Kenneth A. Topping
About Kenneth A. Topping
Kenneth A. Topping (born 1966) serves as President of Eaton Vance Senior Income Trust (EVF), appointed effective October 18, 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 since 2021 . Prior to MSIM/Eaton Vance, he was Chief Operating Officer for Goldman Sachs Asset Management “Classic” from 2009–2020 . EVF’s proxies do not disclose executive officer compensation amounts or TSR/financial performance metrics tied to officer pay; officers are employees of Eaton Vance/MSIM and benefit from advisory/administration fees paid by the Fund to Eaton Vance . Eaton Vance’s investment professional compensation framework includes base salary, annual cash bonus, stock-based compensation, and risk/performance evaluation (for equity PMs, a Deferred Alpha Incentive Plan), though no Kenneth Topping-specific targets or payouts are disclosed .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs Asset Management “Classic” | Chief Operating Officer | 2009–2020 | Led operations for GSAM’s “Classic” platform; senior operating oversight |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley Investment Management (Public Markets) | Chief Operating Officer | Present (as disclosed) | COO responsibilities across Public Markets at MSIM |
| Calvert Research and Management | Vice President | Since 2021 | Executive oversight within Calvert’s fund complex |
| Eaton Vance/Boston Management and Research | VP & Chief Administrative Officer | Present (as disclosed) | Enterprise administration across Eaton Vance/BMR complexes |
| EVF (Eaton Vance Senior Income Trust) | President | Appointed Oct 18, 2023 | Fund officer leadership; signs proxy correspondence |
Fixed Compensation
Eaton Vance/MSIM does not disclose officer-level compensation details for EVF; trustees’ fees are disclosed, but officer cash/equity amounts are not. The Eaton Vance investment professional framework comprises:
- Base salary: Part of total compensation for investment professionals .
- Annual cash bonus: Paid/adjusted typically at/after EVC’s Oct 31 fiscal year end .
- Stock-based compensation: Options and/or restricted shares of EVC nonvoting common stock, generally subject to vesting .
- Benefits: Retirement, insurance, and other broadly available benefits .
Note: These are firm-wide frameworks for investment professionals. EVF proxies do not provide Kenneth Topping’s specific base salary, target bonus, or grant values; officers are employees of Eaton Vance/MSIM and benefit from advisory/admin fees paid by the Fund to Eaton Vance .
Performance Compensation
Methodology used by Eaton Vance to evaluate investment professional performance (where applicable), not specific to Mr. Topping:
- Total return vs benchmark(s) and appropriate peer groups (Lipper/Morningstar); emphasis on three-year performance with secondary longer/shorter periods .
- Risk-adjusted performance considered (e.g., Sharpe ratio) .
- For equity PMs, a Deferred Alpha Incentive Plan pays a deferred cash award tied to excess returns vs benchmark over a three-year period; cash award set at inception and adjusted per realized results .
- Compensation reviewed primarily annually; cash bonuses and stock awards typically timed near fiscal year end .
EVF’s proxies and 8-Ks do not disclose Mr. Topping’s individual performance metrics, weightings, targets, actuals, payouts, or vesting schedules .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Value | As of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trustees and executive officers group beneficial ownership (% of outstanding shares) | <1% | July 30, 2024; July 29, 2025 | Group-level; no individual officer holdings disclosed |
| Outstanding Common Shares | 17,860,558 | July 30, 2024 | Shares outstanding at record date |
| Outstanding Common Shares | 18,170,289 | July 29, 2025 | Shares outstanding at record date |
| Officer-specific ownership/pledging | Not disclosed | — | No pledging/hedging disclosures for officers in proxies |
| Stock ownership guidelines/compliance | Not disclosed | — | No officer ownership guideline disclosures |
Employment Terms
| Term | Details |
|---|---|
| Officer positions and tenure | President of EVF; appointed Oct 18, 2023 . Listed as President and Fund officer in 2024/2025 proxies . |
| Officer “since” (Fund complex reporting convention) | 2024 DEF 14A shows President, officer since 2023 ; 2025 DEF 14A shows President, officer since 2020 (convention notes year first elected as officer within Eaton Vance fund family) . |
| Term of office | Indefinite term for Fund officers . |
| Indemnification & D&O insurance | Fund indemnifies Trustees and officers to fullest extent permitted, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard; Fund provides liability insurance for Trustees and officers . |
| Employment agreements, severance, change-of-control | Not disclosed for Fund officers; EVF proxies focus on Trustees and service providers . |
| Non-compete/non-solicit, garden leave, post-termination consulting | Not disclosed . |
Investment Implications
- Compensation alignment: EVF does not pay or disclose executive officer compensation; officers are compensated by Eaton Vance/MSIM and benefit from fees paid by the Fund to Eaton Vance, limiting direct Fund-level pay-for-performance visibility for Mr. Topping .
- Insider ownership/trading pressure: Group beneficial ownership by Trustees and executive officers is <1% of outstanding shares, and no officer-level pledging/hedging disclosures are provided—suggesting limited “skin-in-the-game” and muted direct trading signals tied to Mr. Topping .
- Retention/continuity: Officers hold indefinite terms and Mr. Topping’s background shows long-tenured operating leadership at GSAM and current MSIM/Eaton Vance roles, indicating operational continuity; however, severance/change-of-control economics are not disclosed at the Fund level .
- Role relevance to performance: As Fund President with administrative oversight and signatory on shareholder communications, Mr. Topping’s influence is primarily operational/governance—not portfolio management—so EVF’s investment returns are not tied to disclosed personal performance targets or payouts for this role .