industry financial services founded new york city new york u.s. 1939 headquarters 605 third avenue new york city key people george herbert walker iv chief executive officer products investment management mutual funds equities fixed income alternative investments aum 250 billion number of employees 2 150 2016 slogan serious investing since 1939 website www.nb.com neuberger berman is a private independent employee owned investment management firm . the firm manages equities fixed income private equity and hedge fund portfolios for global institutional investors advisors and high net worth individuals . 1 contents 1 overview 2 history 2.1 initial public offering 2.2 lehman brothers acquisition and bankruptcy 2.3 management buyout 2.4 independence and expansion 3 offices 4 philanthropy 5 corporate art collection 6 notable employees and alumni 7 see also 8 references 9 external links overview edit founded in 1939 2 neuberger berman is a privately held asset management firm which is 100 % 3 4 owned by its employees . the company provides investment management and financial planning fiduciary services and trust services to its clients . it serves pension plans charitable organizations sovereign wealth funds and other institutions as well as high net worth individuals and mutual fund investors both directly and through financial intermediaries and other partners . the firm has a broad range of investment capabilities which have enabled it to win numerous public strategic partnership mandates most notably from teacher retirement system of texas and the national social security fund of china . 5 known as a firm of investors the firm has maintained a 97 % retention rate among its senior investment teams since 2009 6 and has been recognized for its distinctive firm culture . 7 8 history edit neuberger berman was originally founded as neuberger & berman in 1939 by roy r. neuberger and robert berman . in the decades that followed its founding the firm s growth mirrored that of the asset management industry as a whole . its success in managing separate accounts led it to establish the guardian fund in 1950 one of the first no load mutual funds in the united states . today the firm s complex of open and closed end mutual funds includes other well known funds including century fund renamed large cap disciplined growth fund and genesis fund . in the 1960s the firm expanded into the management of pension plans and assets of other institutions . in 1979 the firm acquired the manhattan fund from cna financial . 9 initial public offering edit pre lehman bankruptcy logo after 60 years as a private firm in october 1999 neuberger berman conducted an initial public offering of its shares and commenced trading on the new york stock exchange under the ticker symbol neu . with the firm s ipo larry zicklin who had joined the firm in 1969 retired as chairman of its executive committee . he was succeeded as chief executive officer by jeffrey b. lane a former vice chairman of travelers group who had joined the firm in 1998 as chief administrative officer . 10 after this the firm embarked on a growth path by acquiring the fasciano fund 11 executive monetary management 12 oscar capital management 13 and the private asset management business of delta capital management 14 lehman brothers acquisition and bankruptcy edit in july 2003 shortly after the retired mr. neuberger s 100th birthday the company announced that it was in merger discussions with lehman brothers . these discussions ultimately resulted in the firm s acquisition by lehman on october 31 2003 for approximately 2.63 billion in cash and securities or approximately 26 times earnings . 15 that transaction closed in october 2003 and from that time until 2008 neuberger berman served as one of the asset management arms of lehman brothers investment management division . in that same year lehman acquired fixed income manager lincoln capital fixed income management and private equity manager crossroads group . 16 while owned by lehman the firm continued to grow and acquired other firms including sloate weisman murray and company h.a schupf & co. and david j. green & co. llc . 17 18 19 management buyout edit on september 15 2008 virtually unprecedented volatility in global securities markets resulted in lehman brothers collapse and bankruptcy filing . neuberger berman continued to operate notwithstanding lehman s bankruptcy and sought opportunities to spin itself off from its parent . new york city headquarters on third avenue . on september 29 2008 lehman agreed to sell its asset management businesses including neuberger berman to a pair of private equity firms bain capital partners and hellman & friedman . the transaction was expected to close in early 2009 ; 20 however a competing bid was entered by the firm s management who ultimately prevailed in a bankruptcy auction held on december 3 scuttling the deal with bain and hellman . 21 the firm spun itself off in may 2009 in a transaction recognized by fund industry intelligence as deal of the year . 22 lehman brothers creditors initially retained a 49 % common equity interest in the firm and a 875 million preferred equity stake . 21 with a coupon that climbed to 10 % over three years . the preferred equity position has also been fully repaid . 23 the new entity including neuberger lincoln capital and crossroads was named neuberger berman group llc . 24 under employee control larry zicklin rejoined the firm as a member of the board of directors . lehman brothers creditors have received over 1.5 billion from the employees of neuberger berman dwarfing the proceeds paid by barclays and nomura for businesses representing 90 % of lehman brothers employees . 25 independence and expansion edit since its reemergence as an independent firm neuberger berman has enjoyed a period of sustained growth . the firm increased its assets under management 14 % per year from 2010 to 2014 26 reaching 250 billion 27 which placed the firm at the top of its peer group by asset growth . 