SEC-PR-2024-187

SEC Charges Ken Leech, Former Co-Chief Investment Officer of Western Asset Management Co., with Fraud – Defendant allegedly engaged in cherry-picking, allocating hundreds of millions of dollars in net first-day gains and losses to favored and disfavored portfolios, respectively

• Excerpt:  Washington D.C., Nov. 25, 2024 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against Stephen Kenneth (“Ken”) Leech, the former co-chief investment officer (CIO) of registered investment adviser Western Asset Management Company LLC or WAMCO, for engaging in a multi-year scheme to allocate favorable trades to certain portfolios, while allocating unfavorable trades to other portfolios, a practice known as cherry-picking.

• Agency:  SEC-PR-2411
• Categories: Cherry-Picking Allocations;  Fiduciary Duty
• Source:  https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024-187