Christian Rijs
About Christian Rijs
Christian Rijs (born 1980) is the Anti‑Money Laundering (AML) Compliance Officer of DWS Municipal Income Trust (KTF), serving since 2021. He is a Senior Team Lead in Anti‑Financial Crime & Compliance at DWS and holds AML Compliance Officer roles across multiple DWS entities, indicating deep anti‑financial crime expertise and cross‑platform responsibility . Fund officers are compensated by DWS and receive no direct compensation from the Fund, so his pay is not tied to KTF’s performance . For context, KTF’s recent performance shows NAV total return of −1.76% (1‑yr) and −0.71% (5‑yr) with market total return of 3.90% (1‑yr) and 1.40% (5‑yr), while NAV fell from $10.33 (11/30/24) to $9.10 (5/31/25) and leverage stood at 36.46% .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| DWS (UK & Ireland) | Head of Anti‑Financial Crime and MLRO | Formerly (dates not disclosed) | Not disclosed |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years |
|---|---|---|
| DWS Trust Company | AML Compliance Officer | 2021–present |
| DBX ETF Trust | AML Compliance Officer | 2021–present |
| The European Equity Fund, Inc. | AML Compliance Officer | 2021–present |
| The New Germany Fund, Inc. | AML Compliance Officer | 2021–present |
| The Central and Eastern Europe Fund, Inc. | AML Compliance Officer | 2021–present |
| DWS Distributors, Inc. | AML Compliance Officer | 2021–present |
| DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. | Senior Team Lead, Anti‑Financial Crime & Compliance | Current |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Detail |
|---|---|
| Direct Fund compensation (KTF) | None – Fund officers who are officers/directors/employees of DWS or affiliates receive no direct compensation from the Fund |
| Employer | DWS Investment Management Americas, Inc. (indirect subsidiary of DWS Group) |
| Base salary, target/actual bonus | Not disclosed (compensated by DWS, not KTF) |
| Perquisites, pensions/SERP, deferred comp | Not disclosed |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed | — | — | — | — | — |
Fund documents do not provide performance‑linked compensation details for Fund officers; officers are paid by DWS, not by KTF .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership – individual | Not disclosed for officers; collectively Board Members and executive officers owned <1% of outstanding shares as of Aug 1, 2025 |
| Preferred shares owned by officers | None (Independent Board Members and executive officers did not own any Preferred Shares as of Aug 1, 2025) |
| Shares outstanding – common | 39,172,837.98 |
| Ownership guidelines | Board governance policy references minimum aggregate investment expectations for Board Members (not officers); no officer ownership guideline disclosed |
| Pledging/hedging | Not disclosed |
Employment Terms
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Employment start date (KTF) | 2021 (AML Compliance Officer) |
| Current role | AML Compliance Officer; Senior Team Lead Anti‑Financial Crime & Compliance at DWS |
| Contract term, auto‑renewal, severance | Not disclosed |
| Change‑of‑control | Not disclosed |
| Clawback provisions | Not disclosed |
| Non‑compete/non‑solicit/garden leave | Not disclosed |
Fund Performance Context (during Rijs’s tenure)
| Metric | 10‑Year | 5‑Year | 1‑Year | 6‑Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total return (NAV) | 1.40% | −0.71% | −1.76% | −8.27% |
| Total return (Market) | 1.54% | 1.40% | 3.90% | −7.05% |
| NAV ($) | — | — | $10.33 (11/30/24) | $9.10 (5/31/25) |
| Market Price ($) | — | — | $10.06 (11/30/24) | $8.98 (5/31/25) |
| Leverage (% of total assets) | — | — | — | 36.46% (5/31/25) |
| Current annualized distribution rate | — | — | — | 8.04% (NAV basis, 5/31/25) |
Investment Implications
- Compensation alignment: As an AML officer compensated by DWS and not by KTF, Rijs’s pay is not tied to KTF’s distribution policy, market/NAV performance, or leverage outcomes—limiting direct pay‑for‑performance alignment at the Fund level .
- Ownership alignment and selling pressure: No individual officer share ownership is disclosed; collectively Board Members and executive officers owned <1% and held no preferred shares, reducing “skin‑in‑the‑game” indicators and minimizing insider selling pressure signals from officers .
- Retention risk: Rijs’s multi‑entity AML roles across DWS (Trust Company, DBX ETF Trust, several DWS funds) suggest institutional continuity beyond KTF; KTF is scheduled to liquidate no later than November 30, 2026, which narrows the Fund’s operating horizon but likely does not impair his broader DWS role .
- Governance and compliance: Section 16 ownership reporting for officers and Board Members was timely for the applicable period; AML oversight importance is elevated given KTF’s leverage level (36.46%), derivative and inverse floater usage, and preferred share financing structure .
- Trading signals: No Form 4 detail is available in the proxies/N‑CSRS; with officers not directly compensated by KTF and minimal disclosed ownership, traditional insider buy/sell signals tied to this executive are limited; focus instead on Fund policy signals (e.g., 7%+ annualized distribution target until termination) and leverage/NAV discount dynamics for trading .