Anthony Chiasson
Anthony Chiasson | |
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Born | August 27, 1973 |
Residence | New York |
Alma mater | Babson College (B.S.) |
Occupation | Hedge fund manager |
Anthony R. Chiasson (born August 27, 1973) is an American hedge fund manager and co-founder of Level Global Investors LP, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund management firm.[1][2] Level Global was launched in 2003 with about $500 million in assets under management and grew to $4.2 billion in assets and 75 employees before closing in early 2011.[1][3]
Chiasson was convicted of insider trading in December 2012, but the conviction was subsequently overturned in a unanimous decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on December 10, 2014.[4] The Appeals Court said the Government presented no evidence that he engaged in insider trading and that the judge misread the law.[5][6] On April 16th, 2015, the judge dismissed the indictment, and Chiasson was exonerated.[7]
Early Life
Chiasson grew up in Portland, Maine and attended Cheverus High School.[3] In 1995, Chiasson received a Bachelor of Science degree from Babson College where he graduated Summa Cum Laude.[8] He received the Roger W. Babson Award which is given to the graduating senior who most exemplifies the qualities of scholarship, leadership and involvement in co-curricular activities.[8]
Career
Chiasson began his career on Wall Street at Salomon Brothers in the equity research department, and in 1999, he joined SAC Capital Advisors as a senior technology analyst.[3][1]
Chiasson co-founded Level Global Investors LP in 2003.[1] In 2010, Goldman Sachs’ Petershill Fund bought a minority stake in the business.[9] Level Global had about $500 million in assets under management when it launched and grew to $4.2 billion in assets at its peak.[1] The firm had 75 employees.[1] Level Global’s growth was primarily driven by institutional investors including, New York State Common Retirement Fund, Aetna Inc., and Cornell University.[1][10]
Personal Life & Philanthropy
Chiasson is married and has two children. His family resides in New York City.[8]
Chiasson grew up in Portland, Maine. He previously served on the board of his alma mater, Cheverus High School.[3]
Chiasson also formerly served on the Board of Trustees of Babson College, having been appointed in 2008.[8]
In 2009, Chiasson made a gift to Babson College to fund the Summer Venture Program.[11] This program is an intensive 10-week "boot camp for entrepreneurs" who receive an array of support services and mentoring from professors and local business leaders.[11]
Chiasson also funded a Presidential Scholarship at Babson which was geared towards supporting need-based students from the State of Maine who are committed to pursuing a career in business.[12]
Controversy
In early 2012, Federal prosecutors from the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York alleged that Anthony Chiasson, Todd Newman, a former portfolio manager at Diamondback Capital Management LLC and others, made illegal stock trades based on corporate secrets about Dell Inc. and Nvidia Corporation.[13] Chiasson was found guilty of conspiracy and multiple counts of securities fraud on December 17, 2012.[1]
Chiasson and Newman appealed their convictions to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, located in Manhattan, which heard oral arguments on April 22, 2014.[14] On December 10, 2014, the three judge panel, unanimously overturned the convictions of Chiasson and his co-defendant Todd Newman, finding that the government failed to prove they engaged in insider trading.[15] This is the first time an appeals court has overturned convictions in connection with the Justice Department’s crackdown on insider trading.[16] The priority the Department placed on insider trading has been met with criticism by some editorial boards and commentators.[17] U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, characterized the legal rationale supporting Mr. Chiasson's unanimous acquittal as "dramatically wrong" and filed a request for reconsideration by the three judge panel that heard the appeal or for a rehearing en banc.[18] Both requests were denied without comment on April 3, 2015.[19][20] On April 16th, 2015, the judge dismissed the indictments, and both Chiasson and Newman were exonerated.[7][21]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Peter Lattman (May 13, 2013). "Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Sentenced in Insider Trading Case". The New York Times.
- ↑ Azam Ahmed (March 5, 2011). "Raid by F.B.I. Was Fatal Hit To Hedge Fund". The New York Times.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Saijel Kishan and Katherine Burton (March 4, 2011). "Insider-Trading Probes Send Investors Scurrying Even When No One’s Charged". Bloomberg News.
- ↑ Ben Protess and Matthew Goldstein (April 22, 2014). "Appeal Judges Hint at Doubts in Insider Case". The New York Times.
- ↑ Protess, Ben; Goldstein, Matthew (December 10, 2014). "Appeals Court Overturns 2 Insider Trading Convictions". New York Times. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
- ↑ Everett Rosenfeld (December 10, 2014). "Insider trading convictions overturned for Newman and Chiasson". CNBC.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Patricia Hurtado (April 16, 2015). "Fund Managers in Landmark Insider Ruling Cleared by U.S. Judge". Bloomberg Business.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Leslie Brudgers (May 13, 2013). "Cheverus grad sentenced to 6 years for Wall Street crime". Portland Press Herald.
- ↑ Katherine Burton (April 2, 2010). "Goldman Sachs Fund Buys Stake in Ganek’s $4 Billion Hedge Fund". Bloomberg News.
- ↑ Emily Chasan (May 25, 2011). "Level Global Hedge Fund Shutdown After Federal Raid". The Huffington Post.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Leonard A. Schlesinger. "Summer Boot Camp". Babson College. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ↑ Patricia Hurtado (May 1, 2013). "Chiasson Seeks Leniency From Court Citing Charitable Work". Bloomberg News.
- ↑ Dan Strumpf (December 17, 2012). "2 More Insider Convictions". Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ Christopher M. Matthews (April 23, 2014). "Insider Cases' Legal Basis Questioned". Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ Matt Levine (December 10, 2014). "Appeals Court Not So Keen on Insider Trading Crackdown". Bloomberg News.
- ↑ Joe Nocera (December 12, 2014). "Prosecuting Insider Trading". The New York Times.
- ↑ "An Outside the Law Prosecutor". The Wall Street Journal. December 10, 2014.
- ↑ Patricia Hurtado (January 13, 2015). "Insider Ruling Restricting Prosecutions Wrong, U.S. Says". Bloomberg Business.
- ↑ Ben Protess and Matthew Goldstein (April 3, 2015). "Court Rejects Bharara’s Plea to Reconsider Insider Trading Ruling". The New York Times.
- ↑ Aruna Viswanatha (April 3, 2015). "Court Decision Foils Insider-Trading Cases". The Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ Nate Raymond (April 16, 2015). "Ex-Wyoming fund exec to replead to insider trading: lawyer". Reuters.