Infotopia (fka IFTA)

[thepennyking]

SEC investigating Oxford Capital
Larry Rulison
Contributing Writer
Towson money management firm Oxford Capital Management is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly inflating investment return figures.


The SEC issued a cease-and-desist order and started administrative proceedings against the firm and its president, John G. Danz Jr.

The civil proceedings could lead to fines against the company or Danz, or other SEC action.

Danz declined to comment until his legal counsel could review the accusations.

The SEC alleges that from 1998 to 2001, Oxford Capital inflated performance figures for its Enhanced Equity portfolio.

The SEC says that Oxford told the Nelson Investment Manager Database that its 10-year annualized return for the period ending June 30, 2000, was 23.39 percent when it was really only 15.58 percent.

Such inflation, the SEC alleges, resulted in Nelson ranking Oxford Capital as one of its Top 20 Money Managers in the country from 1998 to 2001.

The SEC also said that Oxford Capital overstated the amount of assets in the Enhanced Equity portfolio during various periods. For example, it claims that the firm told Nelson that it had $65 million in the portfolio at the end of 1999 when it actually only had $22 million.

"Oxford utilized the false and misleading ranking in marketing brochures and to advertise its services in various newspapers, including the Baltimore Business Journal and the Baltimore Sun," the SEC says in an administrative release.

The SEC says that the firm, which manages roughly $125 million in assets, also reported false investment results to two other reporting services, the Mobius Group and Effron Enterprises as well as to other investors and brokers.


http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/09/23/daily23.html