Uncle Sam Should Unload More AIG Shares

Banking, finance, and taxes

Published: August 14, 2012 2:25 pm

Last Updated: April 28, 2020 8:53 am

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) has managed to hold up exceptionally well since its last secondary offering held by the U.S. Treasury. We said it at the time of the offering that the market reaction was strong enough that the taxpayers could have sold more shares than what was sold. Could another share sale come sooner than expected?

The $5.75 billion offering was the best of the three government offerings if you consider how the market treated the sale. Taxpayers (or the Treasury) saw their percentage of ownership go down from about 61% down to about 53% on this last offering. After this offering, Uncle Sam has sold roughly 784 million common shares in AIG and it has received back some $23.3 billion since May of 2011.

CEO Robert Benmosche has proven to be a very capable leader for AIG. In fact, that makes him the taxpayer’s champion because the taxpayers are selling shares at a profit. What helped drive the gains in the shares was that AIG was actually buying shares directly to retire them.

The official sale was for 164 million shares and the price went off at $30.50 per share. Shares had closed at $31.34 the session before, but a 2.5% gain on Tuesday now has the stock up 2.6% at $33.97 so far today.

If the market will endorse it with this much enthusiasm, maybe Uncle Sam should too.

JON C. OGG

The Average American Has No Idea How Much Money You Can Make Today ^(Sponsor)

The last few years made people forget how much banks and CD’s can pay. Meanwhile, interest rates have spiked and many can afford to pay you much more, but most are keeping yields low and hoping you won’t notice.

But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying almost 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.

Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 4.00% with a Checking & Savings Account from Sofi. Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

¹https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps