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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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In the Matter of COLUMBIA MANAGEMENT ADVISORS, INC. AND COLUMBIA FUNDS DISTRIBUTOR, INC., Respondent. |
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ORDER INSTITUTING ADMINISTRATIVE AND CEASE-AND-DESIST PROCEEDINGS, MAKING FINDINGS, AND IMPOSING REMEDIAL SANCTIONS AND A CEASE-AND-DESIST ORDER PURSUANT TO SECTION 8A OF THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, SECTIONS 15(b) AND 21C OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, SECTIONS 203(e) AND 203(k) OF THE INVESTMENT ADVISERS ACT OF 1940 AND SECTIONS 9(b) AND 9(f) OF THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 |
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") deems it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act"), Sections 15(b) and 21C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act"), Section 203(k) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ("Advisers Act") and Sections 9(b) and 9(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("Investment Company Act") against Columbia Funds Distributor, Inc. ("Columbia Distributor"); and that public administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant to Sections 203(e) and 203(k) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ("Advisers Act") and Sections 9(b) and 9(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("Investment Company Act") against Columbia Management Advisors, Inc. ("Columbia Advisors").
In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, Columbia Advisors and Columbia Distributor each has submitted an Offer of Settlement (collectively, the "Offers") which the Commission has determined to accept. Solely for the purpose of these proceedings and any other proceedings brought by or on behalf of the Commission, or to which the Commission is a party, and without admitting or denying the findings herein, except as to the Commission's jurisdiction over them and the subject matter of these proceedings, Respondents consent to the entry of this Order Instituting Administrative and Cease-and-Desist Proceedings, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions and a Cease-and-Desist Order Pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act of 1933, Sections 15(b) and 21C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Sections 203(e) and 203(k) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and Sections 9(b) and 9(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("Order"), as set forth below.
On the basis of this Order and Respondents' Offers, the Commission finds1 that:
1. From at least 1998 through October 2003, Columbia Advisors and some of its predecessor entities (AColumbia Advisors@), the investment adviser to over 140 of the mutual funds in the Columbia mutual fund complex (the "Columbia Funds"), and Columbia Distributor, the principal underwriter and distributor of those funds, violated antifraud provisions of the securities laws by allowing certain preferred customers to engage in short-term or excessive trading, contrary to the restrictions and/or representations set forth in the Columbia Funds' prospectuses, that was detrimental to Columbia Funds but benefited respondents without disclosing these trading arrangements to fund shareholders or to fund trustees.
2. During this period, Columbia Distributor entered into arrangements with at least nine companies and individuals, allowing them to engage in frequent short-term trading in at least seven Columbia Funds, including international funds and a fund aimed at young investors. The aggregate trading that occurred totaled hundreds of millions of dollars. In some cases, Columbia Distributor required investors who wished to engage in frequent short-term trading in certain funds to place long-term or "sticky" assets in other funds. After entering into these arrangements, the nine companies and individuals engaged in frequent short-term or excessive trading in at least sixteen different Columbia Funds. In addition to trading made pursuant to these specific arrangements, Respondents allowed or failed to prevent hundreds of other accounts from engaging in a practice of short-term or excessive trading in a broad range of funds. They failed to prevent employees of their parent corporation, FleetBoston, and affiliated entities, from engaging in frequent trading in Columbia Funds through Fleet's 401(k) plan. Such short-term and excessive trading benefited Columbia Advisors and Columbia Distributor, by increasing management fees and distributor compensation, but posed risks for investors in the funds in which short-term trading was allowed. In breach of its fiduciary duty, Columbia Advisors knew and approved of all but one of the short-term trading arrangements, and allowed the arrangements to continue.
3. Throughout the relevant period, the Respondents never disclosed to the long-term shareholders or to the independent trustees of the Columbia Funds the special arrangements they made with these short-term or excessive traders and the potential harm these arrangements posed to the relevant Columbia Funds. The Respondents also did not disclose the resulting conflicts of interest these arrangements created between Columbia Advisors and its clients.
4. Many of these arrangements and the trades made pursuant to them, as well trades that were the result of a practice of short-term and excessive trading Respondents allowed or did not prevent, were directly contrary to representations Respondents made in fund prospectuses that the funds did not permit short-term or excessive trading. In some other cases, the short-term trading pursuant to the arrangements and otherwise was contrary to prospectus representations that the funds in question would allow no more than three or four exchanges or telephone exchanges per fund per year.
5. By increasing assets under management, the trading arrangements increased the advisory fees earned by Columbia Advisors, and the trading arrangements increased the compensation paid to Columbia Distributor. By placing their own interest in generating compensation from short-term or excessive trading above the interests of long-term shareholders to whom this trading posed a risk of harm, and by failing to disclose these arrangements and trading and the conflicts of interest they created, Respondents engaged in fraudulent conduct and Respondent Columbia Advisors breached its fiduciary duty to act at all times in the best interests of the Columbia Funds' shareholders.
6. Columbia Advisors, an Oregon corporation, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia Management Group Inc., which during the relevant period was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fleet National Bank, which was a subsidiary of FleetBoston Financial Corporation ("Fleet"). Fleet during that period was a publicly owned holding company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Columbia Advisors has been an investment adviser registered with the Commission since 1969. In connection with its purchase of Liberty Financial Group ("Liberty") in November 2001, Fleet acquired various Liberty fund groups and investment advisers. In April 2003, most of these entities were merged with Fleet Investment Advisors Inc. into Columbia Advisors. Columbia Advisors serves as the investment adviser to approximately 140 mutual funds in the Columbia family of funds ("Columbia Funds"). Throughout the relevant time period, shares of Columbia Funds were continuously offered and sold to the public.
7. Columbia Distributor, a Massachusetts corporation, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia Management Group, Inc. Columbia Distributor has been a broker-dealer registered with the Commission since 1992. It acts as the principal underwriter and distributor for the Columbia Funds and certain other mutual funds. Before Fleet acquired Liberty in November 2001, the entity was known as Liberty Funds Distributor, Inc. ("Liberty Distributor").
8. The Columbia Funds are a group of funds whose advisers are now controlled by Fleet. This group includes several funds (e.g., the Newport and Stein Roe fund groups) that were managed by subsidiaries of Liberty until late 2001, when certain management assets of Liberty were acquired by Fleet. By September 2003, the names of most of the fund groups managed by Fleet affiliates had been changed so that almost all were uniformly referred to by the name Columbia.
9. Market timing includes (a) frequent buying and selling of shares of the same mutual fund or (b) buying or selling mutual fund shares in order to exploit inefficiencies in mutual fund pricing. Market timing, while not illegal per se, can harm other mutual fund shareholders because it can dilute the value of their shares, if the market timer is exploiting pricing inefficiencies, or disrupt the management of the mutual fund's investment portfolio and can cause the targeted mutual fund to incur costs borne by other shareholders to accommodate frequent buying and selling of shares by the market timer.
10. During the relevant period, the Columbia Funds made certain prospectus disclosures relating to market timing. From 1998 through 2000, the prospectuses for some of the Columbia Funds contained disclosures stating that generally shareholders would be limited in the number of exchanges or telephone exchanges they could make during a given year.
11. In the Fall of 2000, a number of the Columbia Funds then advised by subsidiaries of Liberty began including in their respective prospectuses the following disclosure (the "Prohibition"):
The Fund does not permit short-term or excessive trading in its shares. Excessive purchases, redemptions or exchanges of Fund shares disrupt portfolio management and increase Fund expenses. In order to promote the best interests of the Fund, the Fund reserves the right to reject any purchase order or exchange request particularly from market timers or investors who, in the advisor=s opinion, have a pattern of short-term or excessive trading or whose trading has been or may be disruptive to the Fund. The funds into which you would like to exchange may also reject your request.
12. By the Spring of 2001, the rest of the Columbia Funds belonging to Liberty began including the Prohibition in their prospectuses. Columbia Advisors retained this disclosure language upon Fleet's acquisition of Liberty, and in early 2002, adopted the same disclosure for most of the funds that had been advised by subsidiaries of Fleet prior to the acquisition. In the Spring of 2003, Columbia Advisors amended the Prohibition language in certain of the prospectuses to make clear that other funds distributed by Columbia Distributor similarly reserved the right to reject trade requests from market timers or investors with a pattern of short-term or excessive trading.
13. During the period from at least 1998 until Summer 2003, Columbia Distributor managers entered into at least nine arrangements with investment advisers, hedge funds, brokers and individual investors allowing them to engage in frequent trading in particular mutual funds. All but one of these investors made multiple "round trips" per month (each round trip consisting of a purchase and subsequent sale of some or all of the purchase amount, or an exchange into the fund followed by an exchange out of the fund of some or all of the initial exchange amount) and some made hundreds of round trips during this approximately six-year period, resulting in up to $142 million in assets at one time being present in the funds pursuant to these arrangements, and in total round trip activity (purchases, sales and exchanges) pursuant to these arrangements of over $5 billion. Further, a substantial portion of this trading was directly contrary to the prospectus disclosure for the funds in which it occurred.
14. From April 2000 through October 2002, Ilytat, L.P., a San Francisco hedge fund, and its affiliates ("Ilytat") made almost 350 round trips in seven international Columbia Funds. A substantial number of these trades were made pursuant to an arrangement with Columbia Distributor approved by Columbia Advisors, which allowed Ilytat to engage in frequent and short-term trading in the Newport Tiger Fund (the "Newport Tiger Fund"), an Asian equity fund.
15. Through 2000 and early 2001, the prospectus for the Newport Tiger Fund noted that "[s]hort-term ‘market timers' who engage in frequent purchases and redemptions can disrupt the Fund's investment program and create additional transaction costs that are borne by all shareholders." Starting in May 2001, the prospectus included the Prohibition representation.
16. Notwithstanding the language in the prospectus, Columbia Distributor, with the approval of the Newport Tiger Fund's portfolio manager, allowed Ilytat, which it identified as a market timer, to enter into an arrangement under which Ilytat was to place $20 million in the Newport Tiger Fund, with two-thirds of that amount to remain static and one-third to be actively traded. Neither the portfolio manager nor any other employee of Columbia Advisors or Columbia Distributor conducted any analysis to determine whether shareholders of the fund would be harmed by Ilytat's transactions. According to internal calculations for the Newport Tiger Fund, Ilytat made purchases or exchanges totaling over $133 million in the fund in 2000 and redeemed $104 million. Further, during the first five months of 2001, Ilytat's purchases or exchanges accounted for $72 million out of the $204 million in total purchases made by all investors in the Newport Tiger Fund. During the same five-month period, Ilytat made redemptions totaling $60 million.
17. Beginning in October 2000, the portfolio manager for the Newport Tiger Fund began to express concern about Ilytat's trading in the fund and repeatedly wrote to the co-president of Columbia Distributor expressing his concern about Ilytat=s trading activity and the harm that this trading activity could cause to the fund and its investors. By June 2000, the head of Columbia Advisors became concerned that Ilytat appeared to be making weekly trades of $7 million in and out of the Newport Tiger Fund. Notwithstanding these concerns, Ilytat was allowed to continue trading in the Newport Tiger Fund until September 2002. During the 30 months from April 2000 to September 2002 during which it actively traded in the Newport Tiger Fund, Ilytat made almost 90 round trips in amounts of up to $13 million. This activity included over 30 round trips during the period from May 2001 through September 2002, when the fund's prospectus contained the Prohibition representation.
18. From September 1998 through October 2003 Ilytat also traded extensively in multiple other Columbia funds, including the Acorn International Fund (making at least 73 round trips); the Acorn International Select Fund (making at least 60 round trips); the Stein Roe International Fund (making over 80 round trips in a three-month period); the Newport International Equity Fund (making approximately 19 round trips during a five-month period) and the Columbia International Equity Fund (making at least 10 round trips). Over 50 of the round trips in these funds took place after the funds had adopted the Prohibition.
19. From January 2000 through September 2003, Ritchie Capital Management, Inc. ("Ritchie"), a hedge fund manager, traded frequently in two Columbia Funds: the Newport Tiger Fund (during January 2000 through October 2002) and the Columbia Growth Stock Fund (formerly the Stein Roe Advisor Growth Stock Fund) ("Growth Stock Fund"), a large cap fund, during June 2002 through September 2003.
20. Ritchie made most of its trades in the Newport Tiger Fund. During the period from January 2000 through April 2001, notwithstanding the language in the fund's prospectus (set forth in paragraph 15 above) regarding the potential harm caused by short-term market timers, Ritchie made over 150 round trips. In addition, from May 2001 through September 2002, Ritchie made over 100 trades in the Newport Tiger Fund even though the prospectus included the Prohibition representation during this period.
21. In 2001, a Senior Vice President of Columbia Distributor met with Ritchie=s principals and discussed the possibility of Ritchie placing Along-term@ assets in a fixed income fund Ato offset their activity in Tiger." At the time, Ritchie's $52 million position in the Newport Tiger Fund accounted for nearly 10% of the fund's $525 million in assets.
22. In early 2002, Ritchie began negotiating with Columbia Distributor an arrangement to actively trade the Growth Stock Fund, which by then included the Prohibition disclosure in its prospectus. Ritchie=s initial proposal was to place up to $200 million in the fund (which at that time had a total asset value of approximately $776 million), with the ability to trade up to half of that amount every day. Columbia Distributor countered with a proposal to keep 90% of the investment in place for 90 days, with no limit on trades of the remaining 10%. Columbia Advisors= portfolio manager for the fund was aware of these negotiations and supported Ritchie's proposal. In June 2002, Ritchie began trading in the Growth Stock fund, making five round trips in two months in amounts of up to $7 million.
23. In early 2003, Ritchie entered into a "sticky-asset" arrangement with Columbia Distributor under which it agreed to place $20 million in the Growth Stock Fund, trade up to $2 million at a time with no limits on the number of trades per month, and place another $10 million in the Columbia Short Term Bond Fund as a Astatic@ (non-trading) asset. The portfolio manager for the Growth Stock Fund approved the arrangement, and the co-president of Columbia Distributor knew of and acquiesced in it. Neither the portfolio manager nor any other employee of Columbia Advisors or Columbia Distributor conducted any analysis to determine whether shareholders of these funds would be harmed by the transactions. Overall, pursuant to its arrangements with Columbia Distributor and contrary to Columbia Advisors' Prohibition representation in the fund's prospectus, Ritchie made approximately 18 round trips in the Growth Stock Fund from June 2002 through September 2003.
24. During late 2002 and early 2003, entities controlled by Edward Stern ("Stern") negotiated trading arrangements with Columbia Distributor through two intermediaries. In early 2003, Epic Advisors, on behalf of Stern=s Canary Investment Management firm, entered into an arrangement with Columbia Distributor, approved by its National Sales Manager, under which Stern entities agreed to make investments in three funds (the Columbia Growth & Income Fund, the Columbia Select Value Fund, and the Growth Stock Fund), totaling $37 million. Despite the fact that Columbia Advisors had included the Prohibition disclosure in the prospectus for each of these three funds, the arrangement permitted Stern entities to make three round trips per month in each fund. Stern was permitted to make one or two round trips in each account in March and early April. Thereafter, no more orders were received and Columbia Advisors placed "stops" on the accounts which prevented further trading in the accounts.
25. In late 2002 or early 2003, Stern also entered into an arrangement with Columbia Distributor pursuant to which he placed $5 million in the Columbia High Yield Fund (the "High Yield Fund"), a high-yield bond fund. Despite the fact that Columbia Advisors had included the Prohibition disclosure in the prospectus for the High Yield Fund, Stern was permitted to make one round trip each month in the fund. The portfolio manager for the High Yield Fund approved the arrangement. During the period from November 2002 through July 2003, Stern made seven round trips in an average amount of $2.5 million.
26. In or around April 1999, Daniel Calugar ("Calugar") reached an arrangement with Columbia Distributor allowing him to place up to $50 million in the Columbia Young Investor Fund ("Young Investor Fund"), a fund targeting investments by children with an "educational objective to teach children about mutual funds," and the Growth Stock Fund, with permission to make one round trip per month using his entire position. The portfolio manager for the Growth Stock Fund, as well as Columbia Distributor's Managing Director of National Accounts and one of its Senior Vice Presidents, approved the arrangement. Neither the portfolio manager nor any other employee of Columbia Advisors or Columbia Distributor conducted any analysis to determine whether shareholders of these funds would be harmed by Calugar's transactions.
27. In 2000, Calugar, on average, made more than one round trip every trading day in various of the Columbia Funds. Throughout the year, Calugar made over 200 round trips in the Young Investor Fund, placing trades of up to $2.3 million at a time, and during the four-month period from January 2000 through April 2000, he also made at least 13 round trips in the Stein Roe International Fund.
28. During the period from January 2000 through February 2001, Calugar also made nearly 70 round trips in the Growth Stock Fund, placing trades of up to $4 million at a time. Throughout 2000 and into January 2001, he also made approximately 20 round trips in the Newport International Equity Fund, in amounts of up to $6.6 million.
29. In late 2000, Columbia Distributor, with the approval of its Co-President, entered into a "sticky-asset" arrangement with Sal Giacalone ("Giacalone"). Under the arrangement, which was approved by the head of the Newport Fund Group at the time, Giacalone was allowed to make four round trips per month of up to $15 million in the Newport Tiger fund. In return, Giacalone was required to place $5 million in Along term assets@ in Acorn Funds. Neither the head of the Newport Fund Group nor any other employee of Columbia Advisors or Columbia Distributor conducted any analysis to determine whether shareholders of the fund would be harmed by Giacalone's transactions.
30. Notwithstanding the supposed terms of his arrangement and the language in the prospectus discussing the potential harm caused by short-term market timers, Giacalone made a total of 43 round trips in the Newport Tiger Fund during six months of trading from November 2000 through April 2001. During the first two months of 2001 alone, Giacalone made at least 30 round trips in amounts of up to $4.7 million.
31. In late 1998, Columbia Distributor entered into an arrangement with D. R. Loeser ("Loeser"), a registered investment adviser, allowing Loeser to make five round trips per month of up to $8 million in the Growth Stock Fund. A Senior Vice President of Columbia Distributor, the President of the Stein Roe fund complex, which managed the Growth Stock Fund at that time, and the Growth Stock Fund portfolio manager all approved this arrangement. Neither these individuals, nor any other employee of Columbia Advisors or Columbia Distributor conducted any analysis to determine whether shareholders of the fund would be harmed by Loeser's trading.
32. During the first five months of 2000, Loeser made approximately 20 round trips in the Growth Stock Fund and another 20 round trips in the Young Investor Fund.
33. Beginning in 1999, Signalert, a registered investment adviser, began trading in Columbia Funds under arrangements with Columbia Distributor. Initially, Signalert was allowed to invest $7.5 million in the Growth Stock Fund and $7.5 million in the Young Investor Fund, with the ability to make up to 10 round trips annually in each of these two funds. Under the arrangement, Signalert was also to place $5 million in each of six other funds, trading just once a quarter.
34. Columbia Distributor senior management later sought to increase the size of Signalert's investments. In late 1999, as part of a "sticky-asset" arrangement, Signalert agreed to place an additional $10 million in the Growth Stock and Young Investor funds, and to invest and maintain other assets in a money market fund, thereby allowing Columbia Advisors to generate a management fee from those assets. In return, Columbia Distributor allowed Signalert to make up to 12 round trips per year in each fund. The portfolio manager for the Growth Stock Fund, who was also the co-manager for the Young Investor Fund, approved this arrangement. Neither the portfolio manager nor any other employee of Columbia Advisors or Columbia Distributor conducted any analysis to determine whether shareholders of these funds would be harmed by Signalert's trading.
35. During the first 11 months of 2000, notwithstanding the supposed terms of the arrangement, Signalert made over 60 round trips in the two funds, one every one to two weeks. Overall, during the period 2000-2001, Signalert made more than 50 round trips in the Growth Stock Fund and approximately 50 round trips in the Young Investor Fund. Moreover, as of February 2001, Columbia Advisors had represented by way of the Prohibition disclosures in the prospectuses for these funds that short-term or excessive trading would not be permitted. Yet, from February 2001 through August 2001, Signalert made 20 round trips in the Young Investor Fund. It also made over 20 round trips in the Growth Stock Fund from February 2001 through December 2001.