28 the firm currently employs approximately 2 000 people 29 and has expanded beyond its traditional equity focus into the growing areas of emerging markets debt 30 high yield bonds 31 liquid alternatives and private equity 32 33 among other strategies . during this period the firm expanded its global presence adding coverage offices in key asia pacific markets and elsewhere to be closer to a growing overseas client base . 34 the end of 2014 marked neuberger berman s return to full employee ownership highlighting the firm s independence and clearing the path for future growth . 35 36 employee ownership has been recognized by industry leaders as a key factor in the success of asset management firms and neuberger berman s position as an employee owned firm is cited as a reason for its high talent retention rate . 37 in addition the firm was named by pensions & investments a best place to work in money management in 2013 2014 and 2015 . 38 39 40 offices edit the firm is headquartered in the neuberger building located at 605 third avenue in new york city an emery roth and sons designed building built by fisher brothers . in addition the firm has approximately 16 other offices in key countries around the world . regional headquarters are in hong kong london and tokyo and has additional primary portfolio management centers in atlanta chicago dallas the hague and singapore . 41 the firm has been in its current headquarters since consolidating its 522 fifth avenue and madison avenue locations in 1992 . in may 2014 the company announced that it will move its headquarters to vornado realty trust s tower at 1290 avenue of the americas in midtown manhattan . the move is scheduled for late 2016 . 42 philanthropy edit collectively neuberger berman s philanthropic efforts are called nb impacts . nb impacts includes both employee community service and the grant making actions of the neuberger berman foundation . 43 the neuberger berman foundation offers grants focusing on at risk children youth educational programs and economic sustainability . 44 45 46 47 neuberger berman conducts an annual week long program in the spring called celebration with service which holds community service events in the cities where the firm has offices . 43 48 49 for its 75th anniversary year in 2014 the firm s celebration with service supported 75 volunteer projects worldwide . 43 since 2012 nb impacts has deployed more than 4 500 volunteers to work with over 5 000 youth and 800 senior citizens and also includes approximately 2 000 volunteer hours spent on improving parks and community spaces . 43 50 through the years some of the programs neuberger berman has been involved in are the y 51 homes for heroes 52 per scholas 53 c cap 54 new york city service 55 56 and habitat for humanity . 57 corporate art collection edit contemporary art in the workplace has been part of neuberger berman s corporate culture since 1939 when renowned collector roy neuberger co founded the investment firm . 58 in 1990 the firm began developing its own art collection . 59 60 the firm s corporate art collection was absorbed into the lehman brothers collection but neuberger berman repurchased many of them when the collection was sold at auction in 2010 . 61 today the neuberger berman collection supports the work of contemporary artists prominently displaying their work in the firm s hallways reception areas and meeting rooms . 58 the collection creates a stimulating and enriching environment for both employees and visitors . notable employees and alumni edit larry zicklin roy r. neuberger jeffrey lane 62 george herbert walker iv joe amato 63 brad tank 64 erik knutzen 65 marvin schwartz 66 gary kaminsky 67 david didomenico 68 jennifer fleiss see also edit lehman brothers bankruptcy references edit neuberger berman commemorates firm s 75th anniversary with annual celebration with service institutional investor neuberger berman rises from the ashes new york times dealbook a chief delivers neuberger berman from the shadow of lehman pensions & investments neuberger berman employees put a bow on buyback institutional investor neuberger berman rises from the ashes neuberger berman completes mbo from lehman pensions & investments best places to work 2013 pensions & investments best places to work 2014 funding universe law.com lehman brothers neuberger berman neuberger berman to acquire investment advisor to small cap blend fund ; fasciano fund will expand neuberger berman s mutual fund offerings neuberger berman to acquire executive monetary management highbeam pr newswire neuberger berman to acquire private asset management business from delta capital management thomas landon jr. 2003 07 23 . market place ; lehman to buy neuberger berman for 2.6 billion . nytimes.com . retrieved 2008 08 30 . institutional investor neuberger berman rises from the ashes businesswire.com portfolio management team sloate weisman joins neuberger berman inc acquires ha schupf co neuberger berman intrinsic value a neuberger berman sold for 2.15 b september 29 2008 a b http www.nytimes.com 2008 12 04 business 04lehman.html managers win auction for a part of lehman fund industry intelligence 2009 deal of the year http fortune.com 2012 09 26 how to survive a wall street meltdown https www.nb.com myp nb pub 24771 nsp c h b q splashpage.html userid 3u37lqa1240953042000 http www.institutionalinvestor.com article 3307496 neuberger berman rises from the ashes.html ny times dealbook a chief delivers neuberger berman from the shadow of lehman neuberger berman corporate website ny times dealbook a chief delivers neuberger berman from the shadow of lehman neuberger berman corporate website neuberger berman hires emerging market debt team from ing neuberger berman picks senior portfolio manager for global bonds neuberger berman adds former carlyle mezzanine head susan kasser institutional investor neuberger berman rises from the ashes bloomberg neuberger berman boosts assets in east asia ny times dealbook pensions & investments neuberger berman employees put a bow on buyback fundfire neuberger puts lehman dark days in the past