Fund Manager Gets Bail, Public Defender

Alan B. Bond, jailed in New York since last week on stock fraud charges, agreed to step down as a pension fund manager in order to obtain his release. He was expected to be freed after he and his family posted $1-million bond.

A federal magistrate appointed a public defender to represent Bond on charges he conducted an illegal “cherry-picking” scheme, in which he directed profitable trades to his own accounts and unprofitable ones to accounts he managed for three clients. After his arrest Thursday, a federal judge froze Bond’s assets.

Prosecutors agreed to a bail package that requires Bond to remain at his home in Montclair, N.J.; resign from his firm, Albriond Capital Management; and have no contact with clients. Bond, his wife, and his parents will post their homes as part of the $1-million bond.

Prosecutors say Bond’s personal account gained 5,487% between March 2000 and July 2001, growing to $6.5 million from $263,360. Three clients lost more than $56 million, authorities said.