Sep. 26–Bank of America’s Nations Funds has named an interim chief to replace the former head who was dismissed as part of an investigation into alleged illicit trading practices.
Nations Funds trustees named Edward Bedard as the interim president and chief executive of Nations Funds Trust, they announced in a regulatory filing this week. Bedard was previously the chief financial officer there. He replaces Robert Gordon, who the bank dismissed as head of its mutual fund division and as a trustee for Nations Funds.
The trustees also named Gerald Murphy as interim chief financial officer. Murphy is the trust’s treasurer.
Gordon was among bank employees named in a mutual fund trading complaint by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer earlier this month.
Spitzer has accused New Jersey hedge fund Canary Capital Partners LLC of engaging in illegal trading with several large mutual fund companies at the expense of long-term investors.
Charlotte-based Bank of America, which acts as the adviser to the funds, was named in the complaint as having the most extensive trading relationship with Canary. It’s unclear what effect, if any, Canary’s trading had on the value of investments in Nations Funds.
The bank has promised to reimburse any investors who lose money because of the trading problems. Spitzer’s probe continues, and the Nations Funds trustees, who are independent of BofA, continue their own investigation. Amber Veverka
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