Scott W. Appleby

About Scott W. Appleby

Scott W. Appleby, age 60, is an Independent Class I Trustee of Eagle Point Institutional Income Fund (EIIA), serving since inception; his current term expires at the 2025 annual meeting and, if re-elected, will run through 2028 . He is President of Appleby Capital, Inc. (since April 2009) and previously spent 25+ years in banking and equity research at Deutsche Bank, Robertson Stephens, ABN Amro, and PaineWebber; he was among the first Internet analysts and early coverage initiator of electronic brokerage in 1997 . Appleby holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BS from the University of Vermont . He is designated an Independent Trustee under the 1940 Act and meets NYSE independence standards applicable to closed-end funds .

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Class and tenure: Class I Trustee; since inception; term expires 2025, 2028 if elected .
• Independence: One of four Independent Trustees (meets 1940 Act and NYSE Rule 10A-3 independence standards) .
• Committee assignments: Audit Committee member; Nominating Committee member and chair .
• Attendance and engagement: In FY2024, the Board met 5 times, Audit Committee 5 times, Nominating Committee 3 times; each Trustee attended at least 75% of Board/committee meetings on which they served .
• Board leadership context: Board chair is Thomas P. Majewski; Lead Independent Trustee is Jeffrey L. Weiss .

Fixed Compensation

The proxy notes total cash amounts; specific breakdown of retainer vs chair fees and meeting fees by trustee is not disclosed .

Performance Compensation

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Independence mitigants: None of the Independent Trustees or immediate family members owned securities of the Adviser or affiliates, reducing direct economic conflicts with the Adviser .

Expertise & Qualifications

• Finance/markets expertise: 25+ years in banking and equity research, including early Internet/e-brokerage coverage; ongoing fintech/Wall Street thought leadership .
• Education: MBA (Cornell University); BS (University of Vermont) .
• Fund governance: Audit committee experience and Nominating Committee chair roles across four affiliated funds .

Equity Ownership

Security ownership table shows no EIIA shares held by Appleby as of the record date; aggregate dollar range across the EIIA fund complex is “Over $100,000” .

Governance Assessment

• Strengths: Independent trustee with deep financial markets expertise; active on key governance committees (Audit; Nominating, as chair), which oversee auditor independence, Board self-assessments, nominations, and Independent Trustee compensation . Attendance met or exceeded 75% threshold across Board and committee meetings, supporting engagement .
• Alignment signals: Appleby holds “Over $100,000” aggregate across the EIIA fund complex but no position in EIIA itself; cash-only director pay structure standard for closed-end funds, with no equity or performance-based components disclosed, limiting pay-for-performance concerns at the director level .
• Potential conflicts: Multi-board service within the same Adviser’s fund complex can concentrate governance influence; however, the proxy reports no securities ownership in the Adviser or its control affiliates by Independent Trustees or immediate family members, which mitigates direct adviser-aligned conflicts . The Nominating Committee (chaired by Appleby) recommends Independent Trustee compensation due to the absence of a separate compensation committee—investors should monitor compensation decisions for independence and benchmarking rigor .
• RED FLAGS to monitor:
  • No EIIA share ownership by the director may be viewed as lower direct alignment with EIIA shareholders, notwithstanding aggregate complex holdings .
  • Concentration of roles across the complex (including chairing Nominating Committees) raises interlock considerations; transparency on compensation benchmarking and nomination processes is essential .

Committee Inventory (EIIA)

Meeting Activity (FY2024)