ASA Managed Account Managers LLC (“MAM”) Background and Ownership
MAM, a Delaware limited liability company, was formed in 2008 to provide investment advisory services
to individual and institutional clients for the investment of client funds in municipal bonds, derivatives
and other fixed income strategies. Through discussions in which goals and objectives for the portfolio
are established, MAM develops a client’s investment strategy and creates and manages a portfolio
based on that strategy. The Managing Members of MAM are Robert D. Albright Jr., Roland A. Jacobus,
Timothy W. Stevens and Susan P. Peters.
TF Managers LLC (“TF”) Background and Ownership
TF, a Delaware limited liability company, was formed in 2012 to serve as the General Partner and
Investment Adviser to Transitional Funding Partners L.P., a private investment fund offered to
subscribers who are “Accredited Investors” under Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and “Qualified Clients” under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. The
Managing Members of TF are Robert D. Albright Jr., Roland A. Jacobus, Timothy W. Stevens and Susan P.
Peters.
ASA Managed Account Managers LLC and TF Managers LLC (collectively, “ASA”) are affiliated with each
other due to common control and operational integration.
Affiliated Businesses
Alternative Strategy Advisers LLC (“ALT”), a Delaware limited liability company, was formed in 2001 to
sponsor and provide administrative services to various investment advisers actively participating in the
fixed income markets generally, and the municipal market specifically. ALT provides such services to
ASA. In addition, ALT may provide administrative services to Occum Partners LLC, a private investment
company. ALT may, from time to time, form additional investment advisers and partnerships to pursue
investment strategies it perceives to be attractive. These strategies may be similar to strategies
currently employed by ASA but are also likely to include new strategies as well. The Managing Members
of ALT are Robert D. Albright Jr., Roland A. Jacobus, Timothy W. Stevens and Susan P. Peters.
A description of the education and qualifications of the managing members of the businesses outlined in
this section is provided below.
Key Personnel
ASA relies on the following key personnel to advise clients and operate and manage its investment
advisory businesses:
Robert D. Albright Jr.
Mr. Albright is a Managing Member and Portfolio Manager of ASA and has over 30 years of
professional experience in equity and fixed income trading, portfolio management, and risk
management. Mr. Albright was a founding Managing Member of ALT in 2001, Occum Partners
LLC in 2007, and TF Managers LLC in 2012. Prior to 2001, Mr. Albright was a Senior Trader and
Desk Manager for Cargill Financial Services Corp. from 1991-1998 and then CEO of EW Blanch
Asset Management in 2000. Mr. Albright received his B.A. in Engineering Sciences from
Dartmouth College in 1989, an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota in
2001, and an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Minnesota in 2020. Mr. Albright also
received the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2001. Mr. Albright was born in 1967.
Roland A. Jacobus
Mr. Jacobus is a Managing Member and Portfolio Manager of ASA and has over 30 years of
professional experience in equity and fixed income trading, portfolio management, and risk
management. Mr. Jacobus was a founding Managing Member of ALT in 2001, Occum Partners
LLC in 2007, and TF Managers LLC in 2012. Prior to 2001, Mr. Jacobus was a Senior Trader for
Cargill Financial Services Corp. from 1987-1991 and a founder/partner of Eagle Capital
Management Inc. from 1991-1998. Mr. Jacobus received a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics
from Dartmouth College in 1987. Mr. Jacobus received the Chartered Financial Analyst
designation in 1998. Mr. Jacobus received an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of
Minnesota in 2017. Mr. Jacobus was born in 1965.
Timothy W. Stevens
Mr. Stevens is a Managing Member and Chief Financial Officer/Compliance Officer of ALT and is
a Managing Member of ASA. Stevens has over 20 years of experience including auditing,
accounting, finance, human resources, consulting, compliance and private fund operations.
From 1989–1993, Mr. Stevens was an auditor in the financial services practice group of the New
York office of Price Waterhouse. From 1993 to 1997, Mr. Stevens worked for Lehman Brothers
in both the New York and London offices where his experiences included performing various
middle office financial control and risk management functions with the proprietary trading,
international equity desks, and international fixed income desk. In 1997, Mr. Stevens joined
Jeffery Slocum & Associates, Inc. in Minneapolis as an Institutional Investment Consultant and
Director of Finance and Operations. From 2003–2004, Mr. Stevens was the Chief Financial
Officer of Highbar Capital Management LLC, an equity statistical arbitrage private investment
fund. Mr. Stevens joined ALT in 2005 and became a Managing Member in 2013. Mr. Stevens
received his B.A. in Economics from Princeton University in 1989 and an M.B.A. in Finance from
New York University in 1993. Mr. Stevens was born in 1966.
