLC via the Internet at https://www.proxy-direct.com/oxf-32929 on or about September 7, 2022. In addition, a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials is being sent to stockholders of record of OXLC on or about September 7, 2022.

Purpose of Meeting

At the Annual Meeting, you will be asked to vote on the following proposals:

1.      To elect two directors of the Company, as outlined below:

a)      One director, Mr. Jonathan H. Cohen, to be elected by the holders of the Company’s outstanding common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Common Stock”) and outstanding preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Preferred Stock”), voting together as a single class, with such director to serve for a term of three years, or until his successor is duly elected and qualified; and

b)      One director, Mr. Mark J. Ashenfelter, to be elected by the holders of the Company’s outstanding Preferred Stock, voting as a single class, with such director to serve for a term of three years, or until his successor is duly elected and qualified.

2.      To transact such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting.

THE COMPANY’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS, INCLUDING ALL THE INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS, UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE “FOR” THE COMPANY’S DIRECTOR NOMINEES DESCRIBED IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT.

We encourage you to vote your shares, either by voting in person at the Annual Meeting or by granting a proxy (i.e., authorizing someone to vote your shares). If you provide voting instructions, either via the Internet, by telephone or by mail, and the Company receives them in time for the Annual Meeting, the persons named as proxies will vote your shares in the manner that you specified. If you are a “stockholder of record” (i.e., you hold shares of the Company’s outstanding Common Stock or outstanding Preferred Stock directly in your name at the close of business on the “Record Date,” as that term is defined below), and you give no instructions on the proxy card, the shares covered by the proxy card will be voted FOR the election of the director nominees. Please note that only holders of our outstanding Preferred Stock may vote in the election of director nominee Mark J. Ashenfelter.

If you are a stockholder of record, you may revoke a proxy at any time before it is exercised by: (i) submitting a later-dated proxy that we receive no later than the conclusion of voting at the Annual Meeting; or (ii) voting in person at the Annual Meeting. If you hold shares of the Company’s common stock through a broker, bank, trustee, or nominee (“Broker Shares”), you must follow the instructions you receive from them in order to revoke your voting instructions. Attending the Annual Meeting does not revoke your proxy unless you also vote in person at the Annual Meeting. Stockholders have no dissenters’ or appraisal rights in connection with any of the proposals described herein.

Annual Meeting Information

Date and Location

We will hold the Annual Meeting in the second floor conference room of the Company’s corporate headquarters, located at 8 Sound Shore Drive, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830, on October 21, 2022 at 8:30 a.m., Eastern Time.

We reserve the right to reconsider the date, time, and/or means of convening the Annual Meeting, including holding the Annual Meeting by means of remote communications. If we take this step, we will announce the decision to do so in advance, and details on how to participate in the Annual Meeting will be issued by press release and filed with the SEC as additional proxy material. We urge you to retain your control or proxy voting number after you vote in case changes are made to the Annual Meeting format and such information is again required.

Attendance

You must present valid photo identification, such as a driver’s license or passport, for admittance. If you are not a stockholder of record of the Company but hold shares as a beneficial owner in street name, in order to attend the Annual Meeting you must also provide proof of beneficial ownership, such as your most recent account statement prior to the Record Date (as defined below), a copy of the voting instruction form provided by your broker, bank, trustee, or nominee, or other similar evidence of ownership of shares of the Company.

Since seating is limited, admission to the Annual Meeting will be on a first-come, first-served basis. If you do not comply with the procedures outlined above, you will not be admitted to the Annual Meeting. For security reasons, you and your bags will be subject to search prior to your admittance to the Annual Meeting.

Voting Securities

You may vote your shares, in person or by proxy, at the Annual Meeting only if you were a stockholder of record of the Company’s outstanding Common Stock or Preferred Stock at the close of business on August 26, 2022 (the “Record Date”). On the Record Date, there were 155,646,604 shares of the Company’s Common Stock outstanding and entitled to vote and there were 11,486,721 shares of the Company’s Preferred Stock outstanding and entitled to vote. Each share of Common Stock is entitled to one vote and each share of Preferred Stock is entitled to one vote.

Quorum Required

A quorum must be present at the Annual Meeting for any business to be conducted. The Company’s bylaws provide that the presence at the Annual Meeting, in person or by proxy, of the holders of shares of the Company’s outstanding Common Stock and Preferred Stock, without regard to class, entitled to cast a majority of the votes entitled to be cast with respect thereto as of the Record Date will constitute a quorum, except with respect to any such matter that, under applicable statutes or regulatory requirements, requires approval by a separate vote of one or more classes of stock, in which case the presence in person or by proxy of the holders of shares entitled to cast a majority of the votes entitled to be cast by each such class on such a matter shall constitute a quorum. Abstentions will be treated as shares present for quorum purposes.

Broker Shares for which the nominee has not received voting instructions from the beneficial owner of such shares and does not have discretionary authority to vote the shares on certain proposals (which are considered “Broker Non-Votes” with respect to such proposals) will be treated as shares present for quorum purposes. Since brokers or nominees will have discretionary authority to vote shares with respect to the director nominee in the absence of voting instructions from stockholders, we expect that there will be no Broker Non-Votes.

If a quorum is not present at the Annual Meeting, the Board of Directors may postpone, or the stockholders who are represented may adjourn, the Annual Meeting until a quorum is present. The persons named as proxies will vote those proxies for such adjournment, unless marked to be voted against any proposal for which an adjournment is sought, to permit the further solicitation of proxies.

Vote Required

Election of Directors.    In an uncontested election, a plurality of the votes cast at a meeting of stockholders duly called and at which a quorum is present shall be sufficient to elect a director. In a contested election, a majority of all votes entitled to be cast at a meeting of stockholders duly called and at which a quorum is present shall be sufficient to elect a director. Mr. Cohen must be elected by a plurality of votes cast at the Annual Meeting by holders of our outstanding Common Stock and Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class, and Mr. Ashenfelter must be elected by a plurality of votes cast at the Annual Meeting by our outstanding Preferred Stock voting together as a single class. If you vote “Withhold” with respect to OXLC’s Board nominees, your shares will not be voted with respect to the person indicated. Stockholders may not cumulate their votes. Abstentions will not be included in determining the number of votes cast and, as a result, will have no effect on this proposal. Since brokers or nominees will have discretionary authority to vote shares in the absence of voting instructions from stockholders, we expect that there will be no Broker Non-Votes on this proposal.

Additional Solicitation.    If there are not enough votes to approve the election of the nominees for director at the Annual Meeting, the stockholders who are represented may adjourn the Annual Meeting to permit the further solicitation of proxies. The persons named as proxies will vote those proxies for such adjournment, unless marked to be voted against the election of a nominee for director, to permit the further solicitation of proxies.

Voting Your Shares

If you are the record holder of your shares, you may vote by submitting your proxy by telephone, over the Internet, by mail, or in person at the Annual Meeting.

•        You may vote your shares by telephone or over the Internet by following the instructions set forth on the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials. We encourage you to vote via the Internet, as it saves us significant time and processing costs.

•        If you request hard copies of the proxy statement and proxy card, you may vote by mail by completing, dating and signing the proxy card and promptly mailing it in the enclosed postage-paid envelope. You do not need to put a stamp on the enclosed envelope if you mail it in the United States. The shares you own will be voted according to the instructions on the proxy card you mail. If you return the proxy card, but do not give any instructions on a particular matter described in this proxy statement, the shares you own will be voted in accordance with the recommendations of our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors recommends that you vote FOR each of the director nominees.

•        If you attend the Annual Meeting and are a registered stockholder, you may vote by completing a ballot available at the Annual Meeting, or, if you requested a hard copy of the proxy card, by delivering your completed proxy card in person at the Annual Meeting. If you hold your shares through a bank or broker, you must obtain a legal proxy from your bank or broker in order to vote at the Annual Meeting.

Changing Your Vote; Revocation of Proxy

Voting by telephone, over the Internet or execution of a proxy will not affect a stockholder’s right to attend the Annual Meeting and vote in person. A proxy may be revoked before it is used to cast a vote. Attendance at the Annual Meeting does not by itself revoke a previously submitted proxy. To revoke a proxy, a stockholder must:

•        file with our corporate secretary, at or before the taking of the vote, a written notice of revocation bearing a later date than the proxy;

•        duly execute a later dated proxy relating to the same shares and deliver it to our corporate secretary before the taking of the vote; or

•        vote in person at the Annual Meeting.

Any written notice of revocation or subsequent proxy should be sent to us at the following address: Oxford Lane Capital Corp., c/o Bruce L. Rubin, Corporate Secretary, 8 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 255, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830. The shares represented by all properly executed proxies received in time for the Annual Meeting will be voted as specified in those proxies.

Information Regarding This Solicitation

Our Board of Directors is making this proxy solicitation and the Company will bear the expense of the solicitation of proxies for the Annual Meeting, including the cost of preparing, printing and mailing this Proxy Statement, the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, and proxy card. We have requested that brokers, nominees, fiduciaries and other persons holding shares in their names, or in the name of their nominees, which are beneficially owned by others, forward the proxy materials to, and obtain proxies from, such beneficial owners. We will reimburse such persons for their reasonable expenses in so doing.

The Company has engaged the services of Computershare Fund Services for the purpose of assisting in the solicitation of proxies at an anticipated cost of approximately $8,000 plus reimbursement of certain expenses and fees for additional services requested. Please note that Computershare Fund Services may solicit stockholder proxies by telephone on behalf of the Company. They will not attempt to influence how you vote your shares, but only ask that you take the time to authorize your proxy. You may also be asked if you would like to authorize your proxy over the telephone and to have your voting instructions transmitted to the Company’s proxy tabulation firm.

In addition to the solicitation of proxies by the use of the mail, proxies may be solicited in person and/or by telephone or facsimile transmission by directors, officers or employees of the Company and/or officers or employees of Oxford Lane Management, LLC (“Oxford Lane Management”), the Company’s investment adviser. Oxford Lane Management and Oxford Funds, LLC (“Oxford Funds”), the Company’s administrator, are both located at 8 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 255, Greenwich, CT 06830. No additional compensation will be paid to directors, officers or regular employees of the Company, Oxford Lane Management or Oxford Funds for such services.

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

The following table sets forth, as of the Record Date, certain information regarding the beneficial ownership of Common Stock and Preferred Stock of the Company by each current director, the director nominee, the Company’s executive officers, each person known to us to beneficially own 5% or more of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock or Preferred Stock, and the executive officers and directors as a group.

Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC and includes voting or investment power with respect to the securities. Ownership information for those persons who beneficially own 5% or more of our shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock is based upon Schedule 13G or 13D filings, or amendments thereto, by such persons with the SEC and other information obtained from such persons, if available.

Unless otherwise indicated, the Company believes that each beneficial owner set forth in the table has sole voting and investment power and has the same address as the Company. Our corporate headquarters are located at 8 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 255, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830.

The Company’s directors are divided into two groups — interested directors and independent directors. Interested directors are “interested persons” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”).

____________

*        Represents less than one percent.

(1)      Beneficial ownership has been determined in accordance with Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Assumes no other purchases or sales of our Common Stock and Preferred Stock since the most recently available SEC filings. This assumption has been made under the rules and regulations of the SEC and does not reflect any knowledge that we have with regard to the present intent of the beneficial owners of our common stock and preferred stock listed in this table.

(2)      Based on a total of 155,646,604 shares of our Common Stock and a total 11,486,721 shares of our Preferred Stock issued and outstanding on the Record Date.

(3)      Based upon information contained in the Schedule 13G/A filed on April 19, 2021 by Leroy Scott Frantz and information contained in a Form 4 filed on Aril 19, 2021. The address of Leroy Scott Frantz is Haebler Capital, 8 Sound Shore Drive, Greenwich, CT 06830.

(4)      Based on information contained in the Schedule 13G/A filed on February 14, 2022 by Eagle Point Credit Management LLC, Eagle Point DIF GP I LLC, Eagle Point Defensive Income Fund US LP and Thomas Philip Majewski. Includes 1,633,748 shares held by Eagle Point Credit Management LLC and 20,450 shares held by Thomas Philip Majewski. The principal business address of Eagle Point Credit Management LLC, Eagle Point DIF GP I LLC, Eagle Point Defensive Income Fund US LP and Thomas Philip Majewski is 600 Steamboat Road, Suite 202, Greenwich, CT 06830.

Set forth below is the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each of our directors as of the Record Date.

____________

(1)      Dollar ranges are as follows: None, $1 – $10,000, $10,001 – $50,000, $50,001 – $100,000, or Over $100,000.

(2)      The dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned in us is based on the closing price for our Common Stock of $6.00 on the Record Date on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. Beneficial ownership has been determined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2) of the Exchange Act. None of our independent directors beneficially owns any shares of our Preferred Stock.

PROPOSAL I: ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

The Company’s board of directors is set at five members unless otherwise designated by the Board of Directors. Directors are elected for a staggered term of three years each, with a term of office of one of the three classes of directors expiring each year. Each director will hold office for the term to which he or she is elected or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified.

Proposal 1(a)

Mr. Jonathan H. Cohen has been nominated for election for a three-year term expiring in 2025. Mr. Cohen is to be elected by the holders of our outstanding Common Stock and Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class.

Proposal 1(b)

Mr. Mark J. Ashenfelter has been nominated for election for a three-year term expiring in 2025. Mr. Ashenfelter is to be elected by the holders of our outstanding Preferred Stock, voting as a single class.

Neither of Messrs. Cohen or Ashenfelter is being proposed for election pursuant to any agreement or understanding between either Mr. Cohen or Mr. Ashenfelter and the Company or any other person or entity.

A stockholder of record can vote for or withhold his, her or its vote from either nominee. In the absence of instructions to the contrary, it is the intention of the persons named as proxies to vote such proxy “FOR” the election of the nominees named below. If the nominee should decline or be unable to serve as a director, it is intended that the proxy will vote for the election of such person as is nominated by the Board of Directors as a replacement. Please note that only holders of our outstanding Preferred Stock may vote in the election of the director nominee Mark J. Ashenfelter. The Board of Directors has no reason to believe that the persons named above will be unable or unwilling to serve.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE “FOR” THE ELECTION OF EACH OF THE NOMINEES NAMED IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT.