36. Signalert also began trading in four additional funds: the Stein Roe Income Fund (a bond fund), the Acorn Fund (a small to mid cap fund), the Galaxy Equity Value Fund (a large cap fund), and the Galaxy Growth & Income Fund. Despite the fact that the Stein Roe Income Fund and the Acorn Fund each included the Prohibition representation in their prospectuses, Signalert made eight round trips in the Stein Roe Income Fund, all in the month of November 2001, and at least 15 round trips in the Acorn Fund during the period from March 2001 through February 2003. In addition, notwithstanding the fact that the two Galaxy funds generally limited investors to three exchanges per year, Signalert made approximately 23 round trips in the Galaxy Equity Value Fund and more than 25 round trips in the Galaxy Growth & Income Fund in a period of less than a year, from February 2001 through January 2002.
37. During late 2002, Columbia Distributor entered into a "sticky-asset" arrangement with American Express, which was acting on behalf of investor Alan Waldbaum ("Waldbaum"). Under the arrangement, his account was allowed to make 10 round trips per year in the Columbia Tax Exempt Fund ("Tax Exempt Fund"), a municipal bond fund, if he moved less than $5 million each time and always kept $2 million in the fund. The arrangement was approved by the portfolio manager for the Tax Exempt Fund.
38. At the time, the prospectus for the Tax Exempt Fund included Columbia Advisors' Prohibition representation. Notwithstanding this representation, Waldbaum made 10 round trips in the Tax Exempt fund from November 2002 through October 2003.
39. By early 2000, Tandem Financial ("Tandem"), an investment adviser, entered into an arrangement with Columbia Distributor, which was approved by its Senior Vice President. The arrangement permitted Tandem to make an unlimited number of trades in one or more of the Columbia Funds. Overall, pursuant to this arrangement, during the period from February 2000 through September 2003, Tandem made more than 100 round trips in the Tax Exempt Fund.
40. During 2000, Tandem made approximately eleven round trips in the Tax-Exempt Fund. Starting in April 2001, the prospectus for the Tax Exempt Fund prospectus included the Prohibition disclosure. Despite the disclosure, Tandem made 106 round trips during the period from April 2001 through September 2003.
41. From January 1998 to October 2003, the number of purchases matched with sales in accounts trading in the Columbia Funds totaled over 44,000 matches. During this period, thousands of non-omnibus accounts made two or more round trips in the Columbia Funds in amounts of $100,000 or more. Approximately 270 of these accounts each made over 21 round trips. In the non-omnibus accounts, there were altogether over 22,300 round trips during the period and the omnibus accounts also made numerous round trips.
42. Several Columbia Advisors portfolio managers (including those for the Growth Stock Fund, the Newport Tiger Fund, the High Yield Fund, the Young Investor Fund, and the Tax Exempt Fund, one of whom was also the Chief Investment Officer for International Equities), knew of and acquiesced in one or more of the arrangements described above, allowing excessive or short-term trading of their own funds, even though these arrangements were often contrary to the express representations in the funds= prospectuses. In addition, the senior executive at a predecessor to Columbia Advisors responsible for the predecessor's advisory activity during the period from 1998 through late 2001 was aware of at least one of these arrangements.
43. Respondents never disclosed to investors or to the independent trustees of the Columbia Funds the arrangements described above or the trading in the funds that took place pursuant to the arrangements.
44. Some of the Columbia Funds' portfolio managers and a number of Columbia Distributor senior executives and senior executives responsible for Columbia Advisors' advisory activity during the period from 1998 to 2003, knew that short-term or excessive trading caused potential or actual harm and disruption to the Columbia Funds. For example:
45. In November 2002, the boards of trustees of funds managed by Wanger Asset Management, L.P., a subsidiary of Columbia Management Group, approved the implementation of a 2% redemption fee in connection with its international funds. In December 2002, the board of trustees of funds managed by Columbia Advisors approved the implementation of a 2% redemption fee in connection with its international funds. The redemption fees were designed to curb frequent trading activities in the funds.
46. On January 31, 2003 a senior executive of Columbia Advisors sent an e-mail to the executive who headed the entity responsible for monitoring fund trading, stating: "I found out a week ago, in casual conversation . . . that severer[sic] Fleet employees who use the international funds in our own 401k arb the fund. FYI." He advised one Fleet employee to cease such trading. The executive who received this information was also a director of Columbia Distributor, an officer of Columbia Advisors and a trustee of several Columbia Funds. Neither the executive nor any other individual at Columbia Advisors, Columbia Distributor, or their affiliates took any action to investigate or halt such trading in shares held in the 401(k) plan. In February 2003, Columbia international funds began imposing a 2% redemption fee. After February, 2003, Liberty International Equity Fund was no longer in the Fleet 401(k) plan.
47. Notwithstanding the concerns raised about the impact this excessive or short-term trading was having on the relevant Columbia Funds, Columbia Advisors and Columbia Distributor continued to allow, and/or failed to prevent, such trading.
