The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC (AGI US) and three former senior portfolio managers with a massive fraudulent scheme that concealed the immense downside risks of a complex options trading strategy they called “Structured Alpha.”
AGI US marketed and sold the strategy to approximately 114 institutional investors, including pension funds for teachers, clergy, bus drivers, engineers, and other individuals. After the COVID-19 market crash of March 2020 exposed the fraudulent scheme, the strategy lost billions of dollars as a result of AGI US and the portfolio managers’ misconduct. AGI US has agreed to pay billions of dollars as part of an integrated, global resolution, including more than $1 billion to settle SEC charges and together with its parent, Allianz SE, over $5 billion in restitution to victims.
“Allianz Global Investors admitted to defrauding investors over multiple years, concealing losses and downside risks of a complex strategy, and failing to implement key risk controls,” said SEC chair Gary Gensler. “The victims of this misconduct include teachers, clergy, bus drivers, and engineers, whose pensions are invested in institutional funds to support their retirement. This case once again demonstrates that even the most sophisticated institutional investors, like pension funds, can become victims of wrongdoing. Unfortunately, we’ve seen a recent string of cases in which derivatives and complex products have harmed investors across market sectors. The Commission stands ready to use all appropriate tools to protect investors, including upholding prohibitions against certain activities by the guilty parties. I’d like to thank and commend our staff for their excellent forensic work that uncovered this fraud and held the wrongdoers accountable.”
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the federal district court in Manhattan, alleges that Structured Alpha’s Lead Portfolio Manager, Gregoire Tournant, orchestrated the multi-year scheme to mislead investors who invested approximately $11 billion in Structured Alpha, and paid the defendants over $550 million in fees. It further alleges that, with assistance from co-lead portfolio manager, Trevor Taylor, and portfolio manager, Stephen Bond-Nelson, Tournant manipulated numerous financial reports and other information provided to investors to conceal the magnitude of Structured Alpha’s true risk and the funds’ actual performance.
Defendants reduced losses under a market crash scenario in one risk report sent to investors from negative 42.1505489755747% to negative 4.1505489755747% — by simply dropping the single digit. In another example, defendants “smoothed” performance data sent to investors by reducing losses on one day from negative 18.2607085709004% to negative 9.2607085709004% — this time by cutting the number 18 in half.
When the 2020 COVID-related market volatility revealed that AGI US and the defendants had misled investors about the fund’s level of risk, the fund suffered catastrophic losses and investors lost billions; the defendants all the while profited from their deception. The complaint further alleges that Tournant, Taylor, and Bond-Nelson then made multiple, ultimately unsuccessful, efforts to conceal their misconduct from the SEC.
AGI US admitted that its conduct violated the federal securities laws and agreed to a cease-and-desist order, a censure and payment of $315.2 million in disgorgement, $34 million in prejudgment interest, and a $675 million civil penalty, a portion of which will be distributed to certain investors, with the amount of disgorgement and prejudgment interest deemed satisfied by amounts it paid to the US Department of Justice as part of an integrated, global resolution. In a parallel criminal proceeding, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges for similar conduct against AGI US, Tournant, Taylor, and Bond-Nelson. As part of the parallel criminal proceeding, AGI US, Taylor and Bond-Nelson have agreed to guilty pleas.