Information about the Nominees and Directors

As described below under “Nominating and Corporate Governance Procedures,” the independent directors of the Board of Directors have identified certain desired talents and experience for the directors. Each of our directors and the director nominees have demonstrated high character and integrity; the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to be able to offer advice and guidance to our management in light of prevailing business conditions; familiarity with national and international business matters; experience with accounting rules and practices; appreciation of the relationship of our business to the changing needs of society; and the desire to balance the considerable benefit of continuity with the periodic injection of fresh perspective. Each of our directors and the director nominees also have sufficient time available to devote to the affairs of the Company, is able to work with the other members of the Board of Directors and contribute to the success of the Company and can represent the long-term interests of the Company’s stockholders as a whole. Our directors and the director nominee have been selected such that the Board of Directors represents a range of backgrounds and experience.

Certain information, as of the Record Date, with respect to the nominees for election at the Annual Meeting, as well as each of the current directors, is set forth below, including their names, ages, a brief description of their recent business experience, including present occupations and employment, certain directorships that each person holds, the year in which each person became a director of the Company, and a discussion of their particular experience, qualifications, attributes or skills that lead us to conclude, as of the Record Date, that such individual should serve as a director of the Company, in light of the Company’s business and structure.

The business address of the nominee and the directors listed below is 8 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 255, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830.

Nominees for Director — Term Expiring 2025

Independent Director Nominee

Mr. Ashenfelter is not an “interested person” of the Company as defined in the 1940 Act.

Interested Director Nominee

Mr. Cohen is an “interested person” of the Company as defined in the 1940 Act. Mr. Cohen is an interested person of the Company due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Lane Capital and Oxford Lane Management, Oxford Lane Capital’s investment adviser, and as managing member of Oxford Funds, the administrator for Oxford Lane Capital.

Current Director — Term Expiring 2024

Independent Director

Mr. Shin is not an “interested person” of the Company as defined in the 1940 Act.

Interested Director

Mr. Rosenthal is an “interested person” of the Company as defined in the 1940 Act. Mr. Rosenthal is an interested person of the Company due to his position as President of Oxford Lane Capital and Oxford Lane Management, Oxford Lane Capital’s investment adviser, and as the non-managing member of Oxford Funds, the administrator for Oxford Lane Capital.

Current Director — Term Expiring 2023

Independent Director

Mr. Reardon is not an “interested person” of the Company as defined in the 1940 Act.

Information about Executive Officers Who Are Not Directors

The following information, as of the Record Date, pertains to our executive officers who are not directors of the Company.

Board Leadership Structure

Our Board of Directors monitors and performs an oversight role with respect to the business and affairs of Oxford Lane Capital, including with respect to investment practices and performance, compliance with regulatory requirements and the services, expenses and performance of service providers to Oxford Lane Capital. Among other things, our Board of Directors approves the appointment of our investment adviser and officers, reviews and monitors the services and activities performed by our investment adviser and executive officers and approves the engagement, and reviews the performance of, our independent registered public accounting firm.

Under our bylaws, our Board of Directors may designate a Chairman to preside over the meetings of the Board of Directors and meetings of the stockholders and to perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the Board of Directors. We do not have a fixed policy as to whether the Chairman of the Board of Directors should be an independent director and believe that we should maintain the flexibility to select the Chairman and reorganize the leadership structure, from time to time, based on the criteria that is in the best interests of Oxford Lane Capital and its stockholders at such times.

Presently, Mr. Ashenfelter serves as the Chairman of our Board of Directors. Mr. Ashenfelter is not an “interested person” of Oxford Lane Capital as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act. We believe that Mr. Ashenfelter’s extensive corporate legal experience, particularly in connection with investment companies, qualify him to serve as the Chairman of our Board of Directors. We believe that we are best served through this existing leadership structure, as Mr. Ashenfelter’s independence from our investment adviser eliminates any perceived conflicts of interest and ensures that our management team acts in the best interests of our stockholders.

Our corporate governance policies include regular meetings of the independent directors in executive session with (i) representatives of our independent registered public accounting firm, and (ii) independent legal counsel and without the presence of interested directors and management. Our corporate governance policies also include the establishment of Audit and Valuation Committees comprised solely of independent directors and the appointment of a Chief Compliance Officer, with whom the independent directors meet regularly without the presence of interested directors and other members of management, for administering our compliance policies and procedures.

We recognize that different board leadership structures are appropriate for companies in different situations. We intend to re-examine our corporate governance policies on an ongoing basis to ensure that they continue to meet our needs.

Board’s Role in Risk Oversight

Our Board of Directors performs its risk oversight function primarily through (i) its two standing committees, which report to the entire Board of Directors and are comprised solely of independent directors, and (ii) active monitoring of our Chief Compliance Officer and our compliance policies and procedures.

As described below in more detail under “Committees of the Board of Directors,” the Audit Committee and the Valuation Committee assist the Board of Directors in fulfilling its risk oversight responsibilities. The Audit Committee’s risk oversight responsibilities include overseeing our accounting and financial reporting processes, our systems of internal controls regarding finance and accounting, and audits of our financial statements. The Valuation Committee’s risk oversight responsibilities include establishing guidelines and making recommendations to our Board of Directors regarding the valuation of our loans and investments. Moreover, the independent directors of our Board of Directors are responsible for selecting, researching and nominating directors for election by our stockholders, developing and recommending to the Board of Directors a set of corporate governance principles and overseeing the evaluation of the Board of Directors and our management.

Our Board of Directors also performs its risk oversight responsibilities with the assistance of our Chief Compliance Officer. The Board of Directors annually reviews a written report from the Chief Compliance Officer discussing the adequacy and effectiveness of the compliance policies and procedures of Oxford Lane Capital and its service providers. The Chief Compliance Officer’s annual report addresses at a minimum (i) the operation of the compliance policies and procedures of Oxford Lane Capital and its service providers since the last report; (ii) any material changes to such policies and procedures since the last report; (iii) any recommendations for material changes to such policies and procedures as a result of the Chief Compliance Officer’s annual review; and (iv) any compliance matter that has occurred since the date of the last report about which the Board of Directors would reasonably need to know to oversee our compliance activities and risks. In addition, the Chief Compliance Officer meets separately in executive session with the independent directors at least quarterly.

We believe that our Board of Directors’ role in risk oversight is effective and appropriate given the extensive regulation to which we are already subject as an investment company. As a registered closed-end management investment company, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements that control the levels of risk in our business and operations. For example, our ability to incur indebtedness is limited such that our asset coverage must equal at least 300% immediately after each time we incur indebtedness (or, with respect to senior securities that are stock, 200%, as measured at the time of the issuance of any such senior securities that are stock and calculated as the ratio of our total assets) and we are limited in our ability to invest in any investment in which one of our affiliates is currently invested.

We recognize that different board roles in risk oversight are appropriate for companies in different situations. We re-examine the manner in which the Board of Directors administers its oversight function on an ongoing basis to ensure that they continue to meet our needs.

