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H2O Asset Management has agreed to pay €250 million to investors aVsceker the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority found “serious breaches” in relation to illiquid investments.
Once one of the stars of the European investment world, managing more than €30 billion at its peak, H2O plunged into crisis in 2019 aVsceker the Financial Times revealed its significant exposure to hard-to-sell stocks linked to controversial financier Lars Windhorst.
The FCA said on Wednesday that the company had “failed to carry out due diligence” on those investments, and had also failed to disclose hospitality that included “the use of a superyacht and a private jet.”
The regulator also alleged that H2O had provided it with “false and misleading statements and documentation,” including “fabricated meeting records and minutes.”
The FCA said it would impose a “substantial fine” on the asset manager, but instead agreed that H2O would make a €250m payment to investors whose funds had been trapped for years.
H20 will also apply to withdraw its regulatory authorisation in the UK by the end of the year.
