Fairholme Capital Buys Stakes in AIG

Bruce Berkowitz, the head of Fairholme Capital Management who was named Morningstar Inc.'s domestic stock mutual fund manager of the decade, said Monday that he has bought "significant" stakes in American International Group Inc. shares, convertible debt and bonds.

Berkowitz's mutual funds and managed accounts now own more than 13 million shares of the bailed out insurer and "hundreds of millions of dollars of the debt," he said in a telephone interview.

Fairholme began acquiring the securities in the second half of 2009 "as we started to see cash flows of AIG turn positive," Berkowitz said. "It is still a good company with a good global brand." Berkowitz said he has not disclosed the stakes in public reports.

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Wealth management
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