Ortiz also publicly boasted of the funds’ investment performance in 2009, including at an investor conference, while the firm was really reducing its inventory. Ortiz also hid the inventory changes from investors and did not change prices, the SEC alleged.
Meanwhile, UBS spokeswoman Karina Byrne issued the following statement in response to the SEC matter: "UBS Puerto Rico is pleased to have resolved this matter, which relates to a period of significant turmoil in the global financial markets between 2008 and 2009. We disclosed the SEC’s investigation more than a year ago, and since that time have further improved the transparency of our trading procedures as part of our ongoing commitment to the local capital market.”
Byrne added: “Investors who bought fund shares during this period and continue to hold them have made substantial returns over the past three years. Over the past year, most of the funds have produced total annual returns in excess of 20%.”
Byrne also stated: “We believe that any realized losses incurred by investors who bought fund shares through UBS during the 2008/2009 period and sold them were less than $5 million. By comparison, as of March 31, 2012, the aggregate market capitalization of the funds was almost $5 billion."
On Wall Street
