BOSTON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Research firm Guidepoint Global LLC has been subpoenaed by the office of Massachusetts' top securities regulator at a time when a federal investigation into insider trading is accelerating.
Secretary of State William Galvin said on Tuesday that his office issued the subpoena to New York-based Guidepoint Global on Monday, in order to gather more information on how the consulting firm interacted with a Massachusetts-based investment advisor who runs a small hedge fund.
Guidepoint Global did not immediately return a call for comment.
Massachusetts sent its request at a time when federal regulators and prosecutors are probing how these types of consultants interact with and help hedge and mutual fund managers gain insight into certain industries.
Less than a week ago, federal authorities arrested an executive at another so-called expert network firm, Primary Global Research, on charges that he helped hedge funds get access to confidential corporate information.
Galvin's spokesman, Brian McNiff, said his office's moves were not coordinated with federal officials but the probes obviously touch on the same topic.
McNiff declined to name the hedge fund and said the fund has less than $20 million in assets.
'The recent pronouncement about the role of expert consultants and hedge funds is extremely troubling,' Galvin said in a statement, adding 'it is the responsibility of my office as sole regulator of small state-registered hedge funds to fully explore and investigate the role these firms play with these state registered entities.'
Guidepoint Global was in the news earlier this month because the firm at one point employed French physician Yves Benhamou, who was arrested in Boston, charged in connection with passing nonpublic information about biotechnology company Human Genome Sciences to a hedge fund manager.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Tim Dobbyn) Keywords: GUIDEPOINTGLOBAL/MASSACHUSETTS (Svea.Herbst@Reuters.com; +1 617 856 4331; Reuters Messaging: svea.herbst.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Secretary of State William Galvin said on Tuesday that his office issued the subpoena to New York-based Guidepoint Global on Monday, in order to gather more information on how the consulting firm interacted with a Massachusetts-based investment advisor who runs a small hedge fund.
Guidepoint Global did not immediately return a call for comment.
Massachusetts sent its request at a time when federal regulators and prosecutors are probing how these types of consultants interact with and help hedge and mutual fund managers gain insight into certain industries.
Less than a week ago, federal authorities arrested an executive at another so-called expert network firm, Primary Global Research, on charges that he helped hedge funds get access to confidential corporate information.
Galvin's spokesman, Brian McNiff, said his office's moves were not coordinated with federal officials but the probes obviously touch on the same topic.
McNiff declined to name the hedge fund and said the fund has less than $20 million in assets.
'The recent pronouncement about the role of expert consultants and hedge funds is extremely troubling,' Galvin said in a statement, adding 'it is the responsibility of my office as sole regulator of small state-registered hedge funds to fully explore and investigate the role these firms play with these state registered entities.'
Guidepoint Global was in the news earlier this month because the firm at one point employed French physician Yves Benhamou, who was arrested in Boston, charged in connection with passing nonpublic information about biotechnology company Human Genome Sciences to a hedge fund manager.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Tim Dobbyn) Keywords: GUIDEPOINTGLOBAL/MASSACHUSETTS (Svea.Herbst@Reuters.com; +1 617 856 4331; Reuters Messaging: svea.herbst.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.