Pioneer Press – John Mack, chief executive of Morgan Stanley, will be interviewed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in an investigation of a hedge fund he participated in prior to taking overthe Wall Street firm, the company said Friday.
The SEC has been looking into whether Pequot Capital Management Inc. acted on insider information in 2001 when trading shares potentially involved in an upcoming merger. A former SEC staff attorney testified before Congress last month that he believed Mack to be the tipster, which Mack has denied.
In a statement, Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Jeanmarie McFadden said the SEC contacted Mack on Thursday to ask for an interview. “John immediately responded that he is happy to meet with the commission staff, and he welcomes the opportunity to put to rest any issues surrounding this matter.”
Mack had been actively involved in the hedge fund after his departure as CEO of Credit Suisse First Boston in 2001, and was briefly named chairman of the fund in June 2005, a few weeks before he took over at Morgan Stanley.
No charges have been brought against Pequot, a hedge fund with some $6.5 billion in assets that is overseen by Arthur Samberg, a well-known money manager and philanthropist and a longtime friend of Mack. Pequot has denied that there was any improper activity by the fund.
