SEC Charges New York-Based Private Equity Fund Advisers with Misleading Investors about Valuation and Performance

The SEC charged two investment advisers at Oppenheimer & Co. with misleading investors about the valuation policies and performance fees of private equity funds under their management. The funds managed by Oppenheimer were, in turn, invested in other funds. Although the Oppenheimer funds' quarterly reports and marketing materials stated that valuations were based on the underlying managers' estimated values, the funds' largest investment was significantly marked up from that estimated value, which, in turn, artificially inflated the funds' performance, alleged the SEC.

See: SEC Order (links externally to SEC website).
See also: Press Release.