48. Columbia Distributor recognized its obligation to act consistently with fund disclosure prohibiting short-term or excessive trading, and professed to want to prevent short-term or excessive traders from investing in the Columbia Funds. In fact, however, in connection with the arrangements referenced above, on multiple occasions, Columbia Distributor executives and employees blocked efforts to halt their clients= trading activity. For example:
49. Both Columbia Advisors and Columbia Distributor benefited directly from the short-term trading arrangements. Because Columbia Advisors received advisory fees based on the total assets under management in the funds for which it acted as adviser, it served Columbia Advisors= financial interest to obtain the largest possible investment in a fund. Indeed, in an e-mail in 2000, a Managing Director of Columbia Distributor set forth certain guidelines for entering short-term trading arrangements requiring, inter alia, that the investor place non-trading assets in Columbia Funds, to ensure "a constant management fee income."
50. Columbia Distributor earned revenue and its executives were compensated in whole or in part based on the total amount of assets they caused to be invested in the funds. As a result, it was also in Columbia Distributor's financial interest to do what was necessary to persuade short-term traders to place money in the funds.
51. Columbia Advisors generally maintained as confidential information concerning the specific securities owned by Columbia funds, and their weighted value. Except at semi-annual intervals, Columbia did not disclose this information to the public. In a February 2002 e-mail, sent to an individual identified by Fleet as an employee of its Denver call center, a member of Columbia's compliance department stated that "it is our policy not to provide information on fund holdings to individual shareholders or potential investors unless it is information that we have already made public." However, Columbia Advisors through portfolio managers and Columbia Distributor, with the approval of senior managers, provided material non-public portfolio holdings information to various entities. One of the entities that received non-public portfolio holdings information was Ilytat. From at least August 2000 through at least July 2002, it received such non-public portfolio holdings information for at least eight funds. Knowledge of Columbia's portfolio holdings would enable Ilytat or others to engage in hedge transactions involving a fund and the underlying securities it held. In response to a written inquiry from the Commission's Office of Compliance Inspection and Examinations in September 2003, a senior executive of Columbia Advisors represented in writing that "We have not yet identified any deviations from policies as applied to the transmission of non-public information with respect to a Fund's portfolio holdings." In January 2004, Columbia Advisors informed the Commission staff that Columbia Advisors and Columbia Distributor had transmitted non-public fund portfolio holdings information. Between January and July 2004, Columbia Advisors and Columbia Distributor supplemented that response with additional information about transmittals of non-public portfolio holdings information of certain funds to Ilytat and others.
52. Senior executives of Columbia Advisors and Columbia Distributor were aware that these entities did not have a consistent policy or practice with respect to disclosure of fund portfolio holdings and related information. In late 2001, Columbia's legal department expressed concern about the practice of portfolio holdings disclosure. Columbia Distributor managers continued to provide such information, but agreed to follow the legal department's recommendation to provide the following language if such information was disclosed: "By accepting this information, you acknowledge that it is provided to you on a confidential basis and is not to be distributed to any shareholder of the funds or to any person other than the recipient and is not to be used for any purpose other than the purpose you have expressly discussed with us." However, on multiple occasions after that agreement, non-public portfolio holdings information was provided without such language.
53. As a result of the conduct described in Section III above, Columbia Advisors willfully violated Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Acts in that Columbia Advisors, while acting as an investment adviser, employed devices, schemes, or artifices to defraud clients or prospective clients; and engaged in transactions, practices, or courses of business which operated or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon clients or prospective clients. Specifically, Columbia Advisors permitted short-term and excessive trading, contrary to the prospectus disclosure for the funds traded. In addition, Columbia Advisors breached its fiduciary duty to the Funds when it failed to disclose to the fund boards or shareholders the conflicts of interest created when it placed its own interest in accepting market timing money to generate fees above the interests of long-term shareholders, who were harmed by market timing.
54. As a result of the conduct described in Section III above, Columbia Distributor willfully aided and abetted and caused Columbia Advisors' violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. Columbia Distributor knew or was reckless in not knowing that its negotiation of arrangements allowing short-term or excessive trading would aid and abet or contribute to Columbia Advisors' violations by rendering the fund prospectuses issued by Columbia Advisors materially misleading, and would cause Columbia Advisors to breach its fiduciary duty to act in the interest of fund shareholders.
55. As a result of the conduct described in Section III above, Columbia Advisors and Columbia Distributor willfully violated Section 17(d) of the Investment Company Act and Rule 17d-1 thereunder, in that, while acting as principals, they participated in and effected transactions in connection with joint arrangements in which the funds were participants without filing an application with the Commission and obtaining a Commission order approving the transactions. These provisions are designed to prevent abuses arising from conflicts of interest between an investment company and any affiliated person of the investment company. As an affiliated person and as the principal underwriter, respectively, of the Columbia Funds, which are registered investment companies, Columbia Advisors and Columbia Distributor effected transactions in which they were joint participants with the Funds. They caused certain Funds to enter into joint transactions whereby some funds agreed to accept market timing investments (to their detriment) in return for the placement of long-term assets in other affiliated funds. The Funds' participation in the market timing arrangements was on a basis less advantageous than Respondents' participation, because Columbia Advisors earned fees and Columbia Distributor received payments for "sticky" money placed in non-timed funds, in exchange for allowing timing activity in other funds that could be harmful to those funds. The funds in which timing activity was allowed received no benefit from these "sticky asset" arrangements. Respondents failed to obtain an exemptive order from the Commission for these joint transactions, as required by Rule 17d-1.
