David I. Schachter
About David I. Schachter
Vice President of The GDL Fund since 2006; year of birth 1953. Principal occupation: Vice President and/or Ombudsman of closed‑end funds within the Gabelli/GAMCO Fund Complex; Senior Vice President (since 2015) and previously Vice President (1999–2015) of G.research, LLC . Address of record for officers: One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580‑1422 . Fund proxies do not disclose pay‑for‑performance linkages (TSR, revenue, EBITDA) for fund officers; compensation for most officers is paid by the Adviser, not the Fund, and is not itemized in the proxy .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gabelli/GAMCO Fund Complex | Vice President and/or Ombudsman of closed‑end funds | Since 2006 | Officer responsibilities across closed‑end funds within the complex |
| G.research, LLC | Senior Vice President | Since 2015 | Senior role supporting research/operations across affiliated funds |
| G.research, LLC | Vice President | 1999–2015 | Vice President role prior to promotion to Senior Vice President |
External Roles
No external directorships or committee roles disclosed for Schachter in GDL’s proxy materials reviewed .
Fixed Compensation
- Officers of the Fund who are employed by the Adviser receive no compensation or expense reimbursement from the Fund; the proxy lists only officers (if any) compensated by the Fund (in recent years, the Vice President and Ombudsman), and Schachter is not among those compensated by the Fund .
Performance Compensation
- No RSU/PSU, option grants, vesting schedules, or performance metrics tied to Schachter’s compensation are disclosed in GDL’s proxy statements; officer compensation (when not paid by the Fund) is outside the Fund’s proxy disclosure scope .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership tables list trustees and executive officers’ share holdings; in the segments reviewed, executive officer rows do not include an entry for Schachter, and no specific Common or Preferred share amounts are disclosed for him .
- The proxies reviewed do not disclose any pledging, hedging, stock ownership guidelines, or compliance status applicable to Schachter .
Employment Terms
- No employment agreement, severance, or change‑of‑control terms specific to Schachter are disclosed in the proxy materials; as a fund officer employed by the Adviser, compensation and employment terms are handled outside the Fund’s proxy .
- Board governance notes include use of multi‑fund ad hoc Compensation Committees for certain closed‑end fund officers (e.g., CCO and other officers), indicating cross‑fund oversight of compensation administration but without role‑specific details for Schachter .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Absence of disclosed Fund‑level compensation or equity ownership for Schachter reduces observable pay‑for‑performance alignment signals at the Fund level; his long tenure since 2006 indicates role continuity within the Gabelli/GAMCO complex .
- Selling pressure: With no disclosed Fund‑level equity grants or options for Schachter, there are no visible vesting‑driven selling catalysts from proxy materials; Form 4 activity, if any, is not captured in GDL’s proxies and would require separate Section 16 review .
- Retention: Tenure and continued senior roles within G.research LLC suggest institutional continuity; however, actual cash/equity incentives and non‑compete terms are not disclosed, limiting assessment of retention mechanics or change‑of‑control economics .
- Governance context: Compensation oversight for certain officers occurs via ad hoc Compensation Committees across the fund complex, but specifics (metrics, triggers, multiples) are not provided, limiting benchmarking and red‑flag tests (e.g., option repricing, tax gross‑ups) for Schachter .