Allianz Global Investors U.S., the U.S.-based asset management arm of German insurer Allianz SE, has settled charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission that the firm and three former senior portfolio managers conducted what the SEC called “a massive fraudulent scheme” that cost investors more than $5 billion in losses.
The scheme involved a trading strategy called “Structured Alpha,” which used complex options trading to earn returns for investors. However, the perpetrators of the scam did not reveal the potential immense downside risks of this trading strategy to investors. In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused markets to crash, the losses were dramatic. Approximately 114 institutional investors bought the investment product and paid more than $550 million in fees, according to the SEC press release.
“This case once again demonstrates that even the most sophisticated institutional investors, like pension funds, can become victims of wrongdoing,” said SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in the commission’s release. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen a recent string of cases in which derivatives and complex products have harmed investors across market sectors.”
Allianz Global Investors 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, according to the…
