Walter "Feeder Fund" Noel
You Won't Read This In The Greenwich Time
The Local Hearst Newspaper Is Clueless About Greenwich Resident Involved With Bernie Madoff's Ponzie Scheme
Greenwich Resident Madoff Middle Man Walter "Feeder Fund Noel Knew About The SEC Investigation
Fairfield Extended Madoff's Reach
Wall Street Journal
An investment fund with ties to Bernard Madoff is emerging as a central player in helping the financier raise billions of dollars world-wide, extending the reach of an alleged Ponzi scheme.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, as part of an investigation into Mr. Madoff's activities, determined in 2006 that the fund, Fairfield Greenwich Group, hadn't properly disclosed that Mr. Madoff oversaw its investment decisions, according to an SEC document, though the agency found no evidence of fraud.
Since then, Fairfield Greenwich has in marketing documents touted its close relationship with Mr. Madoff -- and in the process raised about $1.7 billion from investors in the U.S. and Europe. This marketing effort ultimately broadened the scope of Mr. Madoff's alleged fraud far from his bases in New York and Florida......
.....Fairfield Greenwich -- run by financier Walter Noel Jr., his four sons-in-law and a former SEC official -- had a total of about $7.5 billion with Mr. Madoff through its flagship Fairfield Sentry fund when Mr. Madoff's business imploded. For fees it collected from clients, Fairfield handed that money to Mr. Madoff to manage.
Mr. Noel and his wife, Monica, said they had done nothing wrong but couldn't elaborate because of the pending regulatory investigation into Mr. Madoff's activities.....
.....Mr. Noel founded Fairfield Greenwich in 1983. The Sentry fund, which drew investors from scores of countries and smaller funds, required a $100,000 minimum investment and was billed as a way to tap Mr. Madoff's trading expertise using "algorithmic technology" while Fairfield stood close watch, conducting "systematic investment compliance," according to a 2008 Sentry document.
In 2006, the SEC, warned by a tipster that Mr. Madoff might be running a Ponzi scheme, interviewed Mr. Madoff and reviewed documents. The SEC also took the testimony of Jeffrey Tucker, a former SEC official and a Fairfield executive who oversaw the firm's day-to-day operations......
....Hoping to capitalize on its success in recent years, Fairfield Greenwich tried to sell a stake in the firm. Several private-investment firms conducted due diligence on the firm. But when they asked to look more closely at Mr. Madoff's business, they were told that Mr. Madoff wouldn't allow prospective investors to view his books, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Fairfield charged clients larger fees than most similar firms do, including a 20% share of profits on investments, about double the norm for firms that farm out clients' money to a variety of fund managers. Mr. Madoff didn't charge additional fees but instead said he charged a commission on trades he allegedly executed. This is an unusual arrangement that raised suspicions among rival money managers, some of whom doubted that could generate sufficient fee income.
....For years, Fairfield has sparked resentment among rival money managers. Mr. Madoff's funds posted gains during periods of market stress in 2002 and this year as other funds lost ground.
Over the past few years, Fairfield was successful selling in Europe, thanks to the ability of Mr. Noel's sons-in-law to tap wealthy individuals and banks there. Andres Piedrahita, who married Mr. Noel's eldest daughter, was particularly skilled at weaving a social network in Madrid and London, those who know the fund say........
......Still, banks on two continents offered investors souped-up versions of the Fairfield Sentry fund, designed for funds-of-funds clients and wealthy private-bank clients clamoring for consistent investment returns and access to Mr. Madoff. These products were backed by loans from banks including Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA and Nomura Holdings Inc., according to documents. reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. These banks loaned money designed to amplify the gains of the Sentry funds. Nomura on Monday said its exposure to Mr. Madoff was about 27.5 billion yen, or about $304 million. A Nomura spokesman Thursday declined to comment further.
We Hate To Say We Told You So, But.....
Out Of Town News Coverage On
Greenwich Resident Walter Noel:
New York Times
By ERIC KONIGSBERG
As a go-between who shepherded clients and their money to Bernard L. Madoff, Walter M. Noel became so prosperous that he was only too ...
Terre Haute Tribune Star
News reports have focused on Madoff investors who belong to exclusive country clubs and on people such as Walter Noel, whose Fairfield Greenwich Group ...
New York Post
Madoff's desperate, last-minute pleas for more money also extended to his hedge-fund investment partners, including Walter Noel's hedge-fund firm Fairfield ...
Wall Street Journal
Andrés Piedrahita, the Colombian son-in-law of Fairfield Greenwich owner Walter Noel, sold Madoff funds to great number of wealthy Spaniards. ...
New York Magazine
Wall Street Journal
Seeking Alpha
AssociatedPress
Washington Post
Huffington Post
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