New Asset Managers Join TARP

Following an extensive evaluation process involving hundreds of applications, the Treasury selected AllianceBernstein LP, FSI Group, LLC, and Piedmont Investment Advisors, LLC to manage a $250bn portfolio under the troubled asset relief program (TARP). The assets to be managed are issued by banks and other institutions participating in the Capital Purchase Program and other similar programs under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. “By leveraging the professional experience and extensive resources of these investment management firms, the Treasury will ensure that the taxpayers’ assets are managed in a prudent and transparent manner,” said the Treasury in a press release Wednesday. The three firms will immediately begin providing asset management services to the Treasury, including valuing the government assets in the Capital Purchase Program, analyzing the ongoing financial condition of participating banks and evaluating their capital structure. The Treasury received over 200 submissions from interested firms. The firms selected come from the pool of applicants that have over $2 billion in assets under management. In addition to these three asset managers, the Treasury said it intends to hire a group of smaller asset managers from the pool of applicants with less than $2 billion in assets under management, in order to ensure a diversity of service providers. The Treasury anticipates completing this second round of selections in the next 2 months. Each of the agreements with the three firms is effective until April 20, 2014. Write to Kelly Curran at [email protected]. Disclosure: The author held no relevant investment positions when this story was published. Indirect holdings may exist via mutual fund investments.