Third Avenue Management announced Monday that Martin Whitman, one of the company’s co-founder, has stepped down from his role as co-CIO.
Curtis Jensen, who is referred to as Whitman’s protégé in a Jan. 4 press release, will take over as the sole CIO at the firm. He currently shares the duties with Whitman.
Jensen originally joined Third Avenue in 1995. In 2003, he was named co-CIO, and currently manages the Third Avenue Small-Cap Value Fund.
“Curtis Jensen is uniquely qualified to lead the Third Avenue investment team,” president and CEO David Barse said in the statement. “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."
Meanwhile, Whitman will continue as co-manager of the Third Avenue Value Fund.
Third Avenue is based in New York City and services private and institutional clients. The value-oriented firm has roughly $16 billion in assets under management.
