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Comments issued by Fred Alger, President, Chairman of the Board Fred Alger Management, Inc. September 13, 2001

• Good Afternoon. My name is Fred Alger. It is with a great sense of sadness and a heavy heart that we are holding this call today in what is clearly the most tragic and horrific attacks this nation has ever experienced.
  
  
• A little over 48 hours ago, we witnessed events in New York and Washington which have had a profound effect on this nation and this firm.
  
  
• Each one of us at Fred Alger Management has been personally touched by the senseless and incomprehendable loss of family, friends and colleagues based at One World Trade Center.
  
  
• As you can imagine, from watching the heroic rescue efforts underway amidst the mountains of rubble, we now know that 36 of the 55 New York colleagues who worked in the World Trade Center remain unaccounted for, including my brother, David. Two of our employees, who we believed were lost, called in today and will report to work. We are still hopeful for the safety of other colleagues.
  
  
• We are doing everything we can to determine if any of our missing employees are being cared for in local hospitals. We are also doing what we can to be supportive to families of employees who anxiously await any news of their loved ones.
  
  
• For those of you who live outside of New York, the City is just beginning to get back to some semblance of normalcy. Even while everything remains closed, from 14th Street to the Battery downtown, medical and rescue teams continue their work.
  
  
• I would like to thank you for your many expressions of compassion and sympathy during this time of loss.
  
  
• I very much appreciate all of you participating in this conference call on such quick notice. But we, here, felt, in spite of our loss, a desire to communicate with you on a number of fronts.
  
  
• First, I want to convey to you the status of the firm.
  
  
• As you probably know by now, I have reassumed leadership of the firm on a full-time basis and will, with Dan Chung, Chief Investment Officer, and a core nucleus of research analysts, be responsible for the day-to-day management of the assets. We are extremely fortunate to be able to draw on their experience and talents.
  
  
• We presently have $15 billion in all of our accounts under management. Of the 208 stocks that we own in our portfolios, we have active models on each and every one. In fact, 88 percent of the money under management is under direct coverage by surviving members of our team. Allocation decisions between large cap, mid cap and small cap will be made on the basis of capitalization size. In essence, then, you our clients, will have two experienced money managers working on your account full time.
  
  
• Additionally, a number of former senior alumni have contacted us over the last two days. We expect to be rehiring some of them as early as next week.
  
  
• Like most other management firms around the country, we will draw upon the talents of the Wall Street analyst community to the extent that we do not have coverage of industry sectors.
  
  
• And finally, some years ago, following the first bombing of the World Trade Center, I determined it was important to create a comprehensive backup and support capability outside of New York City. We have located this capability in Morristown, NJ. It is a complete backup for all functions of the firm.
  
  
• I want everyone to know that all of our administrative, marketing, and fund pricing capabilities have, since 1980, been run out of our Jersey City office, which has nearly 160 employees. From a technological and systems standpoint, every account is intact and nothing is lost, which gives us, and I hope gives you, a great sense of comfort. Altogether, nearly 200 experienced employees are committed to continuing the excellence for which this firm has long stood.
  
  
• The second point I want to make is that, even in this time of crisis and with the losses we have sustained, everyone at Fred Alger both recognizes and wants you to know that we are ready to act on your behalf when the markets resume trading. Let me elaborate.
  
  
• First, as Chairman, I have continued to be active in the firm’s business, even as my brother David managed the firm. At 66, I am healthy, active, and still motivated and fascinated by the marketplace. You should know that my personal assets are managed by this firm and will continue to be managed by this firm. So I have much at stake as well.
  
  
• Second, on a temporary basis, we will operate out of Morristown, New Jersey, as well as our Jersey City office. We will re-establish New York offices as soon as possible. Our phone number for Morristown is: 973-401-4100. Our 800 number is 800-223-3810.
  
  
• The third point I want to convey to you is that we are already planning how to rebuild the firm over the interim and longer term, to further strengthen the firm in the wake of these events.
  
  
• As you may well know, we have had enormous success in hiring some of the best and brightest people and both training and home growing them. This has been one of the historic principles upon which we have operated. We have every reason to believe this philosophy will work for us going forward and, as I have said, we have already begun the process.
  
  
• Finally, we will remain true to the historic investment philosophy that has served us and our clients well for nearly four decades. Accordingly, we are doing and will do everything within our power to continue to earn your trust and, as I have mentioned, will spare no expense or resource toward this objective.

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Mitteilung von Christopher C. Davis (PDF; 162 KB)

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