Pequot Capital Management

Pequot Capital Management
Company typePrivate
IndustryHedge fund, Private Equity
Founded1998
FounderArthur J. Samberg[1]
HeadquartersWestport, Connecticut, United States
Key people
John J. Mack (prior)

Pequot Capital Management was a multibillion-dollar hedge fund sponsor that closed in 2010. The firm's investment funds invested in a range of markets through a variety of strategies. The firm invested in public equities as well as private equity, venture capital, distressed securities, and various other fixed income securities. The firm closed in 2010 following allegations of insider trading.

History

Pequot was founded in 1998 by Arthur J. Samberg. Based in Westport, Connecticut, United States, the firm had additional offices in San Francisco; New York City; Los Angeles; Greenbrae, Menlo Park; Wellesley; and London, United Kingdom.[citation needed]

In 2001 Pequot was reported to be the largest hedge fund globally with $15 billion in assets.[2]

The firm's venture capital business, Pequot Ventures, spun off on June 30, 2008, into a separate company named FirstMark Capital.[1] The company is based in New York City.[3][4] FirstMark Capital received control of Pequot Ventures' existing venture capital portfolio assets.[1]

Closure

In May 2009, the firm announced it was closing and, in an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 27, 2010, paid a $28 million settlement (consisting of $18 million in returned profit and $10 million in penalties).[5] Samberg was barred from working as an investment adviser for alleged violations of insider trading involving Microsoft Corporation stock occurring in 2001 and a prospective new hire of the hedgefund, David Zilkha, from Microsoft.[6][7] On May 28, 2009, with an insider trading investigation ongoing, Samberg wrote, "With the situation increasingly untenable for the firm and for me, I have concluded that Pequot can no longer stay in business."[8] SEC awarded $1 million to Glen Kaiser and Karen Kaiser for providing information leading to the settlement.[9] One of the investigators of the case, Gary J. Aguirre, won a whistleblower case after being fired when he recommended that the investigation proceed further.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Pequot to Separate Its V.C. and Hedge Fund Units". New York Times. No. DealBook. United States. The New York Times Company. March 4, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  2. ^ Morgenson, Gretchen (May 27, 2010). "Pequot Capital and Its Chief Agree to Settle S.E.C. Suit for $28 Million". New York Times. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  3. ^ Pequot Ventures Spun Off As FirstMark Capital
  4. ^ Pequot Ventures Plans Split With Hedge Fund Archived June 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Press Release: SEC Charges Pequot Capital Management and CEO Arthur Samberg With Insider Trading; 2010-88; May 27, 2010". www.sec.gov. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  6. ^ New York Times
  7. ^ AP, September 8, 2013, David Collins Retrieved June 2014
  8. ^ "Pequot Capital to Shut Amid SEC Insider-Trading Probe". Bloomberg News. June 25, 2023.
  9. ^ "Pequot Capital Management, Inc., et al". www.sec.gov. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  10. ^ Senate report, pp. 11–14 "The Firing of an SEC Attorney and the Investigation of Pequot Capital Management." Joint report by the United States Senate Committee on Finance and the Senate Judiciary Committee (August 3, 2007). Retrieved February 20, 2011

Further reading