© 2024 Arizent. All rights reserved.
Money Management Executive

Mutual Fund Manager Goes Behind Bars

November 19, 2002, 1:00 a.m. EST 1 Min Read

Steven H. Adler is going to pay for cheating his mutual fund clients – and not just from his wallet. The U. S. District Court in Tampa., Fla., has sentenced the 64-year-old Floridian to five years in prison and ordered him to pay more than $900,000 in restitution to his victims for wire and mail fraud.

While president of Vector Index Advisors and manager of the ASM Index 30 Fund, Adler occasionally used client deposits intended for the mutual fund either for himself or for the company. He liquidated some assets from the portfolio for the same purpose.

In March or 1997, Adler was quoted in Plan Sponsor as saying, "You have to pretend you are a big fund to compete with [Vanguard]. We are hoping it causes a stir. That is our business bet." He also stated that Vector would subsidize the cost of running the fund for the first year, before the company accumulated enough assets to break even.

In the meantime, in a local report, Adler said that that these very expenses are what caused him to borrow money from investors.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Money Management Executive
MORE FROM FINANCIAL PLANNING