Certain Relationships and Transactions

Transactions with Related Persons

We have entered into the Investment Advisory Agreement with Oxford Lane Management. Oxford Lane Management is controlled by Oxford Funds, its managing member. In addition to Oxford Funds, Oxford Lane Management is owned in part by Charles M. Royce as a non-managing member. Oxford Funds, as the managing member of Oxford Lane Management, manages the business and internal affairs of Oxford Lane Management. In addition, Oxford Funds provides us with office facilities and administrative services pursuant to the Administration Agreement. Jonathan H. Cohen, our Chief Executive Officer, as well as a director, is the managing member of and controls Oxford Funds. Saul B. Rosenthal, our President, is also the President and Chief Operating Officer of Oxford Square Management and a member of Oxford Funds.

Charles M. Royce is the Chief Executive Officer of Royce & Associates. Mr. Royce, as a non-managing member of Oxford Lane Management, does not take part in the management or participate in the operations of Oxford Lane Management.

In addition, Mr. Cohen currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Rosenthal currently serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Oxford Square Capital Corp., a publicly-traded business development company that invests principally in the debt of U.S.-based companies and Oxford Square Capital Corp.’s investment adviser, Oxford Square Management. Oxford Funds is also the managing member of Oxford Square Management, LLC. Messrs. Cohen and Rosenthal also currently serve as Chief Executive Officer and President, respectively, of Oxford Gate Management, LLC, or “Oxford Gate Management,” the investment adviser to Oxford Gate Master Fund, LLC, Oxford Gate, LLC, and Oxford Gate (Bermuda) LLC, (collectively the “Oxford Gate Funds”) and Oxford Bridge II, LLC. Oxford Bridge II, LLC and the Oxford Gate Funds are private investment funds. Oxford Funds is the managing member of Oxford Gate Management. As a result, Messrs. Cohen and Rosenthal may be subject to certain conflicts of interests with respect to their management of our portfolio on the one hand, and their respective obligations to manage Oxford Square Capital Corp., Oxford Bridge II, LLC and the Oxford Gate Funds, on the other hand.

Oxford Lane Management, Oxford Square Management and Oxford Gate Management, LLC, are subject to a written policy with respect to the allocation of investment opportunities among us, Oxford Square Capital Corp., Oxford Bridge II, LLC and the Oxford Gate Funds in view of the potential conflicts of interest raised by the relationships described above. The allocation policy generally provides that, depending on the amount of the investment opportunity and subject to current and anticipated cash availability, among other factors, investment opportunities that are suitable for more than one entity will be allocated on a pro-rata basis, based on each entity’s order size.

In the ordinary course of business, we may enter into transactions with portfolio companies that may be considered related party transactions. In order to ensure that we do not engage in any prohibited transactions with any persons affiliated with us, we have implemented certain policies and procedures whereby our executive officers screen each of our transactions for any possible affiliations between the proposed portfolio investment, us, companies controlled by us and our employees and directors. We will not enter into any agreements unless and until we are satisfied that doing so will not raise concerns under the 1940 Act or, if such concerns exist, we have taken appropriate actions to seek board review and approval or exemptive relief for such transaction. Our Board of Directors reviews these procedures on an annual basis.

As a registered closed-end fund, we are limited in our ability to co-invest in privately negotiated transactions with certain funds or entities managed by Oxford Lane Management or its affiliates without an exemptive order from the SEC. On June 14, 2017, the SEC issued an exemptive order (the “Exemptive Order”), which permits us to co-invest in portfolio companies with certain funds or entities managed by Oxford Lane Management or its affiliates in certain negotiated transactions where co-investing would otherwise be prohibited under the 1940 Act, subject to the conditions of the Exemptive Order. Pursuant to the Exemptive Order, we are permitted to co-invest with our affiliates if a “required majority” (as defined in Section 57(o) of the 1940 Act) of our independent directors make certain conclusions in connection with a co-investment transaction, including, but not limited to, that (1) the terms of the potential co-investment transaction, including the consideration to be paid, are reasonable and fair to us and our stockholders and do not involve overreaching in respect of us or our stockholders on the part of any person concerned, and (2) the potential co-investment transaction is consistent with the interests of our stockholders and is consistent with our then-current investment objective and strategies.

Review, Approval or Ratification of Transactions with Related Persons

We have also adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics which applies to, among others, our senior officers, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as well as every officer, director and employee of Oxford Lane Capital. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics requires that all employees and directors avoid any conflict, or the appearance of a conflict, between an individual’s personal interests and the interests of Oxford Lane Capital. Pursuant to our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, each employee and director must disclose any conflicts of interest, or actions or relationships that might give rise to a conflict. Our Audit Committee is charged with approving any waivers under our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. As required by the NASDAQ Stock Market corporate governance listing standards, the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors is also required to review and approve any transactions with related parties (as such term is defined in Item 404 of Regulation S-K of the Exchange Act).

Corporate Governance

Corporate Governance Documents

Our corporate governance documents are available on our website at http://www.oxfordlanecapital.com and are also available to any stockholder who requests them by writing to Oxford Lane Capital Corp., c/o Bruce L. Rubin, Corporate Secretary, 8 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 255, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics which applies to, among others, our senior officers, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as well as every officer, director and employee of OXLC. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, as well as our Code of Ethics and Insider Trading Policy, adopted in compliance with Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, can be accessed via our website at http://www.oxfordlanecapital.com.

Director Independence

In accordance with rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market, our Board of Directors will annually determine each director’s independence. We do not consider a director independent unless the Board of Directors has determined that he or she has no material relationship with us. We will monitor the relationships of our directors and officers through a questionnaire each director completes no less frequently than annually and updates periodically as information provided in the most recent questionnaire changes.

In order to evaluate the materiality of any such relationship, the Board of Directors uses the definition of director independence set forth in the rules promulgated by the NASDAQ Stock Market. Rule 5605(a)(2) provides that a director of an investment company shall be considered to be independent if he or she is not an “interested person” of Oxford Lane Capital, as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act.

The Board of Directors has determined that each of the directors is independent and has no relationship with us, except as a director and stockholder, with the exception of Jonathan H. Cohen and Saul B. Rosenthal, as a result of their respective positions as Chief Executive Officer and President of Oxford Lane Capital and Oxford Lane Management, Oxford Lane Capital’s investment adviser, and as the managing member and non-managing member, respectively, of Oxford Funds, the administrator for Oxford Lane Capital.

Evaluation

The Company’s directors perform an evaluation and assessment, no less frequently than annually, of the effectiveness of the Board of Directors and its committees.

Communication with the Board of Directors

Stockholders with questions about Oxford Lane Capital are encouraged to contact Oxford Lane Capital Corp.’s Investor Relations Department. However, if stockholders believe that their questions have not been addressed, they may communicate with our Board of Directors by sending their communications to Oxford Lane Capital Corp., c/o Saul B. Rosenthal, President, 8 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 255, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830. All stockholder communications received in this manner will be delivered to one or more members of the Board of Directors, as appropriate.

Hedging Transactions

Our Code of Ethics and Insider Trading Policy prohibits any Covered Person from engaging in transactions involving options, puts, calls, zero-cost collars, forward sale contracts or other derivative securities, with respect to our securities, on an exchange or in any other organized market, other than covered call writing. A “Covered Person” means any our directors, officers or employees (including a temporary employee), or of any of our affiliates or subsidiaries, including our investment adviser, our administrator and any other persons designated by our Chief Compliance Officer.

