Hedge fund manager banned and fined £140,000

A ex-BlueBay hedge fund manager has been fined £140,000 and banned by the FSA for misleading investors and the regulator.

Simon Treacher, a senior fund manager for BlueBay Asset Management's Emerging Markets team, mis-marked broker quotes to fool investors into thinking his funds were more valuable than they really were.

Between August and October 2008, Treacher carefully cut out and pasted different figures onto seven original broker quotes used to value the assets in the funds he managed.

The deception resulted in an uplift in independent valuations by about $27m over three months. Investors were financially disadvantaged by $650,000 as a result.

BlueBay has compensated investors for any losses incurred, and the FSA says it makes no criticism of BlueBay in relation to the case.

Treacher also provided the FSA with misleading information about his conduct during its investigation.

However, due to agreeing to settle at an early stage in the investigation, Treacher qualified for a 30% reduction of his original penalty of £200,000. He no longer works for BlueBay.

Margaret Cole, director of enforcement and financial crime at the FSA, says: "Our actions in banning Simon Treacher and imposing a significant fine will send a powerful message of deterrence to others who might be tempted to behave in this way.

"His conduct, both in mis-marking the funds and his dealings with us as the regulator, lacked integrity."