56. As a result of the conduct described in Section III above, Columbia Advisors willfully violated, and Columbia Distributor willfully aided and abetted and caused violations of, Section 34(b) of the Investment Company Act. Columbia Advisors made untrue statements of a material fact or omitted to state facts necessary in order to prevent statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, from being materially misleading in registration statements or other documents filed with the Commission. From 2001, Columbia's prospectuses included the statement that "The Fund does not permit short-term or excessive trading in its shares." These prospectuses were materially misleading. Columbia Advisors prepared and repeatedly filed the materially misleading registration statements and prospectuses with the Commission. Columbia Distributor aided and abetted Columbia Advisors' violations of Section 34(b) in that it knew that the statements filed with the Commission were inaccurate and failed to correct those statements, allowing further misleading filings to be made.
57. As a result of the conduct described in Section III above, Columbia Advisors willfully violated Section 204A of the Advisers Act in that it, while acting as an investment adviser, failed to establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed, taking into consideration the nature of such investment adviser's business, to prevent the misuse of material, nonpublic information by such investment adviser or any person associated with such investment adviser, by releasing material, nonpublic information concerning the funds' portfolio holdings to one or more timers in the funds.
58. As a result of the conduct described in Section III above, Columbia Distributor willfully violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, in that it directly and indirectly, in the offer or sale of securities by the use of the means or instruments of transportation or communication in interstate commerce or by the use of the mails: (a) acting knowingly or recklessly, employed devices, schemes or artifices to defraud; (b) obtained money or property by means of untrue statements of material fact or omissions to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; or (c) engaged in transactions, practices or courses of business which operated as a fraud or deceit upon purchasers of the securities. Columbia Distributor offered and sold shares of the Columbia Funds using prospectuses that contained materially misleading statements. As discussed above, a number of Columbia Distributor's senior executives knew of and participated in arrangements under which Columbia Funds allowed certain shareholders to engage in short-term and excessive trading. They knew or were reckless in not knowing that these arrangements were not disclosed in the prospectuses for the funds, and, in or after 2001, that the arrangements were directly contrary to the fund prospectus disclosure, which represented that the funds did not permit short-term or excessive trading.
59. As a result of the conduct described in Section III above and specifically the conduct described in paragraph 58 above, Columbia Distributor willfully violated Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, in that it directly or indirectly, in connection with the purchase or sale of securities, by the use of means and instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or of the mails, or a facility of a national securities exchange: (a) employed devices, schemes or artifices to defraud; (b) made untrue statements of material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and (c) engaged in acts, practices, or courses of business which operated as a fraud or deceit upon certain persons.
60. As a result of the conduct described in Section III above, Columbia Distributor willfully violated Section 15(c) of the Exchange Act, by effecting transactions in, or inducing or attempting to induce, the purchase or sale of securities (other than on a national securities exchange of which it was a member) by means of a manipulative, deceptive, or other fraudulent device or contrivance.
61. In determining to accept the Offers, the Commission considered the following2 efforts voluntarily undertaken by the Columbia Funds:
62. In determining to accept the Offers, the Commission further considered the following undertakings by Respondents: Ongoing Cooperation: Respondents shall cooperate fully with the Commission in any and all investigations, litigations or other proceedings relating to or arising from the matters described in the Order. In connection with such cooperation, Respondents have undertaken:
63. Compliance and Oversight Structure. Respondent Columbia Advisors shall maintain a compliance and ethics oversight infrastructure having the following characteristics:
64. Respondent Columbia Distributor shall maintain a compliance and ethics oversight infrastructure having the following characteristics:
65. Independent Compliance Consultants.
66. Periodic Compliance Review. Commencing in 2006, and at least once every other year thereafter, Respondents shall undergo a compliance review by a third party, who is not an interested person, as defined in the Investment Company Act, of Respondents. At the conclusion of the review Respondents shall require the third party to issue a report of its findings and recommendations concerning Respondents' supervisory, compliance, and other policies and procedures designed to prevent and detect breaches of fiduciary duty, breaches of the Code of Ethics and federal securities law violations by Respondents and their employees in connection with their duties and activities on behalf of and related to the Columbia Funds advised by Columbia Advisors (in the case of Columbia Advisors) and funds distributed by Columbia Distributor (in the case of Columbia Distributor). Each such report shall be promptly delivered by Respondents to the Internal Compliance Controls Committee of Columbia Advisors or Columbia Distributor; and to the Compliance or Audit Committee of the board of trustees of each Columbia Fund advised by Columbia Advisors (in the case of Columbia Advisors) and funds distributed by Columbia Distributor (in the case of Columbia Distributor).
