Third Avenue Management Announces the Appointment of Curtis Jensen as CIO

NEW YORK, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- David Barse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Third Avenue Management, announced today that Curtis Jensen has been appointed sole Chief Investment Officer, having shared the role with Third Avenue's founder, Martin J. Whitman, since February 2003. Mr. Jensen, Mr. Whitman's long-time protege, is also the portfolio manager of the Third Avenue Small-Cap Value Fund. The firm manages approximately $16 billion in assets for private and institutional clients.

Over the past decade, Mr. Whitman, the well-known and highly regarded value investor, has cultivated a team of hand-picked analysts, whom he mentored and trained to follow his strict value discipline. Mr. Jensen was Mr. Whitman's star student at the Yale School of Management. Mr. Whitman hired Mr. Jensen in 1995, after being impressed by his analytical skills demonstrated in a research paper he wrote for class.

Mr. Barse stated, "Curtis Jensen is uniquely qualified to lead the Third Avenue investment team. In his role as co-Chief Investment Officer, he has worked closely with Marty over the past seven years ensuring the integrity of Third Avenue's investment philosophy, and overseeing Third Avenue's research process. This included chairing the twice-weekly research meetings. Going forward, Mr. Jensen will continue to provide guidance to the 27 member investment team, in conjunction with Director of Research Yang Lie and other senior portfolio managers."

Mr. Whitman, who is 85 years old, will remain co-portfolio manager of the Third Avenue Value Fund. Mr. Jensen reiterated that there will be no changes in the way the firm or the portfolios are managed. Mr. Jensen stated, "We intend to continue our long-term practice of following the philosophy that Marty created and that so many excellent people here have helped him refine over the years."

About Third Avenue Management

Third Avenue Management LLC is a New York-based investment advisory firm that offers its services to private and institutional clients. Third Avenue adheres to a disciplined bottom-up value investment strategy, to identify investment opportunities in undervalued securities of companies with high quality assets, understandable businesses and strong management teams that have the potential to create value over the long term. Third Avenue Management has approximately $16 billion in assets under management and offers value-oriented strategies through mutual funds, UCITS, separate accounts and alternative investment vehicles.

SOURCE Third Avenue Management LLC