Brian S. Hook

About Brian S. Hook

Brian S. Hook, 55, serves as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Adams Natural Resources Fund (PEO) and ADX, having been CFO since March 20, 2012 and Vice President since March 19, 2013; he previously served as Treasurer (2009–2023) and Assistant Treasurer (2008–2009) . Prior roles include Vice President and Senior Manager at T. Rowe Price and business assurance manager at Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P. . Fund performance context under his financial leadership: the Fund’s 2024 total return on NAV was 5.3% (benchmark 4.6%), with market price total return of 13.8% .

Fund Performance

Past Roles

External Roles

• No current external directorships or committee roles disclosed for Hook in the proxies .

Fixed Compensation

Notes:

• Officers participate in a tax-qualified Employee Thrift Plan with 100% match up to 6% of base salary and cash incentive, plus a discretionary contribution up to 6%; an Executive Nonqualified Supplemental Thrift Plan covers contributions beyond IRS limits .
• Proxies do not disclose base salary level, target bonus %, or actual bonus payouts by executive .

Performance Compensation

• Cash incentive plans exist and are reviewed/approved by the Compensation Committee, but specific performance metrics, weightings, targets, or payouts for Hook are not disclosed in proxies .
• No active equity incentive plan granting RSUs/PSUs/options; the 2005 Equity Incentive Compensation Plan expired in 2015, and all grants vested prior to 2019 (remaining deferred units pertain to directors, not executives) .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• Stock ownership guidelines: the CEO, portfolio managers, research analysts, and other executive officers must own a value of Fund Complex equity (PEO/ADX) with a cost basis equal to a multiple of salary; directors must own at least $100,000 by cost basis within 5 years. Specific multiple for executives is not disclosed and individual compliance status is not provided .
• No disclosures regarding pledging or hedging restrictions for executives; none reported in proxies .

Employment Terms

• Section 8-K Item 5.02 filings about executive appointments/amendments referencing Hook: none found (2022–present) [ListDocuments returned 0 results for 8-K 5.02].
• Severance provisions, change-of-control triggers (single/double trigger), non-compete/non-solicit, garden leave, consulting arrangements, clawback specifics, and tax gross-ups: not disclosed in the available proxies .

Governance and Committees (context)

• Compensation Committee oversees salaries and cash incentive plans; charter available on website . Audit Committee engages PwC; officers filed Section 16 reports timely in 2023 .

Investment Implications

• Alignment: Hook’s compensation appears primarily cash-based with retirement/deferred components; absence of ongoing equity grants reduces equity-linked alignment, though ownership guidelines and personal share ownership provide some alignment signal (Hook holds 10,728 shares as of 12/31/2024) .
• Retention/contract clarity: Lack of disclosed severance/change-of-control terms limits visibility into retention risk and potential payout asymmetry; no 8-Ks indicate recent contract changes [ListDocuments 8-K 5.02=0].
• Selling pressure: With no active equity grant programs and limited disclosure on hedging/pledging, insider selling pressure likely tied to personal holdings and thrift plan elections; proxies confirm timely Section 16 compliance but do not list transactions—monitor Form 4s for signal.
• Performance linkage: Committee-governed cash incentives exist, but without disclosed metrics/targets, pay-for-performance assessment is constrained; nonetheless, the Fund outperformed its benchmark on NAV in 2024 (5.3% vs. 4.6%), suggesting operational discipline under current executive team .