James F. Volk
About James F. Volk
James F. Volk is Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) of FS Credit Income Fund (FCREX), age 62, serving since 2016; he is also a Managing Director, Fund Compliance at FS Investments . He holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Delaware and is an inactive CPA; prior roles include Assistant Chief Accountant at the SEC’s Division of Investment Management and Senior Manager at PwC, and he led traditional fund operations as CCO/Chief Accounting Officer at SEI’s Investment Manager Services from 1996–2014 . Fund performance during his tenure (as measured by Class I total return) has varied with markets: +4.82% (2019), +2.76% (2020), +16.16% (2021), −9.67% (2022), +9.64% (2023), +17.15% (2024) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEI Investments (Investment Manager Services) | Chief Compliance Officer; Chief Accounting Officer; Head of Traditional Fund Operations | 1996–2014 | Led operations and compliance for institutional fund servicing; deepened operational and regulatory expertise . |
| U.S. SEC – Division of Investment Management | Assistant Chief Accountant | Not disclosed | Regulatory policy and oversight experience directly relevant to registered fund compliance . |
| PwC | Senior Manager (Asset Management Audit) | Not disclosed | Audit leadership across regulated funds and advisers, strengthening controls and reporting rigor . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| FS KKR Capital Corp (FSK) | Chief Compliance Officer | Since 2015 | Oversees compliance for large BDC; subject to insider trading policy prohibiting hedging and pledging . |
| FS Credit Opportunities Corp (FSCO) | Chief Compliance Officer | Since 2015 | Cross-platform compliance leadership across FS Investments’ credit vehicles . |
| FS Credit Real Estate Income Trust (FSREI) | Chief Compliance Officer | Since 2017 | Guides non-traded REIT compliance; leverages SEC/SEI background . |
| FS Specialty Lending Fund (FSSL) | Chief Compliance Officer | Since 2015 | Compliance for interval/registered fund; foundation for Form 3 insider reporting . |
Fixed Compensation
- Not disclosed in FCREX filings. Officers are listed but the Fund reports trustee compensation only; the Fund does not pay compensation to trustees who also serve in an executive officer capacity for the Fund or its adviser, and officer pay is not presented in the proxy or prospectus .
Performance Compensation
- No RSUs, PSUs, stock options, or metric-based incentive details for James F. Volk are disclosed by FCREX. No vesting schedules, grant-date fair values, or payout formulas are provided in the Fund’s proxy/prospectus .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- FCREX: Beneficial ownership tables cover trustees/nominees; officer-level individual holdings are not disclosed. The Fund notes Section 16(a) reporting compliance for Reporting Persons during FY 2024 but does not list officer holdings . As of June 18, 2025, the Board and affiliates of the adviser collectively held 666,878.627 shares (approx. $8.09 million), indicating platform alignment, but this is not attributed to specific officers .
- Affiliated funds: A Form 3 shows James Francis Volk owns 386.117 FSSL common shares directly as of 10/28/2025 (initial statement of beneficial ownership) .
Employment Terms
- Contract details (term, severance multiples, change-of-control triggers, clawbacks, non-compete/non-solicit, garden leave, consulting) are not disclosed for James F. Volk in FCREX filings .
Fund Performance Context (FCREX – Class I Total Return)
| Metric | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class I Total Return (%) | 4.82 | 2.76 | 16.16 | −9.67 | 9.64 | 17.15 |
Governance and Policies (Relevant to Alignment and Trading)
- Insider trading policy with prohibitions/restrictions on hedging and pledging is codified at an affiliated FS Investments vehicle (FSK), indicating strong governance norms across the platform; FCREX’s proxy does not separately enumerate these prohibitions .
- Section 16(a) reporting compliance is affirmed for FY 2024, suggesting timely insider reporting across trustees/officers .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- No disclosures of pledging or hedging of FCREX shares by James F. Volk (FCREX proxy does not provide officer-level holdings/policies) .
- No legal proceedings or SEC investigations involving Volk are mentioned in the FCREX proxy/prospectus reviewed .
- No evidence of option repricing, tax gross-ups, or related-party transactions tied to Volk within the examined filings .
Investment Implications
- Retention and continuity: Volk’s long tenure (CCO since 2016 at FCREX; prior SEC/SEI/PwC roles) indicates deep institutional knowledge and strong regulatory pedigree, a positive for compliance robustness and execution reliability .
- Pay-for-performance alignment: Lack of disclosed officer compensation/equity for FCREX limits assessment of direct pay-for-performance alignment; platform-level insider ownership and governance policies partially mitigate this gap .
- Trading signals: No disclosed insider selling pressure for FCREX; a personal holding exists at FSSL (386.117 shares), but no sales are indicated in the Form 3 and the filing is an initial statement .
- Execution risk: Fund performance has been cyclically sensitive, with strong rebound in 2023–2024 after 2022 drawdown; compliance stewardship remains critical amid leverage, structured credit, and interval fund liquidity features outlined in the prospectus .