Romney sells stake in Fannie, Freddie

(Bloomberg) -- Mitt Romney is trying to put the contentious Republican primary campaign behind him — starting with his investments.

The party’s presumptive presidential nominee sold off his holdings in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-backed mortgage companies that became a flash-point in the primaries.

After attacking rival Newt Gingrich for accepting consulting fees from the two lenders, Romney came under fire for holding shares — and profiting — off the companies.

Romney reported owning between $100,101 and $250,000 in debt notes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in his financial disclosure forms filed last year. He earned between $5,001 and $15,000 in interest from those investments, according to the filing.

Those assets are in a blind trust managed by a trustee, not the candidate or his family.

Romney also reported owning between $250,001 and $500,000 in a mutual fund that invests in debt notes of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other government entities, investments that earned him between $15,001 and $50,000 in interest. That fund, unlike most of Romney’s holdings, is not in a blind trust and would have been among those known to Romney.

Ten months later, all of those investments have disappeared. In his newest financial disclosure statement released last week, Romney reported selling his holdings in the two Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities.

Read full article in Bloomberg