Fairfield Greenwich Group – medical crutch Manufacturer – inflatable cervical collar Manufacturer

Article by hi joiney

History of the Firm The firm was founded by Walter M Noel Jr born 1930 a native of Nashville Tennessee in 1983 At one time the firm operated from Noel s hometown in Greenwich Connecticut before relocating its headquarters to New York City In 1989 Noel merged his business with a small brokerage firm whose general partner was Jeffrey Tucker who had worked as a lawyer in the enforcement division of the Securities and Exchange Commission Both Noel and Tucker are semi retired Fairfield offered feeder funds of single strategy trading managers Fairfield also started several fund of funds each investing in a basket of hedge funds though the offering of feeder funds has been the primary business of Fairfield It described its investigation of investment options as eeper and broader than competitive firms because of Tucker regulatory experience Fairfield Greenwich s web site says it employs a significantly higher level of due diligence work than typically performed by most fund of funds and consulting firms It is an employee owned firm with 140 employees 21 of whom are shareholders At one time it reported 16 billion in assets under management It is reported that foreign investors provided 95 of its managed assets 68 from Europe 6 from Asia and 4 from the Middle East Each of Noel s four daughters married into international families In 2008 Fairfield Greenwich reported more than 14 billion in assets under management Founding Partners Walter Noel Presently Walter Noel has a 17 ownership interest Noel had previously been a private banker in Lausanne Switzerland then worked at Citigroup before becoming the head of Chemical Bank s international private banking practice in Nigeria Switzerland and Brazil Noel met his Portuguese speaking wife Monica 66 from the prominent Swiss Haegler family of Rio de Janeiro and Zurich while she was studying at Wellesley College near Boston They have five daughters and 19 grandchildren The girls graduated in order from Yale University Georgetown University Georgetown Brown University and Harvard University They married into international families that provided additional connections for the firm The eldest Corina 45 who in 1989 married Andrs Piedrahita a Colombian lives in Madrid London and Manhattan Lisina 44 who lives in Milan married Yanko Della Schiava the son of the editor of Cosmopolitan in Italy and of the editor of Harper Bazaar in Italy and France Ariane 42 who married Florence born Marco Sodi head of VSS s London based affiliate Veronis Suhler Stevenson International and a partner and managing member of Veronis Suhler Stevenson Funds lives in Notting Hill London Alix 41 who married Philip J Toub the son of a director of the Saronic Shipping Company in Lausanne Switzerland lives in Greenwich Marisa 31 who married Matthew Brown the son of a former mayor of San Marino California lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan Presently Brown works for the family and Marisa started a costume jewelry business in the fall of 2008 In 1974 the Noels purchased a five bedroom home for 225 000 borrowed from both of their families It has evolved into an 8 600 square foot 8 bedroom 9 bath colonial home valued in 2005 at 6 million on two acres in Greenwich They also own an apartment on Park Avenue in Manhattan a home in Palm Beach FL a summer home in the Southampton NY and a 42 room retreat on Caribbean island of Mustique Three of Noel sons in law eventually became partners promoting the firm funds in either their home countries or regions where they had their own family connections Piedrahita named a Fairfield founding partner in 2007 owns 22 percent is based in Madrid and London and became one of the firm dominant representatives of European and Latin American banking and investment Mr Della Schiava was based in Madrid and Lugano Switzerland Piedrahita Della Schiava and others reaped many millions of dollars in investor capital from Europe Toub was the gent for the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority the Safra National Bank of New York and the National Bank of Kuwait His niece Bianca Haegler a well known Brazilian socialite and her father Alex reportedly steered Brazilian investors to the firm as well as Monica Noel cousin Jorge Paulo Lemann Brazil richest financier co owner of InBev Budweiser parent company Jeffrey Tucker Jeffrey Tucker also has a 17 interest in the firm Though he is not as prominent as the Noels Tucker benefited from Fairfield success In 2007 Tucker chairman of Empire Racing led the group of thoroughbred investors who sought to bid for New York State horse racing franchise Joint Venture In 2004 the firm formed a partnership with Lion Capital of Singapore now Lion Global Investors and created Lion Fairfield Capital Management a joint venture meant to introduce Asian investors to the firm Richard Landsberger a Fairfield partner is director Merger In September 2008 Banque Bndict Hentsch a private Swiss bank managing 2 billion in assets merged with Fairfield Greenwich Group intending to yield an 18 billion venture in combined assets Bndict Hentsch founder and chairman of the board of directors stated that clients would gain access to Fairfield Greenwich s funds while Fairfield Greenwich clients would be able to access BBH s wealth management services Bndict Hentsch and Robert Pennone became directors of Fairfield Greenwich Group and Charles Murphy and Mark McKeefry joined the board of Banque Bndict Hentsch Fairfield Partners SA In mid December 2008 it terminated the merger due to the Madoff crisis It had 47 5 million of client assets at risk with Madoff The founding shareholders of the bank have terminated their partnership with the Fairfield Greenwich Group They have concluded an agreement with the latter whereby they have repurchased the total capital of the bank Banque Bndict Hentsch have immediately taken all appropriate steps in order to protect the interests of its clients and those of the bank Relationship with Bernard L Madoff Noel a graduate of Vanderbilt University and Harvard Law School and Tucker were introduced to Madoff in 1989 by Tucker father in law from Scarsdale New York who knew Madoff and had invested with him In 2006 the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of an investigation into Madoff s activities determined that Fairfield Greenwich