Welcome to our dedicated page for MFS Charter Income SEC filings (Ticker: MCR), a comprehensive resource for investors and traders seeking official regulatory documents including 10-K annual reports, 10-Q quarterly earnings, 8-K material events, and insider trading forms.
for almost a century, investors have trusted mfs to achieve their investment goals because we stay true to our convictions, and to who we are as active managers. we take the long view. we favor the strongest idea over the strongest individual. our employees are aligned with what matters most to our clients: long-term vision, powerful risk-managed results and good decisions born from collaborative thinking. robust integrated research is in our heritage and combining it with uncompromised information sharing is how we turn good ideas into great outcomes. doing what's right for clients is not a choice we make each day, it's who we are. learn more about our social media terms of use here: (paste link into browser) www.mfs.com/literms for current career opportunities visit www.mfs.com/careers mfs investment management is an equal opportunity employer.MFS Multimarket Income Trust and affiliated MFS taxable closed-end funds adjourned their special shareholder meetings to April 2, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
The meetings were adjourned to solicit additional shareholder votes on (i) proposed reorganizations that would merge four Target Funds into MFS Multimarket Income Trust as the Surviving Fund, and (ii) proposals for the Surviving Fund to appoint abrdn, Inc. as investment adviser, elect five new trustees, and approve issuance of additional common shares in connection with the reorganizations. Each Target Fund's board unanimously approved and recommended its reorganization; shareholders of record as of December 11, 2025 received prospectus/proxy materials in early February 2026.
Sit Investment Associates and Sit Fixed Income Advisors report beneficial ownership of 4,097,943 shares of MFS Charter Income Trust, representing 9.8% of the common stock, based on 41,688,435 shares outstanding as of November 30, 2025. The shares are held in client accounts, acquired in open-market transactions, with the Sit entities having shared voting and dispositive power.
The Sit entities state they hold the position for investment purposes but may buy or sell more shares, vote, or make proposals as they deem advisable. They sent a February 24, 2026 letter to the Board opposing a proposed reorganization in which MFS Charter Income Trust and related funds would merge into MFS Multimarket Income Trust, and they may engage further with the Board, management, and shareholders, including potential board nominations or shareholder proposals.
MFS Multimarket Income Trust filing includes a presentation from Aberdeen describing a proposed Aberdeen Multi‑Market Income closed‑end fund concept intended for internal review and preliminary feedback. The presentation outlines an investment objective to seek high current income, a target managed distribution rate of 11% (subject to board and shareholder approvals), an 80%+ fixed‑income allocation policy, and a closed‑end NYSE‑listed structure.
The materials describe portfolio construction across global credit, high yield, emerging markets, opportunistic sectors, a target average investment‑grade posture under normal conditions, fee assumptions (0.85% management fee and a 0.73% operating expense cap), leverage flexibility within 1940 Act limits, and governance steps tied to Reorganizations and shareholder votes.
MCR filed a Form N-CEN annual report as a registered investment company. The filing lists aggregate brokerage commissions of $29,183.43 for the reporting period and itemizes principal transaction activity with multiple dealers showing individual totals such as $141,871,967.27, $51,578,125.86, and other dealer amounts.
The report provides standard fund governance and operations headings (directors, custodians, advisers, transfer agents, securities lending, expense limitations) and includes extensive record fields for books-and-records locations, service providers, and attachments.
MFS Charter Income Trust (MCR) is a leveraged, high‑yield focused closed‑end bond fund that targets a managed annual distribution of 8.00% of its average monthly NAV, paid monthly. For the twelve months ended November 30, 2025, the fund returned 6.91% at net asset value and 9.41% at market price, versus 7.55% for the Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High‑Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index and 6.60% for its blended benchmark.
The portfolio is concentrated in below‑investment‑grade credit, with high yield corporates at 71.5% and emerging markets bonds at 20.5%, and a duration of 5.4 years. BB, B and CCC rated bonds make up a large share of assets, reflecting higher income and higher credit risk. The fund uses leverage via a bank credit facility; as of November 30, 2025, line‑of‑credit borrowings were 25.24% of total assets, magnifying both gains and losses.
Under its managed distribution policy, the fund may distribute more than net investment income. For the period, distributions included $13,783,323 of ordinary income and $8,678,127 classified as return of capital, which can reduce asset base and potentially increase the expense ratio over time.
MFS Charter Income Trust filed an initial ownership report for insider Thomas P. Murphy. The filing identifies the trust under ticker MCR and lists Murphy’s relationship as "DIRECTOR OF ADVISOR" rather than as a director or officer of the trust itself. The report states that no non-derivative or derivative securities of MFS Charter Income Trust are beneficially owned, meaning Murphy reports zero ownership in the trust’s securities as of the stated event date.
MFS Investment Management plans a major reorganization of its NYSE-listed closed-end funds, including MFS Charter Income Trust (MCR), subject to shareholder approval. Seven MFS closed-end funds are proposed to be merged into two existing funds, with MCR, MGF, MIN, and CIF combining into MFS Multimarket Income Trust (MMT), and CXE, CMU, and CXH combining into MFS Municipal Income Trust (MFM). If shareholders of MFM and MMT approve, abrdn Inc. will become investment adviser to both funds and they will be renamed Aberdeen Municipal Income Fund and Aberdeen Multi-Market Income Fund, with new Aberdeen trustees replacing current trustees for those funds.
Shareholders of record as of December 11, 2025 will receive proxy materials in late January 2026 and may vote electronically, by mail, or in person at a special meeting tentatively set for March 11, 2026. The reorganization is intended to qualify as a tax-free reorganization, and completion is targeted for June 2026 if the proposals are approved.
MFS Charter Income Trust insider Joseph Flaherty, identified as an "officer of the advisor," filed a Form 4 reporting his relationship to the fund and his status as a single reporting person. The document is dated with an earliest transaction date of 06/01/2025 and a signature dated 12/11/2025. The standard tables for non-derivative and derivative securities are included, indicating this is a routine disclosure of beneficial ownership and potential transactions by an individual associated with the fund's advisor.