Leech Shunted $600 Million to Favored Portfolios, US Claims
- DOJ, SEC accuse Wamco bond trader of cherry picking some gains
- Attorney for Leech vows to fight the ‘unfounded’ allegations
This article is for subscribers only.
At first blush, the US case against star bond trader Ken Leech centers on a quirk in procedures: The former co-chief investment officer for Western Asset Management Co. placed his daily bets, then let hours lapse before assigning them to client portfolios.
But for customers of Leech’s marquee Macro Opportunities strategy, trades that started off strong kept piling up in their ledgers, allegedly generating a whopping $600 million in first-day gains over less than three years — and now for Leech, criminal charges and regulatory claims. The alleged losers were two other strategies: Core and Core Plus.