Thomas Ulrich
About Thomas W. Ulrich
Thomas W. Ulrich (age 62) serves as President, Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), and Secretary of Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (FUND). He has been President since June 2017 and CCO/Secretary since March 2015, and also serves across the Sprott group as Managing Partner (since January 2018), General Counsel and CCO of Sprott Asset Management USA Inc. (since October 2012), and General Counsel of Sprott Global Resource Investments Ltd. (since October 2012) . He is a signatory on Fund regulatory filings, including the 2025 Form N‑PX (signed August 11, 2025) and the 2024 Form N‑CEN (signed March 14, 2025), evidencing his executive authority and compliance oversight . Education and specific TSR/revenue/EBITDA performance metrics tied to his evaluation are not disclosed in the Fund’s proxy; the proxy focuses on director compensation and officer biographies .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geneva Advisors | Principal, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer | 2005–2011 | Executive legal and compliance leadership for investment adviser operations |
| Altegris Advisors, L.L.C. | Chief Compliance Officer | 2011–2012 | Compliance oversight and regulatory risk management |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprott Asset Management USA Inc. | General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer | Since Oct 2012 | Legal and compliance leadership for the adviser serving the Fund |
| Sprott Global Resource Investments Ltd. | General Counsel | Since Oct 2012 | Legal oversight across affiliated investment operations |
| Sprott Inc. group of companies | Managing Partner | Since Jan 2018 | Senior management role spanning Sprott affiliates |
Fixed Compensation
- Officer compensation (salary, target/actual bonus, cash perquisites) for Fund officers, including Mr. Ulrich, is not disclosed in the Fund’s DEF 14A; the proxy provides only director compensation schedules and officer biographies .
- Independent Director cash compensation for 2024 was $5,086.25 per director; no pensions/retirement benefits are accrued, illustrating the proxy’s focus on director pay rather than officer compensation .
Performance Compensation
- Stock awards (RSUs/PSUs), options, performance metrics/weightings, vesting schedules, clawbacks, tax gross‑ups, deferred compensation, and severance/change‑of‑control terms for Mr. Ulrich are not disclosed in the Fund’s DEF 14A, and no relevant 8‑K Item 5.02 filings surfaced in our search ; no 8‑K 5.02 records found in search [8‑K 5.02 search: no results].
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Common Shares Beneficially Owned (#) | 8,526 | 9,245 |
| Percent of Shares Outstanding (%) | <1% | <1% |
| IRA Account Shares (#) | 7,512.1469 | 8,146 |
| HSA Account Shares (#) | 1,014.1727 | 1,099 |
- The Fund had 29,805,103 shares outstanding at the 2024 record date and 29,641,944 at the 2025 record date; Mr. Ulrich’s holdings are immaterial relative to total shares (<1%) .
- No pledging, hedging, or stock ownership guideline disclosures for officers are provided in the DEF 14A; the proxy includes aggregate management/director ownership and a detailed breakdown for the controlling shareholder (W. Whitney George) but not officer pledging/guidelines .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Officer appointments | Board‑appointed officer; President since June 2017; CCO & Secretary since March 2015 | |
| External employment | Managing Partner (Sprott Inc. group), GC & CCO (Sprott AM USA), GC (Sprott Global) | |
| Employment agreement | Not disclosed (no employment contract terms in DEF 14A) | |
| Severance & change‑of‑control | Not disclosed; no 8‑K 5.02 announcements found | [8‑K 5.02 search: no results] |
| Non‑compete / non‑solicit / garden leave | Not disclosed in proxy | |
| Clawbacks / tax gross‑ups | Not disclosed in proxy | |
| Signatory authority | Signed N‑PX (08/11/2025) and N‑CEN (03/14/2025) as President |
Board Governance (Context)
- Committees: Audit and Governance Committees; the Governance Committee charter assigns responsibility to recommend Independent Director compensation, while there is no standing compensation committee for the Fund .
- Meetings: In 2024 the Board held 4 meetings; Audit 2; Governance 1; director attendance ≥75%—context for governance cadence, not officer evaluation .
Investment Implications
- Compensation alignment: The proxy does not disclose officer cash/equity compensation or performance metrics, limiting pay‑for‑performance analysis; lack of stock‑based award disclosure implies limited direct equity‑linked incentives or simply non‑disclosure via the Fund (comp may be at adviser level) .
- Insider selling pressure: Beneficial ownership is small (<1%), held primarily in IRA/HSA accounts, suggesting low near‑term selling pressure from vested awards or options; no Form 4 transactions surfaced in document search (use dedicated insider filings tools for completeness) .
- Retention and execution: Long tenure across Sprott affiliates and central compliance/legal roles indicate organizational reliance on Ulrich’s oversight; however, absence of disclosed severance/non‑compete terms in Fund filings constrains retention‑risk modeling at the Fund entity level .
- Governance backdrop: A highly concentrated shareholder base (over 50% owned by W. Whitney George) shapes governance dynamics and may overshadow officer equity alignment at the Fund; officers’ ownership is immaterial relative to outstanding shares .