A JUDGE APPROVES SEC SETTLEMENT WITH SIGMA CAPITAL REGARDING ALLEGED ISIDER TRADING

FROM: U.S. SECRUITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the court approval of settlements reached with the New York-based hedge fund advisory firm Sigma Capital Management in which Sigma Capital and two affiliates agreed to pay nearly $14 million to settle charges that the firm engaged in insider trading based on nonpublic information obtained through one of its analysts about the quarterly earnings of Dell and Nvidia Corporation. The settlements were approved by the Honorable Harold Baer of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on March 28, 2013.

The SEC’s case, borne out of its ongoing investigation into expert networks and the trading activities of hedge funds, began last year with charges against several hedge fund managers and analysts including Jon Horvath, a former analyst at Sigma Capital. Horvath agreed to a settlement in March 2013 in which he admitted liability.

In a complaint filed on March 15, 2013 along with the proposed settlements, the SEC charged Sigma Capital in the insider trading scheme and named two affiliated hedge funds - Sigma Capital Associates and S.A.C. Select Fund - as relief defendants that unjustly benefited from Sigma Capital’s violations. S.A.C. Select Fund is affiliated with S.A.C. Capital Advisors.

The SEC’s complaint alleged that Horvath provided Sigma Capital portfolio managers with nonpublic details about quarterly earnings at Dell and Nvidia after he learned them through a group of hedge fund analysts with whom he regularly communicated. Based on the confidential information, Sigma Capital traded Dell and Nvidia securities in advance of earnings announcements in 2008 and 2009 for $6.425 million in gains for its hedge fund affiliates.

Without admitting or denying the charges, Sigma Capital agreed to pay disgorgement of $6.425 million plus prejudgment interest of $1,094,161.92 and a penalty of $6.425 million. Sigma Capital is also permanently enjoined from future violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws.

According to the SEC’s complaint, the key inside information that Horvath obtained about upcoming earnings announcements by Dell and Nvidia often differed significantly from the predictions of market analysts, who only had access to publicly available information. Based on this inside information, Sigma Capital traded Dell and Nvidia securities in advance of four quarterly earnings announcements and reaped more than $5.2 million for its hedge fund Sigma Capital Associates. Horvath’s inside information also enabled S.A.C. Select Fund to execute trades and avoid losses of more than $1 million. The SEC’s complaint charged Sigma Capital with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5.