An academic study that analyzed funds with substantial holdings of structured products for over seven years found numerous instances of price mismarkings leading to inflated assets. The research was provided to the SEC more than two years ago. Amy Lynch, FrontLine’s Founder and President, explains that any SEC investigation of potential pricing fraud would likely be lengthy due to the complexity of the issue. Ms. Lynch further states that funds feeling pressure to outperform their peers may have targeted systemic pricing differentials leading to significant mismarkings, but could respond to questions about this activity by explaining that they were relying on their pricing vendor for accurate pricing. See IGNITES (subscription required), “Academics Sound Alarm on Potential Pricing Fraud in Bond Funds”
