SAN DIEGO and HARTFORD, Conn., March 2, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shareholder rights law firm Robbins Arroyo LLP announces that an investor of Virtus Investment Partners Inc. (Nasdaq:VRTS) has filed a federal securities fraud class action complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleges that the company and certain of its officers and directors violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 between May 28, 2013 and December 22, 2014. Virtus is a financial services company that provides investment managing services to individual and institutional clients.
View this information on the law firm's Shareholder Rights Blog: www.robbinsarroyo.com/shareholders-rights-blog/virtus-investment-partners-inc-march-2015
Virtus Misrepresents Its Business Practices
According to the complaint, shares of Virtus fell multiple times in concurrence with revelations regarding F-Squared Investments, Inc., a co-advisor for Virtus's AlphaSector funds. Specifically, on September 5, 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating F-Squared for alleged falsifications of its past track record. On this news, Virtus shares declined over the next several days by $37 per share, or 16%, to close at $186 per share on September 16, 2014. Then, on December 22, 2014, the SEC announced that it had formally charged F-Squared and its president with fraud and various violations of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 and that it had reached a settlement with F-Squared regarding those charges. The SEC also found that F-Squared had aided and abetted and caused certain mutual funds sub-advised by F-Squared to violate section 34(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. The terms of the settlement with F-Squared included ceasing and desisting from its prior violations, retaining an Independent Compliance Consultant, and paying disgorgement of $30 million and a penalty of $5 million. On this news, Virtus shares, which had traded as high as $240.72 per share during the class period, closed at $169.70 per share on December 22, 2014.
Virtus Shareholders Have Legal Options
Concerned shareholders who would like more information about their rights and potential remedies can contact attorney Darnell R. Donahue at (800) 350-6003, DDonahue@robbinsarroyo.com, or via the shareholder information form on the firm's website.
Robbins Arroyo LLP is a nationally recognized leader in shareholder rights law. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits, and has helped its clients realize more than $1 billion of value for themselves and the companies in which they have invested.
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