At Least 67 UK Alternatives Fund Managers Under Investigation

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Honesty, integrity and fair play are apparently outdated concepts for many financial managers today. In yet another in a never-ending string of stories about misconduct in the financial industry, according to an email sent out on Wednesday, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is investigating at least 67 fund managers or individuals for a variety of securities fraud related offenses.

The email message from the FCA notes that the ongoing investigations includes areas such as financial crime, integrity, market abuse and mis-selling.

Details on the UK investigation of fund managers

The UK’s FCA released the data regarding investigations into firms and individuals who fall within the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. The information was released in response to a Freedom of Information request by financial industry trade publication HFM, who shared it with Reuters.

AIFMD compliant managers are typically employed at hedge funds, private equity and real estate fund management firms.

Regulatory authorities in both the U.S. and the UK have been trying to crack down on market abuse, systems and control failures and other questionable practices at many firms in the financial services industry. The agencies argue they must do what they can to clean up the financial services sector and restore public faith in an industry blamed for creating most of the problems that led to the financial crisis.

To date, the regulatory crackdown has resulted in criminal convictions of fund managers including Julian Rifat, a former trader at Moore Capital, and Magnus Peterson, the founder of bankrupt hedge fund Weavering who was convicted of fraud sentenced to 13 years last month. That case stretches back to 2009, when Weavering was closed down and liquidated as it could not meet client requests for redemption of capital. According to court documents, the FCA estimated that investors lost at least $530 million due to Peterson’s criminal misrepresentations.

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