Richard J. Walz
About Richard J. Walz
Richard J. Walz serves as Chief Compliance Officer of The Gabelli Healthcare & WellnessRx Trust (GRX) and of registered investment companies within the Gabelli Fund Complex, a role he has held since 2013; his birth year is 1959. Prior roles include Chief Compliance Officer at AEGON USA Investment Management (2011–2013) and Cutwater Asset Management (2004–2011) . GRX proxies disclose no executive performance metrics attributable to Walz (e.g., TSR, revenue growth, EBITDA), and he is not a Trustee; his function is compliance oversight for the Fund Complex .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| AEGON USA Investment Management | Chief Compliance Officer | 2011–2013 | Not disclosed |
| Cutwater Asset Management | Chief Compliance Officer | 2004–2011 | Not disclosed |
External Roles
No external directorships or committee roles are disclosed for Walz in GRX proxies .
Fixed Compensation
- GRX proxies present compensation only for Trustees and “officers, if any, who were compensated by the Fund rather than the Adviser” for each year; Walz is not listed among officers compensated by the Fund in available years, indicating his compensation is paid by the Adviser and not disclosed in the Fund’s proxy .
- Specific components for Walz (base salary, target bonus, actual bonus, RSUs/PSUs, options, perquisites, pension/SERP, deferred comp) are not disclosed in GRX proxies .
Performance Compensation
- No disclosure of Walz’s incentive metrics (e.g., revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR percentile, ESG goals), award types, grant values, vesting schedules, or payouts appears in GRX proxies; the Fund does not report Adviser-paid officer compensation details .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | FY 2017 | FY 2018 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common Shares Beneficially Owned | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Percent of Shares Outstanding | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% |
| Shares Pledged as Collateral | None disclosed | None disclosed | None disclosed | None disclosed |
- Stock ownership guidelines or compliance status for officers are not disclosed for Walz in GRX proxies .
- Section 16(a) compliance: For 2022, the Fund states that executive officers and Trustees complied with applicable ownership reporting requirements, based on its review of filed forms .
Employment Terms
- Employment start date: Walz has served as Chief Compliance Officer of registered investment companies in the Gabelli Fund Complex since 2013 .
- Contract term length, auto-renewal, non-compete/non-solicit, garden leave, post-termination consulting, severance, and change-of-control (trigger type, multiples, accelerated vesting) terms for Walz are not disclosed in GRX proxies .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: With zero disclosed beneficial ownership across multiple years and no reported equity-based compensation, Walz’s personal financial alignment with GRX common shareholders appears limited; no pledging or hedging is disclosed .
- Selling pressure: Given 0 shares reported, insider selling pressure from Walz is currently non-existent .
- Retention risk: Tenure since 2013 suggests continuity in compliance leadership, but the absence of disclosed employment protections or incentive structures leaves retention drivers opaque .
- Governance signal: As Chief Compliance Officer, Walz’s role centers on regulatory adherence rather than portfolio performance; proxies indicate Section 16(a) reporting compliance for covered persons in 2022, a modest positive governance data point .
- Trading signals: No disclosed insider ownership changes or incentive vesting events related to Walz that would inform near-term trading signals in GRX.