Control Shares

The Company has elected to be subject to the Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act (the “MCSAA”). In general, the MCSAA limits the ability of holders of “control shares” to vote those shares above various threshold levels that start at 10% unless the other stockholders of the Company reinstate those voting rights at a meeting of stockholders as provided in the MCSAA. “Control shares” are generally defined in the MCSAA as shares of stock that, if aggregated with all other shares of stock that are either (i) owned by a person or (ii) as to which that person is entitled to exercise or direct the exercise of voting power, except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy, would entitle that person to exercise voting power in electing directors above various thresholds of voting power starting at 10%. Our bylaws provide that a stockholder who obtains voting rights of shares of common stock in a control share acquisition shall have no voting rights with respect to such shares to the extent provided in such provisions of the MCSAA. Such authorization shall require the affirmative vote of the holders of two-thirds of the shares of the Company entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding interested shares. Our bylaws also provide that the provisions of the MCSAA shall not apply to the voting rights of (A) the holders of any shares of preferred stock of such Company (but only with respect to such preferred stock) and (B) any person acquiring shares of stock of the Company in a control share acquisition if, prior to the acquisition, the person obtains approval of the Board exempting the acquisition from the MCSAA specifically, generally or generally by types, which exemption may include the person and the person’s affiliates or associates or other persons.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors has established an Audit Committee and a Valuation Committee. We require each director to make a diligent effort to attend all Board and committee meetings, as well as each annual meeting of stockholders. The Board of Directors met on four occasions during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. All directors attended at least 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of our Board of Directors and of the respective committees on which they served.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee operates pursuant to a charter approved by our Board of Directors, a copy of which is available on our website at http://www.oxfordlanecapital.com. The charter sets forth the responsibilities of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee’s responsibilities include recommending the selection of our independent registered public accounting firm, reviewing with such independent registered public accounting firm the planning, scope and results of their audit of our financial statements, pre-approving the fees for services performed, reviewing with the independent registered public accounting firm the adequacy of internal control systems, reviewing our annual financial statements and periodic filings, and receiving the audit reports covering our financial statements. The Audit Committee is presently composed of three persons: Messrs. Shin, Ashenfelter and Reardon, all of whom are considered independent under the rules promulgated by the NASDAQ Stock Market. Our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Shin is an “audit committee financial expert” as that term is defined under Item 407 of Regulation S-K of the Exchange Act. Mr. Shin meets the current independence and experience requirements of Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act and, in addition, is not an “interested person” of Oxford Lane Capital as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act. Mr. Shin currently serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee met on four occasions during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022.

Valuation Committee

The Valuation Committee establishes guidelines and makes recommendations to our Board of Directors regarding the valuation of investments. Our portfolio investments will generally not be publicly traded securities. As a result, there will not be a readily determinable market value for these securities. Thus, as required by the 1940 Act for such securities, we will value these securities at fair value as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors based upon the recommendation of the Valuation Committee.

Our Board of Directors will determine the value of our investment portfolio (including each of our collateralized loan obligation assets) each quarter, after consideration of our Valuation Committee’s recommendation of fair value. Oxford Lane Management will compile relevant information, including a financial summary, covenant compliance review and recent trading activity in the security, if known. All available information, including non-binding indicative bids which may not be considered reliable, will be presented to the Valuation Committee to consider in making its recommendation of fair value to the Board of Directors. In some instances, there may be limited trading activity in a security even though the market for the security is considered not active. In such cases the Valuation Committee will consider the number of trades, the size and timing of each trade, and other circumstances around such trades, to the extent such information is available, in making its recommendation of fair value to the Board of Directors. We may elect to engage third-party valuation firms to provide assistance to our Valuation Committee and Board of Directors in valuing certain of our investments, including, but not limited to, when requested by the Board of Directors or Oxford Lane Management. If a third-party valuation firm is engaged by the Company, it will provide the Board of Directors with a written report with respect to each investment it has reviewed. The Valuation Committee will evaluate the impact of such additional information, and factor it into its consideration of fair value.

The Valuation Committee is presently composed of Messrs. Ashenfelter, Shin and Reardon. Mr. Ashenfelter currently serves as Chairman of the Valuation Committee. The Valuation Committee met on four occasions during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022.

Compensation Committee

We do not have a compensation committee and we do not engage any compensation consultants because our executive officers do not receive any direct compensation from OXLC.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Procedures

We do not have a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee because a majority of the independent directors of the Board of Directors, in accordance with the NASDAQ Global Select Market listing standards, recommends candidates for election as directors. We do not currently have a charter or written policy with regard to the nomination process or stockholder recommendations. The absence of such a policy does not mean, however, that a stockholder recommendation would not be considered if one is received.

Our independent directors will consider qualified director nominees recommended by stockholders when such recommendations are submitted in accordance with our bylaws and any applicable law, rule or regulation regarding director nominations. When submitting a nomination for consideration, a stockholder must provide certain information that would be required under applicable SEC rules, including the following minimum information for each director nominee: full name, age and address; principal occupation during the past five years; current directorships on publicly held companies and investment companies; number of shares of our Common Stock and Preferred Stock owned, if any; and a written consent of the individual to stand for election if nominated by our Board of Directors and to serve if elected by our stockholders.

In evaluating director nominees, our independent directors consider the following factors:

•        the appropriate size and composition of our Board of Directors;

•        whether or not the person is an “interested person” of Oxford Lane Capital as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act;

•        the needs of Oxford Lane Capital with respect to the particular talents and experience of its directors;

•        the knowledge, skills and experience of nominees in light of the Company’s business and strategic direction and the knowledge, skills and experience already possessed by other members of the Board of Directors;

•        high character and integrity;

•        familiarity with national and international business matters;

•        experience with accounting rules and practices;

•        appreciation of the relationship of our business to the changing needs of society;

•        the desire to balance the considerable benefit of continuity with the periodic injection of the fresh perspective provided by new members; and

•        all applicable laws, rules, regulations, and listing standards.

The Board of Directors’ goal is to assemble a Board of Directors that brings to Oxford Lane Capital a variety of perspectives and skills derived from high quality business and professional experience.

Other than the foregoing, there are no stated minimum criteria for director nominees, although our independent directors may also consider such other factors as they may deem to be in the best interests of Oxford Lane Capital and its stockholders. The Board of Directors also believes it appropriate for certain key members of our management to participate as members of the Board of Directors.

The independent members of the Board of Directors identify nominees by first evaluating the current members of the Board of Directors willing to continue in service. Current members of the Board of Directors with skills and experience that are relevant to our business and who are willing to continue in service are considered for re-nomination, balancing the value of continuity of service by existing members of the Board of Directors with that of obtaining a new perspective. If any member of the Board of Directors does not wish to continue in service or if the Board of Directors decides not to re-nominate a member for re-election, the independent members of the Board of Directors identify the desired skills and experience of a new nominee in light of the criteria above. The entire Board of Directors is polled for suggestions as to individuals meeting the aforementioned criteria. Research may also be performed to identify qualified individuals. To date, the Board of Directors has not engaged third parties to identify or evaluate or assist in identifying potential nominees, although it reserves the right to retain a third party search firm in the future, if necessary.

