THE alleged swindling of millions of mutual fund investors in the US could in theory be replicated with unit trust investors here, a leading independent financial adviser has warned.
“It’s technically possible,” said Bestinvest director John Spiers, who added that he had no evidence there was any wrongdoing in Britain and that it would be illegal. “I suspect every fund company here will be getting in independent auditors to ensure everything’s OK,” he said.
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is investigating allegations that mutual fund managers allowed hedge funds to engage in after-hours trading at the expense of their ordinary small investors.
He likened “late trading” by hedge funds to “betting on a horse race after the horses have crossed the finish line”.
Unit trusts in Britain are similar to mutual funds in the US, and are usually priced daily at noon or 4pm.
