Kenneth A. Topping
About Kenneth A. Topping
Kenneth A. Topping (born 1966) serves as President of Eaton Vance Municipal Income Trust (EVN) and has held this officer role since 2023; fund officers serve indefinite terms of office . 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 a Vice President of Calvert Research and Management since 2021; he was formerly Chief Operating Officer for Goldman Sachs Asset Management “Classic” from 2009–2020 . As EVN’s President, he signs the fund’s proxy materials . The proxy notes that, because of their positions with Eaton Vance and ownership of Morgan Stanley stock, fund officers benefit from advisory/administration fees paid by the funds to Eaton Vance; fund-level executive compensation metrics (e.g., salary, bonus, RSUs/PSUs) are not disclosed in EVN’s proxy .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“Classic”) | Chief Operating Officer | 2009–2020 | Senior operating leadership role at GSAM “Classic” platform |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) | Chief Operating Officer, Public Markets | Not disclosed | Current operating leadership role in Public Markets at MSIM |
| Calvert Research and Management | Vice President | Since 2021 | Current officer role at Calvert |
| Eaton Vance and Boston Management and Research (BMR) | Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer | Not disclosed | Current corporate roles aligned with EVN’s adviser complex |
Fixed Compensation
- EVN’s proxy does not disclose officer (President) compensation (base salary, target bonus, actual bonus, equity awards) for fund officers; only noninterested trustee compensation schedules are provided .
- Fund officers are affiliated with Eaton Vance/BMR/MSIM and, due to their positions and Morgan Stanley stock ownership, benefit indirectly from fees paid by the funds to Eaton Vance; the fund-level proxy provides no officer pay mix, bonus metrics, or equity grant details .
Performance Compensation
- Not disclosed in EVN’s proxy (no metrics, weightings, targets, or payout formulas for fund officers) .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | As of Date | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trustees and executive officers (as a group) beneficial ownership of EVN | December 30, 2024 | Less than 1% of outstanding shares | Group-level disclosure; individual officer holdings not itemized |
| Pledging or hedging of EVN shares by officers | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | No pledging/hedging disclosure for officers in proxy |
| Ownership guidelines for officers (multiple of salary) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Proxy contains no officer ownership guideline disclosures |
Context: For trustees (directors), the proxy shows a detailed compensation schedule; as to holdings, it notes that a trustee (Ms. Frost) owned over $100,000 of EVN equity securities while no other trustee held EVN shares as of December 30, 2024; officer-specific EVN share ownership is not itemized .
Employment Terms
- Role and tenure: President (officer) of EVN since 2023; officers serve indefinite terms of office .
- Employment agreement, severance, change-in-control, clawbacks, non-compete, and other contractual terms: Not disclosed in EVN’s fund proxy .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance and selling pressure: EVN’s proxy provides no officer compensation details (cash/equity mix, targets, vesting), limiting analysis of incentive alignment and potential vest-driven selling; officers are employees of Eaton Vance/BMR/MSIM and benefit indirectly from adviser fees and Morgan Stanley equity exposure rather than disclosed fund-linked incentive metrics .
- Skin-in-the-game: Trustees and officers as a group own less than 1% of EVN shares, suggesting limited direct fund-level equity alignment and low observable insider ownership; no pledging/hedging disclosures are provided for officers .
- Retention risk and contract economics: No employment agreements, severance, or change-in-control terms are disclosed at the fund level; retention and compensation drivers likely sit at the Eaton Vance/MSIM parent level, outside the scope of EVN’s proxy .
- Execution track record: Topping’s operating background (GSAM COO “Classic,” MSIM Public Markets COO, CAO roles at Eaton Vance/BMR) indicates deep asset-management operations experience; however, EVN’s proxy does not provide officer-specific performance metrics (TSR, AUM growth, revenue/EBITDA) to link outcomes to pay .
Citations:
- Officer background, roles, year of birth (1966), officer tenure since 2023, indefinite officer terms, and note on officers’ benefit from adviser fees and MS stock ownership .
- EVN proxy letters signed by President Kenneth A. Topping .
- Group insider ownership under 1% and trustee/shareholder context .