As previously discussed in our third quarter 2005 earnings press release, fourth quarter 2005 operating profit was expected to decrease from the fourth quarter 2004 due to lower income from management fees earned on preferred shares issued by our closed-end funds and fulcrum fees from institutional accounts. However, the decline in fourth quarter 2005 operating profit was less than anticipated as a result of strong investment performance in our equity portfolios focused on absolute returns, during December 2005, despite a decline in most U.S. equity indices during the month. As expected, our fourth quarter 2005 results also benefited from a rise in investment income from higher interest rates, as compared to the prior year quarter. In anticipation of this higher income, the company added significantly to its investment professional team as well as to its administrative staff.

Equity assets under management were $26.0 billion on December 31, 2005 versus $26.7 billion on December 31, 2004. Overall, assets under management were $26.8 billion on December 31, 2005 versus $28.7 billion at the end of 2004.

GAMCO Investors, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manages assets of private advisory accounts (GAMCO), mutual funds and closed-end funds (Gabelli Funds, LLC), and partnerships and offshore funds (Investment Partnerships).

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Our disclosure and analysis in this press release contain some forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations or forecasts of future events. You can identify these statements because they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning. They also appear in any discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions, future performance of our products, expenses, the outcome of any legal proceedings, and financial results. Although we believe that we are basing our expectations and beliefs on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of what we currently know about our business and operations, there can be no assurance that our actual results will not differ materially from what we expect or believe. Some of the factors that could cause our actual results to differ from our expectations or beliefs include, without limitation: the adverse effect from a decline in the securities markets; a decline in the performance of our products; a general downturn in the economy; changes in government policy or regulation; changes in our ability to attract or retain key employees; and unforeseen costs and other effects related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations. We also direct your attention to any more specific discussions of risk contained in our Form 10-K and other public filings. We are providing these statements as permitted by the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We do not undertake to update publicly any forward-looking statements if we subsequently learn that we are unlikely to achieve our expectations or if we receive any additional information relating to the subject matters of our forward-looking statements.