Wamco Loses $1 Billion From Calstrs in Major Pension Redemption
February 14, 2025
The Western Asset Management Company headquarters in Pasadena, California, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg) -- The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the second-biggest US pension, is pulling its roughly $1 billion investment from Western Asset Management Co. as a reckoning continues over criminal fraud charges against the bond manager’s star trader Ken Leech.
The pension, which managed $353 billion as of Jan. 31, is in the process of withdrawing all of its money from Wamco following its investment team’s analysis of risks and returns in the fixed-income portfolio, Calstrs said in an emailed statement.
As recently as this summer, Wamco had the largest allocation, worth $1.1 billion, of any manager in Calstrs’ fixed-income portfolio.
A Wamco spokesperson declined to comment.
Wamco has been hit with a series of large redemptions since late August, when the Franklin Resources Inc. unit revealed that Leech faced a potential enforcement action. That has set off one of the biggest shakeups in the bond market in decades, leading to roughly $120 billion being pulled from Wamco through January.
Ohio’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund and the Dallas Employees’ Retirement Fund are among clients pulling money from Wamco.
UBS Group AG, BlackRock Inc. and LM Capital Group are now the largest managers of Calstrs’ fixed-income portfolio, according to the pension.
US prosecutors criminally charged Leech in November, accusing him of “cherry picking” favorable trades for certain clients at the expense of others. Leech, who was Wamco’s co-chief investment officer, was granted $10 million bail and pleaded not guilty to fraud in a Manhattan court the following month.
Franklin said last month that it’s integrating much of Wamco into the parent and intends to leave the investment team in place.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the second-biggest US pension, is pulling its roughly $1 billion investment from Western Asset Management Co. as a reckoning continues over criminal fraud charges against the bond manager’s star trader Ken Leech.
The pension, which managed $353 billion as of Jan. 31, is in the process of withdrawing all of its money from Wamco following its investment team’s analysis of risks and returns in the fixed-income portfolio, Calstrs said in an emailed statement.
As recently as this summer, Wamco had the largest allocation, worth $1.1 billion, of any manager in Calstrs’ fixed-income portfolio.
A Wamco spokesperson declined to comment.
Wamco has been hit with a series of large redemptions since late August, when the Franklin Resources Inc. unit revealed that Leech faced a potential enforcement action. That has set off one of the biggest shakeups in the bond market in decades, leading to roughly $120 billion being pulled from Wamco through January.
Ohio’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund and the Dallas Employees’ Retirement Fund are among clients pulling money from Wamco.
UBS Group AG, BlackRock Inc. and LM Capital Group are now the largest managers of Calstrs’ fixed-income portfolio, according to the pension.
US prosecutors criminally charged Leech in November, accusing him of “cherry picking” favorable trades for certain clients at the expense of others. Leech, who was Wamco’s co-chief investment officer, was granted $10 million bail and pleaded not guilty to fraud in a Manhattan court the following month.
Franklin said last month that it’s integrating much of Wamco into the parent and intends to leave the investment team in place.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Cannabis company Aphria reaches agreement to settle shareholder class-action lawsuit
By The Canadian Press
By The Canadian Press
February 10, 2025
The Ontario Courthouse in Toronto is photographed on Monday, May 2, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Aphria Inc. has agreed to pay $30 million to settle a class-action lawsuit by shareholders alleging the company made misrepresentations to capital markets in 2018.
The settlement agreement said the deal is not an admission of liability by Aphria or the individual defendants, who denied all allegations.
The lawsuit alleged Aphria made misrepresentations in 2018 in connection with its acquisition of a company called Nuuvera Inc. and another deal for a company called LATAM Holdings Inc. that suggested their value was significantly higher than their actual worth.
It alleged that a substantial drop in Aphria’s share price following certain public disclosures that year amounted to a public correction of misrepresentations.
Aphria was acquired by Tilray Inc. in 2021.
In a regulatory filing, Tilray noted the payment will be primarily funded by an Aphria insurance policy and by the individual defendants. Aphria will fund the remaining unpaid portion estimated to about $8.5 million.
“Aphria’s portion of the settlement amount is fully accrued on its balance sheet and the settlement amount will not result in a negative impact to earnings,” Tilray said.
The settlement requires court approval. A hearing at the Ontario Superior Court is set for March 26.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2025.
Aphria Inc. has agreed to pay $30 million to settle a class-action lawsuit by shareholders alleging the company made misrepresentations to capital markets in 2018.
The settlement agreement said the deal is not an admission of liability by Aphria or the individual defendants, who denied all allegations.
The lawsuit alleged Aphria made misrepresentations in 2018 in connection with its acquisition of a company called Nuuvera Inc. and another deal for a company called LATAM Holdings Inc. that suggested their value was significantly higher than their actual worth.
It alleged that a substantial drop in Aphria’s share price following certain public disclosures that year amounted to a public correction of misrepresentations.
Aphria was acquired by Tilray Inc. in 2021.
In a regulatory filing, Tilray noted the payment will be primarily funded by an Aphria insurance policy and by the individual defendants. Aphria will fund the remaining unpaid portion estimated to about $8.5 million.
“Aphria’s portion of the settlement amount is fully accrued on its balance sheet and the settlement amount will not result in a negative impact to earnings,” Tilray said.
The settlement requires court approval. A hearing at the Ontario Superior Court is set for March 26.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2025.
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