Richard J. Walz
About Richard J. Walz
Richard J. Walz is Chief Compliance Officer of GAMCO Natural Resources, Gold & Income Trust (GNT) and the broader Gabelli Fund Complex, serving in this role since 2013. The proxy discloses his year of birth as 1959 and lists his business address as One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580-1422. His current responsibilities are framed around compliance leadership across registered investment companies in the complex. The proxy does not disclose individual executive performance metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue/EBITDA growth) or education credentials for Mr. Walz .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| AEGON USA Investment Management | Chief Compliance Officer | 2011–2013 | Compliance oversight at a registered investment adviser |
| Cutwater Asset Management | Chief Compliance Officer | 2004–2011 | Compliance oversight at an asset management firm |
| Gabelli Funds, LLC | Senior Vice President (since 2015); Vice President (1996–2015) | 1996–present | Senior compliance and fund operations roles within Gabelli/GAMCO complex |
External Roles
No public company board roles or external directorships are disclosed for Mr. Walz in the GNT proxies reviewed .
Fixed Compensation
- The proxy presents a compensation table for Trustees and any officers compensated by the Fund (rather than by the Adviser). For fiscal year 2024, only one officer (Molly A.F. Marion) is listed with aggregate compensation of $72,201 from the Fund; Mr. Walz is not listed in officer compensation, indicating no direct compensation from the Fund was disclosed for him in 2024. Officers generally are compensated by the Adviser rather than the Fund in this complex .
Performance Compensation
- The proxy does not disclose performance-based compensation structures (e.g., bonus targets, RSUs/PSUs, options) for Mr. Walz. No metrics, weightings, targets, or payouts are provided at the individual officer level in the GNT proxy materials reviewed .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | As of | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (Common Shares) | Dec 31, 2024 | 0 | Determined per Rule 13d-3 of the 1934 Act |
| Percent of shares outstanding | Dec 31, 2024 | <1% (asterisk) | Ownership by each executive officer is less than 1% of outstanding shares; group ownership of officers/trustees also <1% |
- Shares pledged/hedged: No pledging or hedging disclosures for Mr. Walz appear in the proxy sections reviewed .
- Stock ownership guidelines: Not disclosed for officers in the GNT proxy sections reviewed .
Employment Terms
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Current role | Chief Compliance Officer | |
| Start of current role | Since 2013 | |
| Year of birth | 1959 | |
| Address | One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580-1422 | |
| Contract/severance/change-of-control | Not disclosed in GNT proxy | |
| Non-compete / non-solicit / garden leave | Not disclosed in GNT proxy | |
| Clawback policy | Not disclosed for officers in the proxy |
Performance & Track Record
- The proxies reviewed do not provide individual executive performance attribution (e.g., TSR during tenure, initiative outcomes) for Mr. Walz. GNT’s proxy focuses on trustee governance and fund-level administration rather than executive performance analytics .
Governance and Compliance Notes
- Section 16(a) compliance: Based on GNT’s review of electronic filings for fiscal 2024, the Fund believes executive officers and other reporting persons complied with Section 16(a) ownership reporting, with the exception of one late Form 4 by Mr. Gabelli (not Mr. Walz) .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Mr. Walz has no disclosed beneficial ownership in GNT (0 shares), which limits direct equity alignment and reduces insider selling pressure risk arising from personal holdings .
- Pay-for-performance visibility: Individual executive compensation structures (salary, bonus metrics, equity awards, severance/change-of-control) for Mr. Walz are not disclosed in GNT’s proxy, constraining pay-for-performance assessment and modeling of incentive-driven behavior .
- Retention/continuity: Walz’s long tenure (CCO since 2013) suggests institutional continuity in the Fund Complex’s compliance function; however, without disclosed employment terms or severance/change-of-control economics, retention risk cannot be quantitatively assessed from proxy materials .
- Trading signals: With zero reported ownership, there are no personal holdings to monitor for Form 4-driven sell pressure; Section 16(a) compliance was affirmed generally for 2024 (excluding a late filing by another individual), suggesting standard reporting practices without red-flag insider activity attributable to Mr. Walz .