Richard P. Howard
About Richard P. Howard
Richard P. Howard, 78, is an independent Trustee of North European Oil Royalty Trust, appointed October 1, 2024. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst with a 47+ year career as an analyst/portfolio manager at CIGNA, Fidelity Management & Research, T. Rowe Price, and Prospector Partners; he is a 50-year charter member of the National Association of Petroleum Investment Analysts, a retired director of One Beacon Insurance Company, and past Chairman of the Quinnipiac University Board of Trustees . He beneficially owns 250,000 Trust units, representing 2.7% of outstanding units, indicating substantial ownership alignment . The Trustees have determined all current Trustees are independent under NYSE rules .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CIGNA | Analyst/Portfolio Manager | 47+ year professional career across leading asset managers |
| Fidelity Management & Research | Analyst/Portfolio Manager | 47+ year professional career across leading asset managers |
| T. Rowe Price | Analyst/Portfolio Manager | 47+ year professional career across leading asset managers |
| Prospector Partners | Analyst/Portfolio Manager | 47+ year professional career across leading asset managers |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| One Beacon Insurance Company | Director | Retired director |
| Quinnipiac University Board of Trustees | Chairman | Past Chairman |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Member, Audit Committee; Ahron H. Haspel chairs Audit; Compensation Committee membership is Andrew S. Borodach, Nancy J. Floyd Prue, and Lawrence A. Kobrin (Howard is not on Compensation) .
- Independence: All current Trustees, including Howard, are independent under SEC/NYSE rules .
- Attendance and engagement: In FY2024 the Trustees met eight times; Audit Committee met three times; Compensation Committee met once. All currently serving Trustees attended 100% of Board and applicable committee meetings during their FY2024 tenure, and all then-serving Trustees attended last year’s annual meeting .
- Executive sessions: Trustees, presided over by the Managing Trustee, met in executive session without the Managing Director .
- Audit Committee financial expertise: The Trustees designated Ahron H. Haspel and Nancy J. Floyd Prue as audit committee financial experts (Howard is not named as a financial expert) .
- Committee charters: Audit Committee has a written charter; Compensation Committee does not have a charter .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | FY2024 Amount ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trustee fee (full-year equivalent) | 10,356 | Each Trustee receives 0.2% of gross royalties and interest; FY2023 per-Trustee was $58,334 |
| Additional role fee – Managing Trustee | 40,000 | Set by Trustees |
| Additional role fee – Audit Committee Chair | 20,000 | Set by Trustees |
| Additional role fee – Clerk of Trustees | 20,000 | Set by Trustees |
| Howard – FY2024 Trustee compensation | 0 | Appointed Oct 1, 2024; did not receive fees during FY2024 |
| Reimbursed Trustee expenses (total for all Trustees) | 1,314 | FY2024 total; Trustees reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses |
| Retirement/insurance/personal benefits (Trustees) | None | Trustees do not receive securities/property, retirement/insurance benefits, personal benefits, or similar forms of compensation |
Performance Compensation
| Element | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Equity grants (RSUs/PSUs/DSUs) | None | Trustees do not receive securities or property; the Trust format precludes equity-based compensation for executives as well |
| Options | None | Trustees do not receive options; options/derivatives trading by insiders restricted under policy |
| Meeting fees | None | Not disclosed; compensation is via formula and set role retainers, not per-meeting fees |
| Compensation consultants | None | Compensation Committee has not historically retained consultants |
| Performance metrics tied to director pay | None | Trustee compensation is formulaic (0.2% gross royalties); no individual performance metrics disclosed |
| Ownership/holding requirements | None | The Trust does not have formal unit ownership requirements or guidelines |
| Anti-hedging/pledging policy | Prohibits hedging, short sales, margin, pledging, options trading without pre-approval | Applies to Trustees and covered persons; compliance overseen by the Managing Director/Chairman of Audit Committee for MD’s trades |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company/Institution | Relationship to NRT | Potential Interlock/Conflict |
|---|---|---|
| One Beacon Insurance Company | No disclosed business with NRT | None disclosed; Howard is retired director |
| Quinnipiac University | No disclosed business with NRT | None disclosed; past Chairman |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and 50-year charter member of the National Association of Petroleum Investment Analysts .
- Deep investment and energy sector exposure from roles at Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, CIGNA, and Prospector Partners .
- Governance experience from prior directorship and university board leadership; current Audit Committee member at NRT .
- Audit Committee financial expert designation is assigned to Haspel and Floyd Prue; Howard is not designated as such .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Units Beneficially Owned | % of Outstanding Units | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard P. Howard (Trustee) | 250,000 | 2.7% | Significant ownership; beneficial ownership table as of Oct 31, 2024 |
| Hedging/pledging of Trust units | Prohibited by policy | Insider trading policy bans hedging, pledging, margin, derivatives absent pre-approval | |
| Ownership guidelines | None | No formal unit ownership requirements/guidelines |
Governance Assessment
- Independence and attendance: Howard is independent, attended 100% of Board/Audit meetings during his FY2024 tenure, and participates in executive sessions—supportive of effective oversight .
- Committee role: Audit Committee membership (not chair) positions Howard within financial oversight; however, he is not designated as a financial expert, which concentrates technical oversight in Haspel/Floyd Prue .
- Ownership alignment: 250,000 units (2.7%) is a meaningful stake, bolstered by an anti-hedging/pledging policy—positive alignment signal .
- Compensation structure: Trustee pay is a fixed formula based on 0.2% of gross royalties plus fixed role retainers, with no equity or performance-linked elements for directors; Howard received no FY2024 fees due to his October 1, 2024 appointment . The Compensation Committee does not use consultants and lacks a charter, which is atypical but consistent with the Trust’s narrow scope and long-standing governance framework .
- Related-party exposure: FY2024 related-party transactions involved office reimbursements to the Managing Director at cost; no trustee-related transactions disclosed—no direct conflict flagged for Howard .
- Say-on-pay context: The Compensation Committee considers advisory vote outcomes in future decisions regarding the Managing Director’s compensation; the proxy requests a “FOR” advisory vote and schedules the next vote at the 2025 Annual Meeting .