GAMCO Investors, Inc., formerly known as Gabelli Asset Management Company, is an American provider of investment advice and brokerage services to

mutual fund A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV i ...

s, institutional and select investors based in

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

. It was founded by and is majority owned by

Mario Gabelli Mario Joseph Gabelli (born June 19, 1942) is an American stock investor, investment advisor, and financial analyst. He is the founder, chairman, and Chief executive officer, CEO of GAMCO Investors, Gabelli Asset Management Company Investors (Gam ...

, who has cumulatively earned more than $750 million in compensation from the company.

History

The company was founded in 1976 to provide discretionary investment services to a broad spectrum of investors. In February 1999, the company held an

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

under the symbo
GBL
Per an agreement with the company upon its IPO, Mario Gabelli received 10 percent of its pretax profits in compensation. In August 2005, the company elevated the brand name 'GAMCO' from its asset management business to become the name of the entire company.

Lawsuits and Investigations

In 1992, Gabelli and GAMCO were under an investigation by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

that was later settled. In March 2006, a judge determined Mario Gabelli had unfairly prevented Frederick J. Mancheski, a long time investment partner, and David M. Perlmutter, Gabelli's former lawyer, from selling their shares in Gabelli Group Capital Partners at fair market value. In the settlement, Gabelli paid the couple $100 million that would amount to a total of 2.1 million GAMCO shares, then worth about $80 million, and more than $20 million in cash. Also in 2006, Gabelli faced a civil investigation from the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

as to whether he purposefully deceived the

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

when bidding to purchase segments of the wireless spectrum. The company, along with Gabelli, agreed to a settlement in June 2006. The company offered to settle an investigation by the

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

in exchange for $3 million in 2007.

References

External links

Official website
Financial services companies established in 1976 Companies based in Westchester County, New York Investment management companies of the United States Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange {{US-finance-company-stub