NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ITG (NYSE:ITG), a leading independent execution broker and research provider, today announced that it has reached a final settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in connection with a proprietary trading pilot program that operated for 16 months in 2010 through mid-2011.
“With today’s settlement, we have put this regrettable legacy matter behind us and are working to rebuild our clients’ trust in ITG,” said Maureen O’Hara, Chair of ITG’s Board of Directors. “We have moved to position the company for future success. On behalf of the Board, I want to thank our employees for their dedication in helping to bring this matter to a conclusion,” she added.
Interim Chief Executive Officer, Jarrett Lilien, said: “ITG has a distinguished heritage of integrity that has certainly been tested. By reaching this final settlement with the SEC, we now have the opportunity and the responsibility to restore the bond of trust with our clients and make it stronger than ever before. My colleagues and I all share the same vision and the same mission – which is to focus relentlessly on our clients and make it clear that we are their ally in the market. We look forward to restoring the confidence of our customers and our shareholders through the actions we take in the coming weeks and months.”
The settlement is focused on ITG’s customer disclosures, Form ATS regulatory filing violations, and customer information controls that related to the pilot program’s trading activity, which included (a) crossing against sell-side clients in the company’s POSIT system, and (b) violations of ITG’s policy and procedures by a former employee. These violations principally involved information breaches for a period of several months in 2010 regarding sell-side parent orders flowing into ITG’s algorithms and executions by all customers in non-POSIT markets that were not otherwise available to ITG clients.
According to the terms of the settlement, ITG will pay disgorgement of $2,081,304, prejudgment interest of $256,532, and a civil penalty of $18,000,000.
About ITG
ITG is an independent execution broker and research provider that partners with global portfolio managers and traders to provide unique data-driven insights throughout the investment process. From investment decision through settlement, ITG helps clients understand market trends, improve performance, mitigate risk and navigate increasingly complex markets. ITG is headquartered in New York with offices in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.itg.com.
ITG Forward Looking Statements
In addition to historical information, this press release may contain "forward-looking" statements that reflect management’s expectations for the future. A variety of important factors could cause results to differ materially from such statements. Certain of these factors are noted throughout ITG’s 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K, and its Form 10-Qs (as amended, if applicable) and include, but are not limited to, general economic, business, credit and financial market conditions, both internationally and nationally, financial market volatility, fluctuations in market trading volumes, effects of inflation, adverse changes or volatility in interest rates, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, evolving industry regulations and regulatory scrutiny, changes in tax policy or accounting rules, the actions of both current and potential new competitors, changes in commission pricing, rapid changes in technology, errors or malfunctions in our systems or technology, cash flows into or redemptions from equity mutual funds, ability to meet liquidity requirements related to the clearing of our customers’ trades, customer trading patterns, the success of our products and service offerings, our ability to continue to innovate and meet the demands of our customers for new or enhanced products, our ability to successfully integrate acquired companies and our ability to attract and retain talented employees. The forward-looking statements included herein represent ITG’s views as of the date of this release. ITG undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason unless required by law.