The Board of Directors has not adopted a formal policy with regard to the consideration of diversity in identifying director nominees. In determining whether to recommend a director nominee, the Board of Directors considers and discusses diversity, among other factors, with a view toward the needs of the board of directors as a whole. The Board of Directors generally conceptualizes diversity expansively to include, without limitation, concepts such as race, gender, national origin, differences of viewpoint, professional experience, education, skill and other qualities that contribute to the Board of Directors, when identifying and recommending director nominees. The Board of Directors believes that the inclusion of diversity as one of many factors considered in selecting director nominees is consistent with the Board of Directors’ goal of creating a Board of Directors that best serves the needs of Oxford Lane Capital and the interests of its stockholders.

Compensation of Directors

The following table sets forth compensation of the Company’s directors for the year ended March 31, 2022.

____________

(1)      For a discussion of the independent directors’ compensation, see below.

(2)      We do not maintain a stock or option plan, non-equity incentive plan or pension plan for our directors.

Independent directors receive an annual fee of $90,000, as well as $2,000 plus reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attending each Board of Directors meeting, $1,500 plus reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attending each Valuation Committee meeting and $1,000 plus reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attending each Audit Committee meeting. The Chairman of the Audit Committee also receives an additional annual fee of $10,000. No compensation is paid to directors who are “interested persons” of Oxford Lane Capital, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act.

Compensation of Chief Executive Officer and Other Executive Officers

We do not have a compensation committee because our executive officers do not receive any direct compensation from Oxford Lane Capital. Mr. Cohen, our Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Rosenthal, our President, through their ownership interest in Oxford Funds, the managing member of Oxford Lane Management, are entitled to a portion of any profits earned by Oxford Lane Management, which includes any fees payable to Oxford Lane Management under the terms of the Investment Advisory Agreement, less expenses incurred by Oxford Lane Management in performing its services under the Investment Advisory Agreement. Messrs. Cohen and Rosenthal do not receive any additional compensation from Oxford Lane Management in connection with the management of our portfolio.

The compensation of our Chief Financial Officer, Controller, and other administrative support personnel, is paid by our administrator, Oxford Funds, subject to reimbursement by us of an allocable portion of such compensation for services rendered by our Chief Financial Officer, Controller, and other administrative support personnel, to Oxford Lane Capital. The allocable portion of such compensation that is reimbursed to Oxford Funds by us is based on an estimate of the time spent by our Chief Financial Officer, Controller, and other administrative support personnel in performing their respective duties for us in accordance with the Administration Agreement. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, we accrued approximately $855,000 for the allocable portion of compensation expenses incurred by Oxford Funds on our behalf for our Chief Financial Officer, Controller, and other administrative support personnel, pursuant to our Administration Agreement with Oxford Funds. Mr. Cummins is a Director of Foreside Consulting Services, LLC, which acquired Alaric Compliance Services, LLC in December 2021 (“Foreside”), and performs his functions as our Chief Compliance Officer under the terms of an agreement between us and Foreside . For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, we expensed approximately $90,000 for the fees paid to Foreside.

Legal Proceedings

None of us, our investment adviser or administrator, is currently subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to our knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against us, or against our investment adviser or administrator. From time to time, we, our investment adviser or administrator, may be a party to certain legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business, including proceedings relating to the enforcement of our rights under contracts with our portfolio companies. While the outcome of these legal proceedings cannot be predicted, we do not expect that these proceedings will have a material effect upon our financial statements.

Board Consideration of the Investment Advisory Agreement

At a meeting of our Board of Directors held on July 28, 2022, our Board of Directors unanimously voted to approve the Investment Advisory Agreement. In reaching a decision to approvethe Investment Advisory Agreement, the Board of Directors reviewed a significant amount of information and considered and concluded, among other things:

•        the nature, quality and extent of the advisory and other services to be provided to us by Oxford Lane Management, including the responses in a questionnaire regarding Oxford Lane Management’s investment process and Oxford Lane Management’s policies and guidelines currently in place to monitor and manage the risk and volatility associated with the Company’s portfolio, and the qualifications and abilities of the professional personnel of Oxford Lane Management and the compensation structure for such personnel, and concluded that such services are satisfactory;

•        the investment performance of OXLC and Oxford Lane Management including a comparison to the performance of OXLC’s peer group, and concluded that OXLC’s performance is reasonable in comparison to its peers;

•        comparative data with respect to advisory fees or similar expenses paid by other management investment companies with similar investment objectives, and concluded that the total advisory fees paid by OXLC to Oxford Lane Management were reasonable;

•        our historical and projected operating expenses and expense ratio compared to management investment companies with similar investment objectives, and concluded that our operating expenses were reasonable;

•        any existing and potential sources of indirect income to Oxford Lane Management or Oxford Funds from their relationships with OXLC and the profitability of those relationships, and concluded that Oxford Lane Management’s profitability was not excessive with respect to us;

•        the services to be performed and the personnel performing such services under the Investment Advisory Agreement, and concluded that the services to be performed and the personnel performing such services were satisfactory;

•        the organizational capability and financial condition of Oxford Lane Management and its affiliates, and concluded that the organizational capability and financial condition of Oxford Lane Management were reasonable;

•        the due diligence-related expenses, travel expenses, and expenses associated with investigating and monitoring investments, and concluded that such expenses were reasonable; and

•        the possibility of obtaining similar services from other third party service providers or through an internally managed structure, and concluded that our current externally managed structure with Oxford Lane Management as our investment advisor was satisfactory.

Based on the information reviewed and the discussions detailed above, the Board of Directors, including all of the directors who are not “interested persons,” as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, concluded that the fees payable to Oxford Lane Management pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement were reasonable, and comparable to the fees paid by other management investment companies with similar investment objectives, in relation to the services to be provided. The Board of Directors did not assign relative weights to the above factors or the other factors considered by it. Individual members of the Board of Directors may have given different weights to different factors.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Audit Committee and the independent directors of the Board of Directors have selected PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to serve as the independent registered public accounting firm for the Company for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has advised us that neither the firm nor any present member or associate of it has any material financial interest, direct or indirect, in the Company or its affiliates. It is expected that a representative of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP will be present at the Annual Meeting and will have an opportunity to make a statement if he or she chooses and will be available to answer questions.

Audit Fees.    Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements, including reviews of interim financial statements, and services that are normally provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in connection with statutory and regulatory filings and services provided in connection with securities offerings.

Audit-Related Fees.    Audit-related services consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards.

Tax Fees.    Tax fees consist of fees billed for professional services for tax compliance. These services include assistance regarding federal, state, and local tax compliance.

All Other Fees.    All other fees would include fees for products and services other than the services reported above.

Audit Committee Report

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of Oxford Lane Capital Corp. operates under a written charter adopted by the Board of Directors. The Audit Committee is currently composed of Messrs. Ashenfelter, Reardon and Shin.

Management is responsible for the Company’s internal controls and the financial reporting process. The Company’s independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for performing an independent audit of the Company’s financial statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “PCAOB”) and expressing an opinion on the conformity of those audited financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The Audit Committee’s responsibility is to monitor and oversee these processes. The Audit Committee is also directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm.

Audit Firm Selection/Ratification

At least annually, the Audit Committee reviews the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm to decide whether to retain such firm on behalf of the Company. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has been the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm since 2010.

