Peter Goldstein
About Peter Goldstein
Peter Goldstein (born 1953) serves as Secretary and Vice President of The Gabelli Utility Trust (“GUT”) since 2020. He is General Counsel at GAMCO Investors, Inc. and Chief Legal Officer at Associated Capital Group, Inc. (since 2021), and previously was General Counsel/Chief Compliance Officer at Buckingham Capital Management, Inc. and The Buckingham Research Group, Inc. (2012–2020) . He signs the Fund’s proxy materials in his capacity as Secretary . No TSR/revenue/EBITDA performance metrics are disclosed for his role.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buckingham Capital Management, Inc. | General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer | 2012–2020 | Led legal/compliance for investment manager, reinforcing governance and regulatory controls . |
| The Buckingham Research Group, Inc. | Chief Legal Officer & Chief Compliance Officer | 2012–2020 | Oversaw research broker-dealer legal/compliance functions, improving control environment . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| GAMCO Investors, Inc. | General Counsel | Since 2021 | Central legal leadership for affiliated asset manager . |
| Associated Capital Group, Inc. | Chief Legal Officer | Since 2021 | Senior legal stewardship for public alternatives/inst. research affiliate . |
| Gabelli Funds, LLC | General Counsel | Since July 2020 | Fund complex legal oversight prior to/alongside GAMCO role . |
Fixed Compensation
- Compensation for GUT officers is generally paid by the Adviser; the proxy only lists compensation for Independent Trustees and, if any, officers compensated by the Fund (in 2024, only the Vice President & Ombudsman was compensated by the Fund; Goldstein was not listed) .
- Therefore, base salary, target/actual bonus, and perquisites for Goldstein are not disclosed at the Fund level .
Performance Compensation
- No disclosure of RSUs/PSUs, options, performance metrics, vesting schedules, clawbacks, or change-of-control terms for Goldstein at the Fund level .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | Dec 31, 2020 | Dec 31, 2023 | Dec 31, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shares Owned (Common) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Percent of Shares Outstanding | * | * | * |
- Asterisk indicates less than 1% of shares outstanding per proxy footnotes .
- No pledging/hedging, unvested shares, options, or ownership guideline disclosures are provided for Goldstein .
Employment Terms
- Start date/tenure: Secretary & Vice President since 2020 (first shown as “Since August 2020” in 2021 proxy; “Since 2020” in later proxies) .
- Term: Officers hold office for an indefinite term until resignation/retirement or until a successor is duly elected and qualified .
- Non-compete/non-solicit, severance, change-of-control terms, tax gross-ups, clawbacks, deferred comp/pension: not disclosed at the Fund level .
- Section 16(a) compliance: Fund reports that officers/trustees complied with Section 16 filings for FY 2023 and FY 2024 (no delinquent reports) .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Goldstein holds no GUT shares across multiple years, limiting direct equity alignment and reducing insider selling pressure risk; his role is administrative/legal rather than investment decision-making .
- Pay-for-performance: Compensation is paid by affiliated Adviser entities and is not tied to GUT-level disclosed performance metrics; no RSU/option structures or performance targets disclosed, implying limited fund-specific incentive levers .
- Retention: Tenure since 2020 and concurrent senior legal roles at GAMCO/Associated Capital suggest stability; no contract term/COC/severance details disclosed at the Fund level to quantify retention economics .
- Trading signals: Absence of beneficial ownership and absence of reported insider trades at the Fund diminish near-term trading signal value from this executive; Section 16 compliance reduces governance red-flag risk .