Kenneth A. Topping
About Kenneth A. Topping
Kenneth A. Topping (year of birth: 1966) serves as President of Eaton Vance Municipal Bond Fund (EIM) and has held the officer position 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; he was formerly Chief Operating Officer for Goldman Sachs Asset Management “Classic” from 2009–2020 . As President, he signs the Fund’s shareholder communications and proxy letters, underscoring his executive role for the Fund’s governance process . Officers of the Fund hold indefinite terms of office, and due to their positions with Eaton Vance and ownership of Morgan Stanley stock, they benefit from advisory/administration fees paid by the Fund to Eaton Vance; compensation specifics for officers are not disclosed in the Fund’s proxy .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs Asset Management “Classic” | Chief Operating Officer | 2009–2020 | Not disclosed |
| Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) | Chief Operating Officer, Public Markets | Not disclosed (listed in 2024/2025 proxies) | Not disclosed |
| Eaton Vance and Boston Management and Research (BMR) | Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer | Not disclosed (listed in 2024/2025 proxies) | Not disclosed |
| Calvert Research and Management (CRM) | Vice President | Since 2021 | Not disclosed |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eaton Vance Municipal Bond Fund (EIM) | President | Officer since 2023 | Signs proxy letters and shareholder communications |
| Eaton Vance / BMR | VP & Chief Administrative Officer | Not disclosed | Affiliated officer positions across Eaton Vance-managed funds |
| MSIM | COO, Public Markets | Not disclosed | Affiliation noted in officer biographies |
| CRM | Vice President | Since 2021 | Affiliation noted in officer biographies |
Fixed Compensation
- Officer compensation (base salary, bonus, equity) is not disclosed in EIM’s proxy statements; officers are affiliated with Eaton Vance and benefit from fees paid by the Fund to Eaton Vance due to their positions and ownership of Morgan Stanley stock .
- Officers hold indefinite terms of office; compensation details (base, bonus %, RSUs/PSUs, options, severance, change-of-control) are not provided in the Fund’s proxy .
Performance Compensation
- The Fund’s proxy does not disclose executive pay-for-performance metrics (e.g., revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR), incentive weighting, targets/actuals, payout curves, or vesting schedules for Fund officers .
- No clawback provisions, tax gross-ups, or deferred compensation elections for officers are disclosed in the Fund’s proxy; trustee compensation and deferred fee elections are disclosed separately and pertain to noninterested Trustees, not officers .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | As of May 2, 2023 | As of Aug 20, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Common Shares | 71,155,798 | 54,076,420 |
| Trustees and executive officers (group) beneficial ownership | Less than 1% of outstanding shares | Less than 1% of outstanding shares |
| Individual holdings for Kenneth A. Topping | Not disclosed in proxy | Not disclosed in proxy |
- Stock ownership guidelines for officers, pledging/hedging policies, and officer-level ownership compliance status are not disclosed in the Fund’s proxy .
- Context: Eaton Vance is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley; officers benefit from fees paid by the Fund to Eaton Vance because of their roles and Morgan Stanley stock ownership, but no officer-specific equity awards in EIM are disclosed .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Officer since | 2023 (President of EIM) |
| Tenure structure | Officers hold indefinite terms of office |
| Business address | One Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02109 |
| Affiliations | Officers may hold comparable positions with other Eaton Vance affiliates |
| Contract terms | Not disclosed in proxy (no term length, expiration, auto-renewal provided) |
| Non-compete / Non-solicit | Not disclosed in proxy |
| Severance / Change-of-control | Not disclosed in proxy |
| Post-termination arrangements | Not disclosed in proxy |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance analysis is not feasible from Fund disclosures: officer compensation details (cash/equity mix, targets, payouts, vesting) are not provided; Fund officers are compensated via Eaton Vance/MSIM affiliations and benefit from fees paid to Eaton Vance, indicating compensation alignment occurs at the adviser/parent level rather than the Fund level .
- Insider selling pressure appears limited at the Fund level: trustees and executive officers collectively own less than 1% of outstanding shares, and no officer-level equity award or vesting schedules tied to EIM shares are disclosed; absence of pledging/hedging disclosures for officers further constrains assessment .
- Retention risk looks modest based on indefinite officer terms and multi-platform affiliations (Eaton Vance, MSIM, CRM), which typically diversify roles and responsibilities; however, without employment contract terms (non-compete, severance, change-of-control), transition economics and protections remain unknown .
- Governance note: Topping’s role is operational/executive rather than board governance; committee structures and trustee remuneration are well disclosed, but officer-level compensation governance (clawbacks, metrics) is not covered in Fund proxies, limiting direct pay alignment analysis at the Fund .