Another mutual fund company continues to expand its institutional reach. On Tuesday Third Avenue Management revealed two new managing director hires, Erin Gilroy and Christopher Walsh, both on the sales and marketing side. Both Gilroy and Walsh report to Steven Johnson , who joined the New York-based Affiliated Managers Group subsidiary earlier this month as senior managing director of institutional sales.

Gilroy joins Third Avenue as a managing director responsible for developing institutional relationships. She most recently served as a relationship manager at Mondiale Partners Ltd., and has marketing experience at Bear Stearns and Stanfield Capital Partners.

As for Walsh, he now serves as managing director in charge of Third Avenue's defined contribution and subadvisory sales efforts. He joins Third Avenue from Phoenix Investment Partners, and brings with him over 20 years of specialized experience in the defined contribution area. Walsh has also held roles at CDC IXIS Asset Management North America, Fidelity Investments and Aetna Investment Services.

Third Avenue CEO David Barse praised the two new hires.

"We are fortunate to be able to expand our sales team with such experienced professionals as Chris and Erin," Barse stated. "We believe that they will help us to continue to provide excellent service to our existing customers and also establish new relationships with clients who share our value-oriented investment philosophy."

Gilroy and Walsh joined Johnson's team on Monday, bringing his institutional sales force to seven total.

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Company Press Release

May 19, 2009, New York, NY – Third Avenue Management LLC, an investment adviser to private and institutional clients, announced today that Christopher Walsh and Erin Gilroy have joined the firm as Managing Directors in the Marketing and Sales Department.

Mr. Walsh will be responsible for leading Third Avenue’s defined contribution and subadvisory sales efforts. Mr. Walsh has over 20 years of experience specializing in the defined contribution area, most recently at Phoenix Investment Partners. Earlier in his career, he held various roles at CDC IXIS Asset Management North America, Fidelity Investments and Aetna Investment Services. Mr. Walsh will report to Steven Johnson, who joined the firm earlier this month as Senior Managing Director of Institutional Sales.

Ms. Gilroy will also report to Mr. Johnson and will be responsible for cultivating institutional relationships. She joins Third Avenue from Mondiale Partners Ltd., where she most recently served as a relationship manager. Previously, Ms. Gilroy worked in marketing at Bear Stearns and Stanfield Capital Partners.

Commenting on the new hires, David Barse, Chief Executive Officer of Third Avenue Management stated, “Although the current market is challenging in many ways, it presents some unique opportunities for a firm like ours. We are fortunate to be able to expand our sales team with such experienced professionals as Chris and Erin. We believe that they will help us to continue to provide excellent service to our existing customers and also establish new relationships with clients who share our value-oriented investment philosophy.”

Mr. Johnson added, “I am excited to work with Chris and Erin and I believe Third Avenue has unique products that should be very attractive in the current environment. Now more than ever, I think that Third Avenue’s sound investment philosophy, transparency, and superior client communications will appeal to investors who want to protect and grow assets over the long term.”

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 $12 billion in assets under management and offers value-oriented strategies through mutual funds, UCITS, separate accounts and alternative investment vehicles.  

Edited by: Meredith Mazzilli


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