SEC Gets Court Order to Freeze Assets of Three Heartland Funds

The Securities and Exchange Commission secured a court order Wednesday evening, shutting down three of the Heartland Group of Milwaukee’s bond funds because the company failed to submit the audited financial statements of those funds for last year to the SEC and send them to shareholders, according to the SEC.

The Heartland High-Yield Municipal Bond Fund, the Short Duration High-Yield Municipal Fund and the Taxable Short Duration Municipal Fund were the subjects of the court’s order. The order, entered in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, freezes the assets held in the funds and places them in receivership, according to the SEC. The receiver will take control of the assets, manage the funds, suspend redemptions in the funds and, if appropriate, liquidate the funds.

Heartland Group consented to entry of the order without admitting or denying any of the allegations in the Commission’s complaint, according to the SEC. The order does not affect Heartland's Select Value Fund, Value Plus Fund, Value Fund, or Wisconsin Tax Free Fund.

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