When conducting its latest review of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Audit Committee actively engaged with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s engagement partners and considered, among other factors:

•        the professional qualifications of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and that of the lead audit partner and other key engagement members relative to the current and ongoing needs of the Company;

•        PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s historical and recent performance on the Company’s audits, including the extent and quality of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s communications with the Audit Committee related thereto;

•        senior management’s assessment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s performance;

•        the appropriateness of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s fees relative to both efficiency and audit quality;

•        PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s independence policies and processes for maintaining its independence;

•        PCAOB audit quality inspection reports on PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP;

•        PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s tenure as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm and its related depth of understanding of the Company’s businesses, operations and systems and the Company’s accounting policies and practices;

•        PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s professional integrity and objectivity; and

•        the relative benefits, challenges, overall advisability and potential impact of selecting a different independent registered public accounting firm.

As a result of this evaluation, the Audit Committee approved the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023.

Audit Engagement Partner Selection

Under SEC rules and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s practice, the lead engagement audit partner is required to change every five years, and a new lead audit partner has been appointed beginning with the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021. The Audit Committee interviewed the incoming lead audit partner and considered his professional qualifications in light of the Company’s needs. The Audit Committee has approved the incoming lead audit partner

Pre-Approval Policy

The Audit Committee has established a pre-approval policy that describes the permitted audit, audit-related, tax and other services to be provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. The policy requires that the Audit Committee pre-approve the audit and non-audit services performed by the independent auditor in order to assure that the provision of such service does not impair the auditor’s independence.

Any requests for audit, audit-related, tax and other services that have not received general pre-approval must be submitted to the Audit Committee for specific pre-approval, irrespective of the amount, and cannot commence until such approval has been granted. Normally, pre-approval is provided at regularly scheduled meetings of the Audit Committee. However, the Audit Committee may delegate pre-approval authority to one or more of its members. The member or members to whom such authority is delegated shall report any pre-approval decisions to the Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting. The Audit Committee does not delegate its responsibilities to pre-approve services performed by the independent registered public accounting firm to management.

During the year ended March 31, 2022, the Audit Committee pre-approved 100% of non-audit services in accordance with the pre-approval policy described above.

Review with Management

The Audit Committee has reviewed the audited financial statements and met and held discussions with management regarding the audited financial statements. Management has represented to the Audit Committee that the Company’s financial statements were prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.

Review and Discussion with Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Audit Committee has discussed with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, matters required to be discussed by standards promulgated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the PCAOB. The Audit Committee received and reviewed the written disclosures and the letter from the independent registered public accounting firm required by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and has discussed with the auditors the auditors’ independence. The Audit Committee has also considered the compatibility of non-audit services with the auditors’ independence.

The Audit Committee met with members of senior management and the independent registered public accounting firm to review the certifications provided by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“Sarbanes-Oxley”), the rules and regulations of the SEC and the overall certification process. At this meeting, company officers reviewed each of the Sarbanes-Oxley certification requirements concerning internal control over financial reporting and any fraud, whether or not material, involving management or other employees with a significant role in internal control over financial reporting.

OTHER MATTERS

Stockholder Proposals

Any stockholder proposals submitted pursuant to the SEC’s Rule 14a-8 for inclusion in the Company’s proxy statement and form of proxy for the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders must be received by the Company on or before May 10, 2023. Such proposals must also comply with the requirements as to form and substance established by the SEC if such proposals are to be included in the Company’s proxy statement and form of proxy. The submission of a proposal does not guarantee its inclusion in the Company’s proxy statement or presentation at the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders. Any such proposal should be mailed to: Oxford Lane Capital Corp., c/o Bruce L. Rubin, Corporate Secretary, 8 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 255, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830.

Stockholder proposals or director nominations for the Company to be presented at the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders, other than stockholder proposals submitted pursuant to the SEC’s Rule 14a-8, must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, the principal executive offices of the Company not less than 120 days nor more than 150 days prior to the first anniversary of the date of mailing of the notice for the preceding year’s annual meeting of stockholders. For the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders, the Company must receive such proposals and nominations between April 10, 2023 and May 10, 2023. If the date of the mailing of the notice for the 2023 annual meeting is advanced or delayed by more than 30 days from the first anniversary of the date of mailing of the notice for the preceding year’s annual meeting, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so delivered not earlier than the 150th day prior to the date of mailing of the notice for the 2023 annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the 120th day prior to the date of mailing of the notice for the 2023 annual meeting or the 10th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of mailing of the notice for such meeting is first made. Proposals must also comply with the other requirements contained in the Company’s bylaws, including supporting documentation and other information. Proxies solicited by the Company will confer discretionary voting authority with respect to these proposals, subject to SEC rules governing the exercise of this authority.

Other Business

The Board of Directors knows of no other business to be presented for action at the Annual Meeting. If any matters do come before the Annual Meeting on which action can properly be taken, it is intended that the proxies shall vote in accordance with the judgment of the person or persons exercising the authority conferred by the proxy at the Annual Meeting. The submission of a proposal does not guarantee its inclusion in the Company’s proxy statement or presentation at the Annual Meeting unless certain securities law requirements are met.

Delivery of Proxy Materials

Please note that only one copy of the Proxy Statement, the Annual Report for the year ended March 31, 2022 or Notice of Annual Meeting might be delivered to two or more stockholders of record of OXLC who share an address, unless we have received contrary instructions from one or more of such stockholders. We will deliver promptly, upon request, a separate copy of any of these documents to stockholders of record of OXLC at a shared address to which a single copy of such document(s) was delivered. Stockholders who wish to receive a separate copy of any of these documents, or to receive a single copy of such documents if multiple copies were delivered, now or in the future, should submit their request by calling us at (203) 983-5275 or by writing to Oxford Lane Capital Corp., c/o Bruce L. Rubin, Corporate Secretary, 8 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 255, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830.

Available Information

We are required to file with or submit to the SEC annual and semi-annual reports on Form N-CSR, monthly portfolio investments reports on Form N-PORT for the third month for each of our fiscal quarters, proxy statements, and other information meeting the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and the 1940 Act. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information filed electronically by us with the SEC which are available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. This information is also available free of charge by contacting us at Oxford Lane Capital Corp., 8 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 255, Greenwich, CT 06830, by telephone at (203) 983-5275. Copies of our annual and semi-annual reports on Form N-CSR, our monthly portfolio investments reports on Form N-PORT for the third month for each of our fiscal quarters, and our proxy statements and prospectuses, are also available on our website at http://www.oxfordlanecapital.com.

You are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting of stockholders in person. Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, you are requested to vote in accordance with the voting instructions in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, or by requesting hard copy proxy materials from us and returning a proxy card so that you may be represented at the Annual Meeting.

For California Residents

The personal information about you that we collect includes information within the below categories of data. These categories also represent the categories of personal information that we have collected over the past 12 months. We collect this information as per section 2 above, and we share this information as per section 3 below.

Note that the categories listed below are defined by California state law. Inclusion of a category in the list below indicates only that, depending on the services and products we provide you, we may collect some information within that category. It does not necessarily mean that we collect all information listed in a particular category for all of our customers.

