Laurissa M. Martire
About Laurissa M. Martire
Laurissa M. Martire is Vice President and Ombudsman of Bancroft Fund Ltd. (BCV) and other closed‑end funds in the Gabelli Fund Complex; she has served in this officer capacity since 2015. She is also a Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors, Inc. (since 2019), and is frequently listed as the investor relations contact for BCV in distribution announcements. Year of birth: 1976. Office address: One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580‑1422 .
Performance and TSR metrics tied specifically to Ms. Martire’s role are not disclosed in BCV’s proxy materials; BCV’s proxy covers Trustee compensation and certain fund‑level officer disclosures, not individual performance pay for Adviser employees .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bancroft Fund Ltd. (BCV) | Vice President and Ombudsman | 2015–Present | Officer of the Fund; ombudsman function across closed‑end funds within the Gabelli Fund Complex |
| Gabelli Fund Complex (other closed‑end funds) | Vice President and/or Ombudsman | 2015–Present | Officer responsibilities across the Fund Complex |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| GAMCO Investors, Inc. | Senior Vice President | 2019–Present | Senior role at BCV’s affiliated Adviser; frequently serves as BCV investor relations contact in Fund communications |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Value/Terms | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed by BCV | Ms. Martire is identified as a Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors (the Adviser’s affiliate); BCV’s proxy presents compensation for Trustees and “officers, if any, who were compensated by the Fund rather than the Adviser.” Adviser employees are generally not paid by the Fund . |
| Fund‑paid officer payroll (aggregate) | $39,340 accrued in payroll expenses during the six months ended March 31, 2025 | Aggregate Fund officer payroll; not broken out by individual. BCV compensates officers who are employed by the Fund (others may be Adviser employees) . |
| Trustee compensation schedule (context) | Annual retainer $8,500; $1,000 per Board meeting; $500 per committee meeting; additional chair retainers | Trustee schedule shown for context; not applicable to Ms. Martire (officer). Aggregate remuneration to Trustees in FY ended Sept 30, 2024 was $125,750 . |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive component | Metric(s) | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed by BCV | — | — | — | — | — | — |
- BCV’s proxy does not disclose individual short‑term or long‑term performance‑based incentive metrics for Adviser employees serving as Fund officers (e.g., VP/Ombudsman). Any such compensation would be governed by GAMCO policies and is not detailed in BCV filings .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership at BCV | Not disclosed for Ms. Martire | The 2025 proxy’s beneficial ownership table covers Trustees and named executive officers (President, Treasurer, Secretary, CCO) and does not list Ms. Martire . |
| Ownership as % of shares outstanding | Not disclosed | No individual figure disclosed for Ms. Martire in BCV proxy . |
| Vested vs. unvested equity | Not applicable/disclosed | BCV does not disclose equity awards for Ms. Martire . |
| Options (exercisable/unexercisable) | Not disclosed | No option holdings for Ms. Martire disclosed . |
| Shares pledged as collateral | Not disclosed | No pledging disclosure for Ms. Martire in BCV proxy . |
| Stock ownership guidelines | Not disclosed for officers | Proxy provides Trustee ownership ranges; no officer ownership guidelines are presented for Ms. Martire . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Service start date at BCV | Officer “since 2015” (Vice President & Ombudsman) |
| Employment relationship | Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors, Inc. (since 2019); officer of BCV and other closed‑end funds within the Gabelli Fund Complex |
| Office address | One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580‑1422 |
| Contract term/expiration | Not disclosed in BCV proxy |
| Severance / Change‑of‑Control (CoC) | Not disclosed in BCV proxy |
| Clawbacks / Tax gross‑ups | Not disclosed in BCV proxy |
| Non‑compete / Non‑solicit | Not disclosed in BCV proxy |
| Fund officer expense policy (structural) | Officers and employees of the Fund (including Vice President and Ombudsman) are Fund expenses unless the Adviser voluntarily assumes responsibility (per registration statement) . In 1H FY2025, BCV accrued $39,340 of officer payroll (aggregate) . |
| Adviser fee structure (context) | Advisory fee: 0.80% of AWWNA up to $100m and 0.55% above; fee base includes liquidation value of preferred shares. Disclosure notes potential leverage incentive at Adviser level; Board oversight mitigates conflicts . |
Investment Implications
- Pay‑for‑performance linkage appears limited at the Fund level for this role. Ms. Martire’s compensation is not disclosed by BCV and she is identified as a Senior VP of GAMCO; BCV indicates Adviser employees generally are not compensated by the Fund, suggesting her compensation is set by GAMCO and not directly tied to BCV TSR/financial outcomes .
- Retention risk looks low given tenure since 2015 in the VP/Ombudsman role and continued senior post at GAMCO since 2019; no severance/CoC economics for her role are disclosed at the Fund, which limits shareholder‑funded departure costs but also limits transparency on incentives .
- Insider selling/ownership signal is absent: Ms. Martire is not listed in BCV’s beneficial ownership table (which names Trustees and certain executive officers), so there’s no quantifiable ownership or pledging data for her; thus no insider trading pressure signal can be inferred from BCV’s proxy .
- Structural incentive context: The Adviser’s asset‑based fee and disclosure of potential leverage‑related conflicts reside at the Adviser level, not at the individual IR/Ombudsman level. Any compensation levers affecting Ms. Martire are likely tied to GAMCO’s corporate policies rather than BCV’s performance metrics .
Bottom line: Ms. Martire is a long‑serving officer focused on shareholder communications and fund administration within the Gabelli complex. Lack of disclosed equity ownership, incentive metrics, or CoC terms means minimal direct trading/compensation signals tied to BCV for her role; monitoring remains focused on Adviser‑level governance and fee structure rather than executive‑specific incentives at the Fund .