John P. Kavanaugh
About John P. Kavanaugh
John P. Kavanaugh (age 70) is an Independent Trustee and the Chair of the Board for MFS Government Markets Income Trust (MGF), serving since January 2009; his current common-share-elected term for MGF runs through 2026, while he also serves as a preferred-share-elected trustee for certain other funds on one-year terms . He is a Chartered Financial Analyst with extensive investment management experience, including CIO of The Hanover Insurance Group and President/Chairman of Opus Investment Management; prior roles include research and portfolio management at Allmerica Financial and PruCapital . The Board is majority independent (11 of 12) and chaired by an Independent Trustee; Kavanaugh is classified as independent under the Investment Company Act of 1940 .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. | Chief Investment Officer | Not disclosed | Led investment oversight at a public insurer |
| Opus Investment Management, Inc. | President and Chairman | Not disclosed | Ran SEC-registered investment adviser |
| Allmerica Financial | Research/Portfolio Management | Not disclosed | Investment research and PM roles |
| PruCapital, Inc. | Research/Portfolio Management | Not disclosed | Investment research and PM roles |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Directors Council (ICI) | Board Member | Prior | Serves mutual fund independent director community |
| Public company boards (last 5 years) | — | None | No other public company directorships reported |
Board Governance
- Roles: Trustee and Chair of Trustees; independent under the 1940 Act .
- Committee participation: Member of committees composed of all Independent Trustees (Contracts Review; Nomination & Compensation; Portfolio Trading & Marketing Review); not a standing member of Audit, Compliance, Pricing, or Services Contracts committees but, as Chair, he is invited to and attends many committee meetings .
- Attendance: Each Trust held six Board meetings in FYs ended Oct 31, 2024/Nov 30, 2024, and each Trustee attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings .
- Election mechanics: For MGF (Government Markets Income Trust), Kavanaugh serves as a common-share-elected Trustee with a three-year term; he is also a preferred-share-elected Trustee for certain other MFS municipal funds with one-year terms .
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY 2024 | Source/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cash fees paid by MGF (MFS Government Markets Income Trust) to John P. Kavanaugh | $459 | Fiscal year ended Nov 30, 2024 |
| Total trustee compensation paid to John P. Kavanaugh by MFS fund complex (calendar 2024) | $568,000 | Across 134 funds that paid trustee compensation in 2024 |
- Compensation is reported as cash fees (no equity grants or options disclosed for trustees) .
Performance Compensation
- No performance-based compensation (bonuses, PSUs, options, or ESG/TSR-linked metrics) for trustees is disclosed in the proxy .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Type | Relationship | Potential Interlock |
|---|---|---|---|
| None reported (public companies) | — | — | No public company interlocks disclosed for Kavanaugh |
| Independent Directors Council | Industry body | Prior board role | Not an SEC-reporting issuer; informational governance network |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Chartered Financial Analyst; senior investment leadership (CIO, President/Chairman of an investment adviser) and portfolio management background; mutual fund governance experience via IDC board service .
- Board composition and committee structure emphasize independent oversight and risk/compliance monitoring across the MFS funds .
Equity Ownership
| Item | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership in MGF (dollar range) | A ($1 – $10,000) | As of July 31, 2025 |
| Aggregate beneficial ownership across all MFS funds (trustees as a group) | <1% of shares outstanding of any Trust | As of July 31, 2025 |
| Ownership guidelines | Independent Trustees must invest, within two years of joining the Board, an amount equal to prior year base retainer + meeting fees in MFS fund shares | Alignment policy across funds |
- No disclosure of shares pledged as collateral or hedging policies specific to trustees; not reported in the proxy .
Governance Assessment
- Independence and leadership: Kavanaugh is an Independent Trustee and Board Chair, reinforcing board autonomy from the adviser (MFS); the Board’s seven standing committees are all independent, with structured oversight of audit, compliance, valuation, trading/marketing, and service contracts .
- Attendance and engagement: Meets the minimum attendance threshold (≥75%) and, as Chair, is invited to many committee meetings beyond formal memberships—indicative of active engagement .
- Alignment: Personal investment in MFS funds (A range in MGF) and formal ownership guidelines requiring trustees to invest an amount equal to their base retainer and meeting fees supports alignment, though group ownership remains <1%—typical for fund boards .
- Compensation: $568,000 complex-wide trustee compensation reflects oversight of a large fund complex (Board members served on 139 funds as of July 31, 2025), which helps contextualize scale; compensation is cash-based without equity or performance-linked components, limiting pay-for-performance concerns but relying on governance rigor for accountability .
- Conflicts/related-party exposure: No Kavanaugh-specific related-party transactions or consultant conflicts are disclosed; committees and independence definitions aim to mitigate adviser-related conflicts (MFS as investment adviser/administrator) .
RED FLAGS: None disclosed specific to Kavanaugh (no pledging, related-party transactions, legal proceedings, or say-on-pay concerns reported). Monitoring areas include continued independence from MFS as adviser and ensuring investment guideline compliance remains robust .