Stephen Murphy
About Stephen Murphy
Stephen Murphy is Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) and Vice President for the Cohen & Steers closed‑end funds, including Cohen & Steers Select Preferred & Income Fund (PSF). He was born in 1966, joined the Advisor in 2019, and has been a Senior Vice President of the Advisor since 2019 . Prior to Cohen & Steers, he was Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer of Weiss Multi‑Strategy Advisers LLC from 2011 to 2019 . As CCO, his compensation is paid by the funds and presented as cash service fees rather than performance‑based equity; PSF’s allocated CCO compensation was $2,256.10 for 2024 (with $270,000 total across the Cohen & Steers fund complex) and $2,610 for 2023 (with $307,500 total) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weiss Multi‑Strategy Advisers LLC | Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer | 2011–2019 | Not disclosed |
External Roles
None disclosed in PSF’s filings reviewed .
Fixed Compensation
- Officers of the funds (other than the CCO) and Interested Directors do not receive compensation from the funds; the CCO’s compensation is disclosed and allocated across the fund complex .
| Compensation (USD) | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| PSF allocation to CCO | $2,610 | $2,256.10 |
| CCO total across Cohen & Steers fund complex | $307,500 | $270,000 |
Performance Compensation
- No equity awards, stock options, performance share units, or performance metric‑linked payouts for the CCO are disclosed in PSF’s proxy; the figures shown for the CCO are cash compensation allocated from the funds, and the proxy provides no targets, weightings, or performance goals tied to CCO pay .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Individual holdings for Stephen Murphy | Not disclosed in PSF’s filings reviewed |
| Directors and officers as a group (PSF shares) | 6,559.6215 shares as of Jan 31, 2025; less than 1% of PSF outstanding securities |
| >5% beneficial owner (PSF) | Morgan Stanley/MSSB: 635,940 shares (5.3%) as of 9/30/2024 |
| Record holder concentration | Cede & Co. held 12,026,703 PSF shares (99.988%) of outstanding common stock as of Feb 14, 2025 (record ownership via DTC) |
No pledging, hedging, stock ownership guidelines, or compliance status for officers are disclosed in the proxy materials reviewed; such provisions, if any, are not detailed for the CCO .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title | Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President |
| Employer (Advisor) | Cohen & Steers Capital Management, Inc. |
| Start at Advisor / Tenure in role | Joined 2019; serving as CCO since joining |
| Contract term, auto‑renewal, severance, change‑of‑control, non‑compete/solicit, clawback, tax gross‑ups | Not disclosed in PSF’s proxy materials reviewed |
| D&O and E&O insurance context | Registrant officers/directors are covered under D&O/E&O insurance; no claims disclosed for the reporting period in N‑CEN excerpt provided |
Additional Context (Governance and Filing Compliance)
- Section 16(a) compliance: For 2024, funds report overall timely filings with one noted exception for a different officer (not Stephen Murphy); no delinquency noted for Murphy .
- Officers roster confirmation: PSF’s shareholder report and proxy list Murphy as CCO and VP .
Investment Implications
- Pay‑for‑performance alignment: The CCO’s compensation is cash and fund‑allocated without disclosed performance metrics, implying low direct incentive linkage to PSF’s TSR or operating performance; this is typical for fund officers and suggests neutral alignment from a trading‑signal standpoint .
- Ownership alignment: No individual ownership disclosed for Murphy, and aggregate insider ownership is <1% of PSF, indicating limited insider “skin‑in‑the‑game” at the fund level—again common for closed‑end funds but offering little signal on insider conviction .
- Retention risk: Tenure since 2019 and continued service as SVP/CCO suggest stability in the compliance function; absence of disclosed severance/change‑in‑control economics means limited visibility into retention levers or exit costs .
- Governance risk: No red flags (repricing, pledging, hedging, related‑party transactions, or legal proceedings involving Murphy) were disclosed in the reviewed materials; Section 16 compliance notes did not cite Murphy .