INVESCO Funds Group and Raymond Cunningham, its president and CEO, today were named in separate lawsuits filed by the SEC and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, claiming the firm engaged in securities fraud and breached its fiduciary duty to shareholders of INVESCO mutual funds. The lawsuits claim the firm permitted dozens of investors to make rapid-fire trades in INVESCO funds to boost the management fees earned by INVESCO Funds Group, in violation of its own market-timing policies stated in its prospectuses.
"In circumstances like this, where a fiduciary puts its own interests before those of the fund shareholders, the individuals and the entities responsible for the fraudulent conduct will be held accountable," said Randall J. Fons, regional director of the SEC's central region in Denver.
Jennifer Lloyd, spokeswoman for INVESCO parent AMVESCAP, said, "We believe these actions are not merited. ... These charges will be vigorously contested."
