Kenneth Topping
About Kenneth Topping
Kenneth A. Topping (born 1966) serves as President of Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Income Trust (EFT) and has held the officer role since 2023. He is Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Eaton Vance and Boston Management and Research (BMR), Chief Operating Officer for Public Markets at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM), and Vice President of Calvert Research and Management (CRM) since 2021; previously he was Chief Operating Officer for Goldman Sachs Asset Management “Classic” from 2009–2020 . As of the Dec 30, 2024 record date, Trustees and executive officers, individually and as a group, beneficially owned less than 1% of EFT’s outstanding shares, underscoring limited direct officer equity alignment at the fund level . Performance metrics such as TSR, revenue growth, and EBITDA growth are not attributed to individual officers in EFT proxy statements and are not disclosed for Mr. Topping .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“Classic”) | Chief Operating Officer | 2009–2020 | Led operating model for GSAM’s “Classic” platform; operational scale and controls across asset management functions |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) | Chief Operating Officer, Public Markets | Not disclosed (active within past five years) | COO remit across public markets businesses at MSIM (parent of Eaton Vance) |
| Calvert Research and Management (CRM) | Vice President | Since 2021 | Governance and administration across ESG-oriented fund complex under MSIM |
| Eaton Vance / BMR | Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer | Not disclosed (active within past five years) | Administrative leadership across Eaton Vance/BMR fund complexes |
Fixed Compensation
EFT’s proxies disclose trustee fees but do not report officer-specific compensation (e.g., base salary, bonuses) at the fund level. Officers are employees of Eaton Vance/MSIM; proxy statements list officer roles and indefinite terms but provide no salary/bonus figures.
| Component | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Officer compensation is not reported by EFT; trustees’ remuneration is disclosed separately |
| Target Bonus % | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed in proxy statements |
| Actual Bonus Paid | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed in proxy statements |
| Perquisites | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | No officer perquisite details disclosed |
Performance Compensation
No performance-based pay details for EFT officers are disclosed (no PSUs/RSUs/options, metrics, weightings, or payout formulas reported by the fund).
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed for EFT officers | — | — | — | — | — |
| Evidence: Officer roles shown without pay metrics in proxies | — | — | — | — | — |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership (individual) | Not disclosed for Mr. Topping; as of Dec 30, 2024, Trustees and executive officers as a group owned less than 1% of outstanding Common Shares and/or VRTPS |
| Ownership as % of shares outstanding | Group <1% |
| Vested vs unvested shares | Not disclosed |
| Options (exercisable/unexercisable) | Not disclosed |
| Shares pledged as collateral | Not disclosed |
| Stock ownership guidelines | Not disclosed for officers |
| Compliance status vs guidelines | Not disclosed |
| Section 16 compliance | 2025 proxy notes compliance; 2024 proxy cited one late Form 3 for a trustee (Bowser), not Mr. Topping |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Officer start date | President since 2023 |
| Term length | Officers hold indefinite terms of office |
| Contract expiration | Not disclosed |
| Auto-renewal | Not disclosed |
| Non-compete/non-solicit | Not disclosed |
| Garden leave | Not disclosed |
| Severance/change-of-control | Not disclosed; fund-level proxies do not present officer severance or CoC economics |
| Clawbacks/tax gross-ups | Not disclosed |
| Business address | One Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02109 |
| Officer benefit linkage | Officers “will benefit” from fees paid by the Fund to Eaton Vance given their positions and MS stock ownership |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance visibility is low at the fund level for officers. EFT’s proxies detail trustee compensation but not officer pay; Mr. Topping’s incentives are primarily set by Eaton Vance/MSIM, not by EFT, reducing direct alignment via fund-specific pay metrics or equity at the fund level .
- Insider selling pressure appears limited: group ownership is <1% and Section 16 filings are in compliance; no pledging or officer-level fund equity positions for Mr. Topping are disclosed, which suggests minimal direct trading signals tied to his fund holdings .
- Retention risk resides at the adviser/parent level. Mr. Topping’s role breadth (Eaton Vance/BMR CAO; MSIM Public Markets COO; CRM VP) indicates enterprise-level responsibility; changes at MSIM/Eaton Vance would be more likely drivers of mobility than fund-specific terms (no EFT-specific employment/severance terms disclosed) .
- Execution track record reflects deep operating experience in asset management (GSAM COO 2009–2020; MSIM Public Markets COO), a positive for process discipline, risk controls, and scalability; however, fund shareholder outcomes (NAV/TSR) are shaped by adviser portfolio decisions and trustee oversight, not officer-compensation structures at EFT .
Note: Where items are “Not disclosed,” EFT proxy statements do not provide officer compensation breakdowns, equity award details, ownership pledging, or contract provisions; trustees’ fees and committee governance are disclosed, but these do not pertain to Mr. Topping’s pay or contracts .