US 'Hedge Fund King' Banned By Regulators

Securities regulators in the US have banned hedge fund manager Steve Cohen from managing other people's money until 2018.

Picasso-collector Cohen, who is believed to be worth over £8bn, has entered a deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which settles previous allegations of failure to effectively monitor a former portfolio manager who engaged in insider trading.

The allegations relate to the supervision of a trader named Mathew Martoma at Cohen's hedge fund, SAC Capital Advisors, in 2013.

Cohen has neither admitted guilt nor denied the charges.

"Before Cohen can handle outside money again, an independent consultant will ensure there are legally sufficient policies, procedures and supervision mechanisms in place to detect and deter any insider trading," SEC enforcement director Andrew Ceresney said in a statement.

SAC Capital Advisors which derived its name from Mr Cohen's initials, changed its name to Point72 Asset Management in 2014.

In 2012 the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested a former SAC employee named Mathew Martoma on suspicion on insider trading relating to trading in a pharmaceutical company called Elan (Berlin: 25E.BE - news) and Wyeth (BSE: WYETH.BO - news) .

This arrest resulted in the biggest-ever insider trading settlement in the US in 2013 - equivalent to £1.25bn.

Martoma is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence in Florida.