Matthew Prasse
About Matthew Prasse
R. Matthew Prasse serves as Chief Legal Officer (since 2022) and Secretary (since 2021) of the Allspring Income Opportunities Fund (ticker: EAD), with the Fund’s proxy and meeting notices signed by him in his capacity as Secretary on June 30, 2025 . His year of birth is 1983, and his officer biography in the proxy lists a progression through senior legal roles at Allspring (Managing Counsel since 2023; Senior Counsel 2021–2023), Wells Fargo (Senior Counsel 2018–2021), Barings (Counsel 2015–2018), and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius (Associate 2008–2015) . The filing includes the Boston office address (101 Seaport Blvd) for his officer record; education credentials are not disclosed, and no fund-level TSR or financial performance linkage to his compensation is presented in the proxy .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allspring Income Opportunities Fund (EAD) | Chief Legal Officer | Since 2022 | Not disclosed in proxy |
| Allspring Income Opportunities Fund (EAD) | Secretary | Since 2021; signed proxy June 30, 2025 | Not disclosed in proxy |
| Allspring Legal Department | Managing Counsel | Since 2023 | Not disclosed in proxy |
| Allspring Legal Department | Senior Counsel | 2021–2023 | Not disclosed in proxy |
| Wells Fargo Legal Department | Senior Counsel | 2018–2021 | Not disclosed in proxy |
| Barings LLC | Counsel | 2015–2018 | Not disclosed in proxy |
| Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP | Associate | 2008–2015 | Not disclosed in proxy |
External Roles
No external directorships or other current external roles are disclosed for Prasse in the Fund’s officer biographies within the proxy filings .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | FY End | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation from Fund (salary, bonus, benefits) | Apr 30, 2025 | $0 | Officers who are also employees of Allspring (or affiliates) are paid by Allspring/affiliates; the Fund’s principal executive officers received no compensation or expense reimbursement from the Fund for FY 2025 . |
The proxy expressly states officer compensation is borne by Allspring Funds Management or an Allspring affiliate; fund-level officer pay is not reported beyond noting $0 from the Fund .
Performance Compensation
Performance-based incentives (bonus metrics, RSUs/PSUs, option awards, weighting/targets/payouts, and vesting schedules) for Prasse are not disclosed at the fund level; officer compensation resides with the adviser (Allspring) and is not itemized in EAD’s proxy .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Officer beneficial ownership in EAD (shares, options, pledged shares, vested/unvested breakdown) is not disclosed in the proxy; the filing provides dollar-range holdings for Trustees only, not officers .
- The Trustees’ table illustrates the disclosure scope (“dollar range of equity securities… for each Trustee”), reinforcing that officer holdings are not included in the fund’s proxy .
- Stock ownership guidelines, pledging/hedging policies, and compliance status for officers are not disclosed in EAD’s proxy .
Employment Terms
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Role start dates | Secretary since 2021; Chief Legal Officer since 2022 . |
| Contract term, severance, change-of-control | Not disclosed in EAD proxy (officers are employees of Allspring/affiliates) . |
| Non-compete / non-solicit / garden leave / post-termination | Not disclosed in EAD proxy . |
Investment Implications
- Compensation alignment: Fund-level filings show $0 officer compensation from EAD and no granular disclosure of salary/bonus/equity for officers, as compensation is paid by Allspring. This limits pay-for-performance analysis at the fund level and obscures metric linkages (revenue/EBITDA/TSR) and vesting schedules that would inform incentive alignment or potential selling pressure .
- Ownership and trading signals: Officer beneficial ownership and Section 16 activity for Prasse are not presented in the proxy, and the ownership tables are limited to Trustees. Without officer holdings or Form 4 data in the proxy, we cannot assess skin-in-the-game, pledging, hedging, or near-term liquidity overhang from vesting events based on this source .
- Retention risk: Role continuity is evident (Secretary since 2021; CLO since 2022; officer biography updated through 2025), but absence of employment agreement, severance, or CoC terms in the fund filing prevents evaluating economic retention hooks or change-in-control protection that could influence turnover risk or behavior in strategic events .
- Governance/process confidence: Prasse’s ongoing Secretary role (signing meeting notices/proxies) signals continued operational responsibility for shareholder processes and governance documentation. However, the proxy does not provide committee- or policy-level insights tied to his compensation or personal holdings that would translate into directional trading signals .