Connie Luecke
About Connie Luecke
Connie M. Luecke, CFA, is Vice President and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of DNP Select Income Fund Inc. since 2018 and a Senior Managing Director at Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. (the Adviser) since 2015; she is age 66 and has served in various roles at the Adviser and its affiliates since 1992 . Under current management, DNP’s total return as of April 30, 2025 was 5.1% (market) and 8.4% (NAV) for six months, with five-year annualized returns of 5.8% (market) and 10.6% (NAV); ten-year annualized returns were 7.0% (market) and 8.4% (NAV) . The Fund has paid a consistent $0.065 monthly distribution since July 1997 via a managed distribution plan, a key element of its income objective .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| DNP Select Income Fund Inc. | Vice President and Chief Investment Officer | 2018–present | Leads investment strategy for a leveraged utilities/infrastructure income portfolio . |
| Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. | Senior Managing Director | 2015–present | Senior leadership over utilities/infrastructure strategies and portfolio management processes . |
| Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. | Senior Vice President | 1998–2014 | Portfolio management and research leadership across infrastructure equities . |
| Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. | Managing Director | 1996–1998 | Investment leadership and team management . |
| Adviser affiliate | Various positions | 1992–1995 | Foundational experience across investment/research functions . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtus Total Return Fund Inc. | Portfolio Manager | 2011–present | Multi-asset income strategy execution and capital allocation . |
| Virtus Duff & Phelps Global Infrastructure Fund | Portfolio Manager | 2004–present | Global infrastructure equity strategy leadership . |
Fixed Compensation
Officers of the Funds receive no compensation from DNP; they are employees/officers of the Adviser or a Fund administrator (or affiliates) and are compensated in those capacities. The Funds have no pension or retirement plan applicable to directors or officers .
| Component | Amount/Structure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed by Fund | Officers are compensated by the Adviser; no Fund-paid officer compensation disclosed . |
| Target bonus % | Not disclosed by Fund | Not disclosed; officers not paid by the Fund . |
| Actual bonus | Not disclosed by Fund | Not disclosed; officers not paid by the Fund . |
| Pension/SERP | None at Fund level | “The Funds do not have a pension or retirement plan applicable to their directors or officers.” |
| Perquisites | Not disclosed by Fund | No officer perquisite details disclosed by the Fund . |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Grant/Metric | Target/Weighting | Actual/Payout | Vesting | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSUs/PSUs | Not applicable at Fund | — | — | — | No equity awards to officers are disclosed by the Fund; officers are paid by the Adviser . |
| Stock Options | Not applicable at Fund | — | — | — | No option grants to officers are disclosed by the Fund . |
| Annual bonus metrics | Not disclosed by Fund | — | — | — | No Fund-level officer bonus framework disclosed . |
| Clawback | Not disclosed by Fund | — | — | — | No clawback provisions for officers disclosed by the Fund . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Value | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Individual beneficial ownership (Connie Luecke) | Not individually itemized | Proxy provides holdings for directors and group totals; no individual officer line items disclosed . |
| Directors and executive officers as a group (DNP) | 223,267 shares; <1% of common | Aggregate beneficial ownership by directors and executive officers; each person and the group owned <1% of outstanding common . |
| Shares outstanding (record date 12/6/2024) | 370,030,932 common; 1,320 preferred | Capitalization context for ownership % . |
| Pledging/hedging by insiders | Not disclosed | No pledging/hedging policy disclosure identified in reviewed filings. |
| Stock ownership guidelines | Not disclosed | No officer ownership guideline disclosure identified in proxy . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Employment start in current role | 2018 | Vice President and CIO of DNP since 2018 . |
| Employment agreement | Not disclosed by Fund | Officers are employees of the Adviser; no Fund agreement disclosed . |
| Severance/Change-of-control | Not disclosed by Fund | No officer severance or CoC economics disclosed by the Fund . |
| Non-compete/Non-solicit | Not disclosed by Fund | No related restrictive covenant disclosures for officers identified . |
| Clawback | Not disclosed by Fund | No officer clawback disclosure by the Fund . |
Performance & Track Record
| Metric | Six Months (to 4/30/2025) | One Year (to 4/30/2025) | Five Years (annualized) | Ten Years (annualized) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNP total return – Market Value | 5.1% | 20.4% | 5.8% | 7.0% |
| DNP total return – NAV | 8.4% | 31.0% | 10.6% | 8.4% |
| Composite Index (S&P Utilities + Bloomberg U.S. Utility Bond) | 0.4% | 19.6% | 8.5% | 8.6% |
Additional context:
- Managed distribution plan: $0.065 per share monthly distribution reaffirmed; distribution rate includes capital gains/return of capital components to maintain level; has been paid at 6.5 cents since July 1997 .
- Leverage: As of April 30, 2025, total leverage ~$1.105B (24% of total assets): $132M preferred, $200M notes (3.00% due 7/22/26), $773M floating rate borrowings; leverage reviewed by the Board relative to benefits/costs .
- Peer/performance review: For periods ended June 30, 2024, NAV total return ranked above median (3- and 5-year) vs Broadridge utility CE peers, below median (1-year); underperformed S&P Utilities/Utility Bond composite on 1-, 3-, 5-year (NAV and market) .
- Valuation/premium history: Since 1990, common shares traded at a premium to NAV >97% of the time; average premium near 15% (board review) .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment: Officer compensation is paid by the Adviser, not by DNP; the proxy provides no officer-level pay mix, targets, or equity awards at the Fund, limiting transparency into DNP-specific incentive alignment for Ms. Luecke .
- Ownership/skin-in-the-game: The proxy does not disclose Ms. Luecke’s individual DNP holdings; directors and executive officers as a group hold <1% of common, which reduces direct alignment signals; monitor future proxy updates or any Section 16 filings for changes .
- Retention risk: With officers employed by the Adviser rather than the Fund, retention economics likely reside in Adviser-level arrangements not disclosed in the Fund’s proxy; no Fund-level severance/CoC terms are provided .
- Trading signals: DNP’s long history of premium to NAV and the managed distribution plan (including use of gains/ROC) can amplify sentiment-driven price moves versus NAV; leverage at ~24% of assets adds rate/volatility sensitivity that can affect NAV and price around macro shifts .
- Execution record: Five-year annualized NAV total return of 10.6% as of 4/30/2025, outpacing the composite index’s 8.5%; however, board review shows underperformance vs composite across 1-, 3-, 5-year through 6/30/2024—suggesting mixed relative performance across windows; continue to track strategy positioning and rate sensitivity .