Susan P. Peters
Ms. Peters is a Managing Member and Chief Technology Officer of ALT and Managing Member
of ASA. Ms. Peters is also involved in the financing of ASA’s positions. Ms. Peters joined ALT in
2004 and became a Managing Member in 2015. Ms. Peters received her B.S. in
Computer
Science from the University of Minnesota in 2004 and her M.S. in Financial Mathematics at the
University of Minnesota in 2014. Ms. Peters was born in 1983.
Investment Philosophy and Strategy
ASA Managed Account Managers LLC (“MAM”)
MAM specializes in customizing fixed income portfolios for high-net-worth individuals and institutional
clients with the broad objective of maximizing total return while maintaining the client’s desired risk
profile. The manager’s specific area of expertise is the municipal bond market and related derivatives,
as well as US Government or Agency-backed securities and all related futures and OTC derivative rate
markets.
MAM employs a variety of investment strategies each tailored to meet its client’s investment objectives.
Clients provide MAM with investment constraints/criteria for their accounts including, but not limited
to, duration, credit quality, diversification, income and taxability. For clients who wish to be
‘opportunistic’, MAM has broad discretion to determine the investment strategy for the account.
Conversely, clients may customize their portfolios to very distinct sectors and risks within the municipal
market.
MAM may also implement "relative value" strategies in the municipal bond markets as well as the US
Treasury, Agency, Agency mortgage and related derivatives markets. Relative value discipline entails
scanning the markets in which MAM participate to identify cash flows that are cheap relative to other
similarly risky cash flows. For market neutral strategies, MAM identifies securities that have been
correlated and should remain correlated either on a very short or very long-term time horizon. MAM
monitors the relationships between these securities and seeks to understand and exploit mispricing
which occurs in the short term as a ‘market maker’ and in the longer term when structural dislocations
occur in the marketplace. By purchasing securities that are relatively cheap and selling securities that
are relatively rich, positive returns are generated as the securities converge to fair value. Similar
discipline is employed in “long-only” or “directional strategies” without implementing an offsetting
market or interest rate hedge.
Specific Investment strategies MAM employs may include, but are not limited to, the following:
Municipal Bonds
• Tax exempt money market securities and strategies designed to outperform traditional
tax-exempt money market alternatives
• Tax Exempt and Taxable Municipal Bond “long only” strategies
• Tax Exempt and Taxable Municipal Bonds vs. an Index Benchmark strategies
• Tax Exempt and Taxable Municipal Bonds vs. various interest rate hedges strategies
• Niche municipal markets: Housing, non-vanilla structures (zeros, convertible coupons,
floaters), ‘orphaned’ securities (fallen insurance, auction rate securities)
• Municipal Credit/High Yield
• Distressed property tax-backed bonds
• Municipal derivative basis, ratio trading, and correlation strategies
• Municipal CDS, Municipal Index (MCDX), and Corporate (IG) Index directional and
relative value trading
• Municipal closed-end fund trading
Taxable Bonds
• US Government or Agency money market securities and strategies designed to
outperform traditional money market fund alternatives
• Treasury/Agency Bonds
• Corporate Bonds
• Asset Backed Bonds
• Treasury/Agency/Corporate/Asset Backed Bonds vs. various interest rate hedges
• Relative value across US interest rate derivatives
• Option-related volatility strategies and hedging
• Mortgage TBAs vs. Agencies and Specified Pools
• Hi-quality CMBS, ABS, and related derivatives (CMBX)
Other
• Short-term, hi-frequency strategies
• Expertise in secured financing techniques and ISDA negotiations
• Expertise in transitional financing and distressed loan purchases
TF Managers LLC (“TF”)
TF is the General Partner and Investment Adviser of Transitional Funding Partners L.P. (the Partnership),
a private investment fund operating under a Limited Partnership Agreement governed by the laws of the
State of Delaware. The objective of the Partnership is to earn high levels of current income for its
investors by investing in collateralized, short-duration debt or debt-like instruments (such as bank loans,
hard money loans, preferred stock, municipal bonds, U.S. government receivables factoring, inventory
or equipment lending and leases, tax liens, etc.; collectively, “Loans”). The Partnership will lend only to
U.S.-headquartered businesses. TF intends to build a Loan portfolio for the Partnership that is diversified
geographically (within the United States), by borrower and by collateral type. Generally, all Loans will be
secured by mortgages, deeds of trust and/or tax liens. The Partnership will seek to make Loans to “non-
conventional” borrowers — i.e., smaller private companies or individuals without access to the capital
markets — secured by first lien mortgages on real property or other tangible assets. While ordinary
interest will be the primary source of income to the Partnership, there may be certain capital gains
options associated with the Partnership’s Loans — for example, “equity kickers,” including stock
warrants and options. The Partnership will not employ leverage in pursuing its investment objective.
Assets Under Management
As of March 25, 2024, ASA had approximately $1,879,335,000 in client assets under management on a
discretionary basis.