Announcement of the Formation of a Blind Trust To Manage the President's Personal Assets

The President has formed a blind trust under the Ethics in Government Act, as amended, to handle and invest his personal assets during his Presidency.

Under the arrangements, his investments, other than his ranch in Santa Barbara, Calif., and his personal residence in Pacific Palisades, Calif., have been converted to cash and will be placed in trust to be managed by an independent trustee, without his knowledge of the investments or control over them. His Pacific Palisades home has been placed on the market for sale, and it is contemplated that some or all of the proceeds from the sale of the home will also be placed in the blind trust.

The purpose for the trust is to allow an independent trustee to invest, manage, and control the President's assets without knowledge by the President of the investments of the trust, in order to avoid even the possibility of an appearance of any conflict of interest in the performance of his duties. The President will receive no information concerning the investments made by the trustee except periodic reports concerning the value of the assets in the trust and the income of the trust. The form of the trust and the selection of trustee has been approved by the Office of Government Ethics, to whom the trust agreement was submitted.

The trustee selected by the President is Raymond J. Armstrong, president of Starwood Corp., a New York-based, registered investment firm. Mr. Armstrong's firm manages investment portfolios for a variety of individuals and family groups and provides supervision and advice to charitable foundations, pension and profit-sharing plans, insurance companies, and other fiduciary accounts.