3.      Sharing your personal information

We may share your personal information with our adviser, Oxford Lane Management, LLC, and to certain service providers such as our accountants, administrator, attorneys, auditors, transfer agents and brokers, in each case for our everyday business purposes, such as to facilitate the acceptance and management of your investment or account and our relationship with you, or as otherwise permitted by applicable law. We will take reasonably necessary steps to ensure that where personal information is shared, it is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Notice and applicable laws. We require our service providers to provide written assurances regarding the security and privacy protections they have in place to protect any personal information transferred or disclosed to them, as well as their compliance with our security requirements and any applicable laws and regulations.

We may also disclose the information we collect:

•        If you request or authorize disclosure of the information, in each case in accordance with the agreements governing your investment;

•        As required by law — for example, to cooperate with any government regulators, self-regulatory organization or law enforcement authorities;

•        As otherwise permitted by law — for example, (i) to service providers who maintain, process or service our funds; (ii) in connection with the making, management or disposition of any fund investment; (iii) as otherwise necessary to effect, administer or enforce investment or fund transactions; or (iv) in connection with a sale or other transfer of our public entities. We may also share information with attorneys, accountants, other service providers and with persons otherwise acting in a representative or fiduciary capacity on behalf of investors or the funds;

•        We may share information with service providers that perform marketing services on our behalf.

We do not, and will not, sell personal information to third parties, as that term is defined by California law, nor have we done so in the past 12 months. In addition, we do not share personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes.

4.      Retention of your personal information

As a general principle, we do not retain your personal information for longer than we need it. We keep your personal information only for as long as it is required to provide our services, perform our contractual obligations, or to meet our statutory or regulatory requirements. We typically delete personal information about you 6 years after you are no longer our client.

5.      Your rights regarding your personal information

Depending on where you live, your current jurisdiction and applicable data protection laws, and subject to any relevant restrictions/exemption, you may be entitled to certain rights with regards to our processing of your personal information. (Please note: depending on the country you live in and the applicable data protection laws, you may only have access to some of the rights listed below).

Your rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”)

To the extent we have collected information about you that is not governed by the GLBA or FCRA, you may have the rights described below with respect to personal information about you, residents of California may have certain data protection rights under CCPA relating to certain personal information, including:

You may also appoint an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf.

If you chose to exercise any of these rights, to the extent that they apply, U.S. state law prohibits us from discriminating against you on the basis of choosing to exercise the privacy rights.

We may, however, charge a different rate or provide a different level of service to the extent permitted by law.

Your GDPR rights

To the extent the GDPR applies, data subjects of the EU/UK may have certain rights, including:

You may exercise your right to make these requests/objections by contacting us at 1-203-983-5275 or sending us an email at privacy@oxfordfunds.com at any time if you wish to do so.

For a listing of EU Privacy Regulators, please click here: https://edpb.europa.eu/about- edpb/board/members_en

6.      Submitting Requests

To exercise your rights to request information or the deletion of your personal information, please contact us at 1-203-983-5275, or send us an email at privacy@oxfordfunds.com at any time if you wish to do so.

Before providing information requests in accordance with your rights, we must be able to verify your identity. In order to verify identity, you will need to submit information about yourself, including, to the extent applicable, account information, name, government identification number, date of birth, contact information, or other personal information. We will match this information against information we have previously collected about you to verify your identity and request.

Please note that under California law, we are only obligated to respond to personal information requests from the same consumer up to two times in a 12-month period. Under both EU and California law, if an individual makes unfounded, repetitive, or excessive requests (as determined in our reasonable discretion) to access Personal Data, we may charge a fee subject to a maximum set by law.

If you would like to appoint an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf, you must provide the agent with written, signed permission to submit privacy right requests on your behalf, or provide a letter from your attorney. The agent or attorney must provide this authorization at the time of request. We may require you to verify your identity with us directly before we provide any requested information to your approved agent.

Information collected for purposes of verifying your request will only be used for verification.

If you chose to exercise any of these rights, to the extent that they apply, U.S. state law prohibits us from discriminating against you on the basis of choosing to exercise your privacy rights. We may, however, charge a different rate or provide a different level of service to the extent permitted by law.

We are, of course, happy to provide any further information or explanation needed.

7.      Cookies

A cookie is a small piece of data that a website asks your browser to store on your computer or mobile device. The cookie allows the website to “remember” your actions or preferences over time. Cookies are widely used in order to make websites work, or to work more efficiently, as well as to provide reporting information. Some cookies are strictly necessary for the functioning of our website.

Why do we use cookies?

We use cookies to learn how you interact with our content and to improve your experience when visiting our website. For example, some cookies remember your preferences and where you left off so that you do not have to repeatedly make these choices when you visit one of our websites.

What types of cookies do we use?

Third-party cookies belong to and are managed by other parties, such as Google Analytics. These cookies may be required to render certain forms, such as email list sign-up. Session cookies are temporary cookies that are used to remember you during the course of your visit to the website, and they expire when you close the web browser. Persistent cookies are used to remember your preferences within the website and remain on your desktop or mobile device even after you close your browser or restart your computer. We use these cookies to analyze user behavior to establish visit patterns so that we can improve our website functionality for you and others who visit our website.

How do I reject and delete cookies?

You can choose to reject or block all or specific types of cookies for FIA by changing your browser settings. Please note that most browsers automatically accept cookies. Therefore, if you do not wish cookies to be used, you may need to actively delete or block the cookies. If you reject the use of cookies, you will still be able to visit our websites but some of the functions may not work correctly. You may also visit www.allaboutcookies.org for details on how to delete or reject cookies and for further information on cookies generally. By using our website without deleting or rejecting some or all cookies, you agree that we can place those cookies that you have not deleted or rejected on your device.

See also:

https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

https://support.google.com/ads/answer/2662922?hl=en

8.      Safeguards and Compliance

We implement and maintain security appropriate to the nature of the personal information that we collect, use, retain, transfer or otherwise process, and will take reasonable steps to protect your personal information against loss or theft, as well as from unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification, regardless of the format in which it is held. While we are committed to developing, implementing, maintaining, monitoring and updating a reasonable information security program.

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet or any wireless network can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Data security incidents and breaches can occur due to vulnerabilities, criminal exploits or other factors that cannot reasonably be prevented. Accordingly, while our reasonable security program is designed to manage data security risks and thus help prevent data security incidents and breaches, it cannot be assumed that the occurrence of any given incident or breach results from our failure to implement and maintain reasonable security.

9.      Do Not Track Signals

Various third parties are developing or have developed signals or other mechanisms for the expression of consumer choice regarding the collection of information about an individual consumer’s online activities over time and across third-party website or online services (e.g., browser do not track signals). Currently, we do not monitor or take any action with respect to these signals or other mechanisms.

10.    Children

We do not offer financial services and products to minors and do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 16. We will delete any personal information we determine to have been collected from a child or user under the applicable age of consent. If you are a parent or guardian of a child under the relevant digital age of consent and believe he or she has disclosed personal information to us, please contact us at 1-203-983-5275 or send us an email at privacy@oxfordfunds.com.

11.    Changes to this Notice

We reserve the right to modify this Notice at any time and without prior notice. Updated privacy policies will be made available through our websites. We will comply with applicable data privacy laws when making changes to our privacy practices. The date at the top of this privacy policy indicates the date when the policy was last updated and the updates went into effect.

12.    Questions

If you have any questions regarding this policy or the treatment of your non-public personal information, please contact us at 203-983-5275 or send us an email at privacy@oxfordfunds.com.