67. Independent Distribution Consultant. Respondents shall retain, within 10 days of the date of entry of the Order, the services of an Independent Distribution Consultant not unacceptable to the staff of the Commission and the independent trustees of the Columbia Funds. The Independent Distribution Consultant's compensation and expenses shall be borne exclusively by Respondents. Respondents shall cooperate fully with the Independent Distribution Consultant and shall provide the Independent Distribution Consultant with access to their files, books, records, and personnel as reasonably requested for the review. Respondents shall require that the Independent Distribution Consultant develop a Distribution Plan for the distribution of the total disgorgement and penalty ordered in paragraph IV. below, and any interest or earnings thereon, according to a methodology developed in consultation with Respondents and the independent trustees of the Columbia Funds and acceptable to the staff of the Commission.
68. Excess Recovery. If Respondents, in their own right, recover in respect of the actions set forth in this order an amount, after fees and expenses, in excess of the aggregate amount paid by Respondents for the benefit of the Funds or their shareholders (exclusive of any portion of the civil penalty that is paid for the benefit of the Funds or their shareholders), then the excess amount shall be paid to the Commission for distribution as contemplated by paragraph 67 above.
69. Certification. No later than twenty-four months after the date of entry of the Order, the chief executive officer of each Respondent shall certify to the Commission in writing that Respondent has fully adopted and complied in all material respects with the requirements set forth in paragraphs 63 through 68 of this section and with the recommendations of the Independent Compliance Consultants or, in the event of material non-adoption or non-compliance, shall describe such material non-adoption and non-compliance.
70. Recordkeeping. Respondents shall preserve for a period not less than six years from the end of the fiscal year last used, the first two years in an easily accessible place, any record except electronic mail as set forth below, of Respondents' compliance with the undertakings set forth in paragraphs 63 through 68 of this section. Respondents shall preserve for a period not less than three years from the end of the fiscal year last used, the first two years in an easily accessible place, any electronic mail record of Respondents' compliance with the undertakings set forth in paragraphs 63 through 68 of this section.
71. Deadlines. For good cause shown, the Commission's staff may extend any of the procedural dates set forth above.
In view of the foregoing, the Commission deems it appropriate and in the public interest to impose the sanctions specified in Respondents' Offers.
Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED, effective immediately, that:
A. Pursuant to Section 203(e) of the Advisers Act, Columbia Advisors is hereby censured.
B. Pursuant to Section 15(b)(4) of the Exchange Act, Columbia Distributor is hereby censured.
C. Pursuant to Section 203(k) of the Advisers Act and Section 9(f) of the Investment Company Act, Respondent Columbia Advisors shall cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Sections 204A, 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act and Sections 17(d) and 34(b) of the Investment Company Act and Rule 17d-1 thereunder.
D. Pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act, Section 21C of the Exchange Act, Section 203(k) of the Advisers Act and Section 9(f) of the Investment Company Act, Respondent Columbia Distributor shall cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, Sections 10(b) and 15(c) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act and Sections 17(d) and 34(b) of the Investment Company Act and Rule 17d-1 thereunder.
E. Respondents shall pay, within 20 days of the entry of the Order, on a joint and several basis, $70,000,000 in disgorgement plus a civil money penalty of $70,000,000, for a total payment of $140,000,000.
1. Such payment shall be: (a) made by wire transfer, United States postal money order, certified check, bank cashier's check or bank money order; (b) made payable to the Securities and Exchange Commission; (c) wired, hand-delivered, or mailed to the Office of Financial Management, Securities and Exchange Commission, Operations Center, 6432 General Green Way, Stop 0-3, Alexandria, VA 22132; and (d) submitted under cover letter that identifies Columbia Advisors and Columbia Distributor as Respondents in these proceedings, a copy of which cover letter, wire transfer instruction, money order, or check shall be sent to David P. Bergers, Associate District Administrator, Securities and Exchange Commission, Boston District Office, 73 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02108.
2. There shall be, pursuant to Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, a Fair Fund established for the funds described in Section IV.E. Regardless of whether any such Fair Fund distribution is made, amounts ordered to be paid as civil money penalties pursuant to this Order shall be treated as penalties paid to the government for all purposes, including all tax purposes. To preserve the deterrent effect of the civil penalty, Respondents agree that they shall not, in any Related Investor Action, benefit from any offset or reduction of any investor's claim by the amount of any Fair Fund distribution to such investor in this proceeding that is proportionately attributable to the civil penalty paid by Respondents ("Penalty Offset"). If the court in any Related Investor Action grants such an offset or reduction, Respondents agree that they shall, within 30 days after entry of a final order granting the offset or reduction, notify the Commission's counsel in this action and pay the amount of the Penalty Offset to the United States Treasury or to a Fair Fund, as the Commission directs. Such a payment shall not be deemed an additional civil penalty and shall not be deemed to change the amount of the civil penalty imposed against Respondents in this proceeding. For purposes of this paragraph, a "Related Investor Action" means a private damages action brought against a Respondent by or on behalf of one or more investors based on substantially the same facts as set forth in the Order in this proceeding.
F. Respondents shall comply with the undertakings set forth in paragraphs 63 through 70 above.
G. Other Obligations and Requirements. Nothing in this Order shall relieve Respondents or any Columbia Fund of any other applicable legal obligation or requirement, including any rule adopted by the Commission subsequent to this Order.
By the Commission.
Jonathan G. Katz
Secretary
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/33-8534.htm
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