WELLESLEY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--F-Squared Investments today announced a resolution of the previously disclosed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation. The Settlement Order is focused on the firm’s marketing and advertising of historical index performance data, for the period 2001 – 2008, which was based on information acquired from a third party in 2008.
F-Squared will pay a $5 million civil penalty and disgorge $30 million in profits to resolve the case. F-Squared has also agreed to retain the services of an independent compliance consultant it voluntarily hired at the beginning of 2014 for an additional nine months.
“We are pleased to put this matter behind us so that we can focus on our clients and continue to invest to ensure that our compliance, research, analytics and operational teams are best-in-class,” said Laura Dagan, Chief Executive Officer, F-Squared. “We greatly appreciate the continued support of our clients who have maintained confidence in F-Squared’s ability to deliver downside protection in down markets and upside participation in rising markets.”
F-Squared's primary objectives are to deliver strong risk-adjusted returns in rising markets and mitigate losses in substantially declining markets. Since F-Squared first had assets invested pursuant to the AlphaSector strategy in October 2008, the performance has been consistent with these expectations and the firm’s clients have seen the results in their portfolios.
Last month, F-Squared announced Dagan’s appointment as Chief Executive Officer. An industry veteran with nearly 30 years in the asset management industry, Dagan previously served as Chairman, and prior to that CEO, of Dwight Asset Management Company, a fixed income and stable value asset management firm. Dagan is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Institute, where she serves on the Standards of Practice Council.
Please visit http://f-squaredinvestments.com/resources/sec-settlement to view a video message from Dagan that provides further commentary on today’s announcement.
About F-Squared Investments
F-Squared Investments is a manufacturer of next-generation investment indexes based on its AlphaSector® and Portfolio Replication Technology capabilities. F-Squared seeks to deliver repeatable investment processes and solutions to help meet the financial goals of real investors. The firm's core values center on striving to protect investors from significant down markets by actively de-risking, while participating in rising markets. F-Squared serves clients in the advisor, institutional, retail and retirement markets. As of September 30, 2014, F-Squared affiliated entities had more than $28 billion in fee-generating assets. F-Squared Investments is based in Wellesley MA and Princeton NJ.