Third Avenue Management Obtains Exemptive Relief for Focused Credit Fund

Third Avenue Management LLC ("Third Avenue" or the "Adviser"), an investment adviser to private and institutional clients, announced today that the Adviser and the Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund ("FCF") have obtained exemptive relief from the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") to continue to protect shareholders of FCF following modification of the Plan of Liquidation for FCF.

CBS 19 reports that, pursuant to those modifications, the Liquidating Trust has transferred FCF's assets and liabilities back to FCF, which now has an exemptive order suspending redemptions. Concurrently, the Board of Trustees of Third Avenue Trust (the "Board") canceled the distribution of interests in the Liquidating Trust. As a result of those actions, the securities portfolio as of December 10, 2015 is held by FCF, which is operating under the modified Plan of Liquidation. Shareholders will be able to see updated daily NAVs of the positions on their FCF shares in their statements, along with the total value of their investment

According to Wall Street Journal, the deal with the SEC means investors will continue to be blocked from withdrawing their investments in the fund and may not receive all their money back for months, if not more, as the fund slowly sells assets and returns cash.

But the investors, who are expected to receive a first cash payment today, now will be able to see updated, daily net-asset values for their holdings, something they wouldn't have been able to obtain had the assets remained in the trust. Third Avenue won't charge a management fee as the fund's assets are sold.

Bloomberg says that, Third Avenue said last week it was going to move assets from its credit fund to a liquidating trust after losses and redemptions left it unable to repay redeeming clients without resorting to fire sales. Clients would have gotten interests in the trust, but would not have been able to pull out cash until the assets were liquidated over time.

All shareholders will receive an initial cash distribution on December 16, 2015. Third Avenue will continue to manage the portfolio to obtain the best overall outcome for shareholders of FCF - namely, an orderly liquidation at prices most advantageous to shareholders. Third Avenue will not charge a fee while the portfolio is liquidated.

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 in order 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 offers value-oriented strategies through mutual funds, UCITS fund, separate accounts and alternative products.