The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said a former BlackRock Advisors, LLC portfolio manager has agreed to pay a $250,000 penalty to resolve charges he failed to disclose a conflict of interest.
The SEC said that Randy Robertson, the portfolio manager, did not properly disclose a relationship he had with a film distribution company in which the fund he managed for BlackRock invested millions.
From 2015 to 2019, the fund loaned as much as $75 million to subsidiaries of film production firm Aviron Group LLC. Robertson did not disclose to the fund’s trustees that he had asked Aviron to help “advance” his daughter’s acting career nor that the firm helped his daughter get a role in a film produced in 2019, the SEC said.
Robertson, who did not admit or deny the SEC’s findings, agreed to a censure and a cease-and-desist order, the agency said.
Counsel for Robertson and a spokesperson for BlackRock did not immediately respond to request for comment.