Brian E. Binder
About Brian E. Binder
Brian E. Binder serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Guggenheim Strategic Opportunities Fund (GOF) and other funds in the Guggenheim fund complex; he has held officer roles since 2018 and is listed with year of birth 1972 . Current responsibilities include President, Mutual Funds Boards at Guggenheim Investments (2022–present), Senior Managing Director at Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC and Security Investors, LLC, and multiple board appointments across Guggenheim entities . Prior roles include Senior Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer at Guggenheim Investments (2018–2022), Managing Director and President of Deutsche Funds and Head of US Product, Trading and Fund Administration at Deutsche Asset Management (2013–2018), and senior leadership at Invesco Ltd. (2010–2012) . Fund proxies state that fund officers receive no compensation from the Funds, and do not disclose TSR, revenue, or EBITDA performance metrics for officers at the fund level; officers may receive compensation at the Adviser or its affiliates .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guggenheim Investments | Senior Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer | 2018–2022 | Executive oversight of investments and operations |
| Deutsche Asset Management | Managing Director and President, Deutsche Funds; Head of US Product, Trading and Fund Administration | 2013–2018 | Led product, trading, and fund administration in the US |
| Invesco Ltd. | Managing Director; Chairman of North American Executive Committee; Head of Business Management and Consulting | 2010–2012 | Senior leadership and business management/consulting |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Guggenheim Partners Investment Funds plc | Board Member | 2022–present |
| Guggenheim Global Investments plc | Board Member | 2022–present |
| Guggenheim Partners Fund Management (Europe) Limited | Board Member | 2018–present |
| Guggenheim Credit Income Fund | Board Member and Chairman | 2024–present |
Fixed Compensation
- Fund officers receive no compensation from the Funds; compensation (if any) is earned in capacities at the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, or their affiliates and is not disclosed in the GOF proxy .
- GOF’s Board does not have a standing compensation committee; compensation oversight is not a separate Board committee function .
Performance Compensation
- No fund-level incentive metrics (e.g., revenue, EBITDA, TSR) or bonus/equity award structures are disclosed for fund officers; proxies state officers are unpaid by the Funds and may be compensated by the Adviser or affiliates .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | Value | Source/Date |
|---|---|---|
| GOF Shares Outstanding | 162,405,961 | As of record date February 14, 2025 |
| Trustees and Officers – Group Ownership | Less than 1% of outstanding shares | As of December 31, 2024 |
- Trustee dollar ranges of beneficial ownership are disclosed for Trustees (not officers), with individual ranges listed and group ownership under 1%; officers’ individual ownership levels are not itemized in the proxy .
Employment Terms
- Officer appointment and tenure: Brian E. Binder has served “since 2018” as President and Chief Executive Officer across funds in the complex and President, Mutual Funds Boards (2022–present) .
- Service-at-pleasure: Fund officers serve at the pleasure of the Board until resignation or removal (no fixed term disclosed) .
- Section 16 reporting compliance: The Funds state that all applicable insider ownership filings for the most recently completed fiscal year were timely .
Board and Committee Activity (GOF FY ended 5/31/2024):
| Body | Meetings |
|---|---|
| Board | 6 |
| Audit Committee | 7 |
| Nominating & Governance Committee | 3 |
| Contracts Review Committee | 2 |
| Valuation Oversight Committee | 4 |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance analysis at the fund level is constrained: GOF officers receive no compensation from the Funds, and the proxy does not disclose adviser-level compensation metrics for Brian Binder; alignment must be inferred from adviser policies rather than fund disclosures .
- Direct fund-level “skin-in-the-game” appears limited: trustees and officers as a group own less than 1% of outstanding GOF shares, suggesting modest direct ownership alignment at the fund entity level .
- Governance context: absence of a standing compensation committee indicates compensation oversight is not a dedicated Board function; officers serve at the pleasure of the Board, supporting flexibility but offering limited visibility into employment economics (severance, change-of-control, vesting) at the fund level .
- Compliance signal: Section 16(a) insider reporting was timely in the most recent year, which supports routine governance and reporting hygiene but does not substitute for detailed compensation and ownership disclosures at the adviser level .