Western Asset’s Leech Leaves CIO Role Amid SEC, DOJ Probes
- Firm said SEC and DOJ are investigating past trade allocations
- Leech, as co-CIO, helped run firm’s Core Plus bond strategy
Ken Leech
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Ken Leech, the longtime Western Asset Management chief investment officer, left that role amid probes from the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission into whether some clients were favored over others in allocating gains and losses from derivatives trades.
Leech, who manages some of the largest bond strategies in the US, will take an immediate leave of absence after receiving a Wells notice from the SEC, the company said in a filing Wednesday. Federal prosecutors in New York are conducting a criminal probe into the practice known as “cherry-picking,” where winning trades are credited to favored accounts, according to people familiar with the matter.