hadn t properly disclosed that Madoff oversaw its investment decisions though no evidence of fraud was found Subsequently Fairfield Greenwich formally disclosed Madoff s role and in the process raised about 1 7 billion from investors in the US and Europe During the summer of 2007 several private equity firms were discussing taking a large investment in the firm but Madoff ended any potential deal by refusing to grant the potential investors access for due diligence By 2008 the firm had 48 percent of its capital tied to Madoff Fairfield Sentry Fund Noel and Tucker created the Fairfield Sentry fund in 1990 with 1 million in seed money and began expanding it a year later At the time Noel and Tucker said Madoff provided more information and transparency than most hedge funds and operated a reputable Wall Street firm The Fairfield Sentry fund required a 100 000 minimum investment and was billed as a way to tap Madoff s trading expertise using algorithmic technology while Fairfield with due diligence conducted systematic investment compliance It had more than 7 billion invested with Madoff and became one of his largest victims It was Fairfield s signature fund one of several feeder funds through which money from wealthy foreign investors could capitalize on Mr Madoff supposed investment acumen Its marketing prospectus promised low volatility and steady returns and boasted 11 percent annual return over the last 15 years with only 13 losing months a record that grew increasingly desirable over recent years of volatility The fund was backed by loans from banks including Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria and Nomura Holdings which invested about 304 million The Mugrabis extremely wealthy art collectors from Colombia who have lived in New York for more 20 years and long time friends of Piedrahita a Colombian who had married Mr Noel eldest daughter Corina were investors We had very little money with the fund just under a million dollars so I am not that upset personally said Alberto Mugrabi a son of the family patriarch It was a very informal thing We know Andrs Piedrahita since forever from Bogot he a great guy and he says to us his is the Madoff thing he the master I trusted Andrs I still trust him In early 2005 The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority invested approximately 400 million After redemptions in 2005 and 2006 it continued to 132 million 2 of the funds assets One of the largest of the world sovereign wealth funds its assets were estimated in early 2008 to be approaching 700 billion In August 2008 JPMorgan Chase pulled 250 million from this Madoff feeder fund account Chase had become concerned about lack of transparency and had performed due diligence which had raised doubts about Madoff s operation The firm set up feeder programs with such banks as Banco Santander SA private banking unit Banif Swedish Bank Nordea Zurich based NPB Neue Privat Bank Banque Benedict Hentsch and Cie of Geneva all conduits of fresh money to Mr Madoff which extended his global reach Fees Fairfield s fee arrangement earned them approximately 400 million from 2005 2008 The firm charged clients larger fees than most similar firms do including a 20 share of profits on investments about double what competitors charge that farm out clients money to a variety of fund managers In October 2004 it also began collecting a 1 fee on assets under management Madoff didn t charge additional fees rather a commission on trades he allegedly executed This arrangement raised suspicions and doubt among other money managers Massachusetts regulators alleged that in 2007 Tucker earned more than 30 million in fees from Madoff and that even in down markets Madoff helped Fairfield earn steady returns New Funds in 2008 As recently as December 11 2008 the day Madoff was taken into federal custody Madoff was working with Fairfield Greenwich to raise money for new funds which promised about a 16 return using more leverage than the 31 ratios he claimed he used in existing funds It has been reported by one client that Fairfield warned investors they would be excluded from any future Madoff product if they declined to participate in the new fund and or withdrew from any existing funds Aftermath of Bernard Madoff s Confession Lawsuits Investor Lawsuits Fairfield Greenwich is a defendant in a class action which seeks to recoup losses resulting from Fairfield Greenwich funds investments with Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities The class action is a result of the consolidation of multiple cases filed in federal and state court against Fairfield Greenwich On September 29 2009 a second amended consolidated complaint was filed The complaint also names as defendants the placement agent for the funds Citco the administrator and sub custodian of the funds and PricewaterhouseCoopers the auditor of the funds The complaint alleges fraud violations of Rule 10b 5 violations of Section 20 a negligent misrepresentation gross negligence breach of fiduciary duty third party beneficiary breach of contract constructive trust mutual mistake negligence negligent misrepresentation aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty aiding and abetting fraud and unjust enrichment Fairfield is also a defendant in a lawsuit filed in Miami against PricewaterhouseCoopers Ireland by investors in a fund marketed by defendant Banco Santander SA Europe s second largest bank by market value which lost an estimated 3 billion Massachusetts Action On April 1 2009 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts filed a civil action charging Fairfield Greenwich with fraud breaching its fiduciary duty to clients by failing to provide promised due diligence on its investments The complaint sought a fine and restitution to Massachusetts investors for losses and disgorgement of performance fees paid to Fairfield by those investors It alleges that in 2005 Mr Madoff coached Fairfield staff about ways to answer questions from SEC attorneys who were looking into Harry Markopolos complaint about Madoff s operations The Secretary of State had stated that he had no plans to settle the lawsuit in spite of Fairfield Greenwich s offer to repay all Massachusetts investors and said he was going to force Fairfield to explain e mails and other evidence that appear to show company officials knew about potential problems with Madoff but failed to disclose them to clients However the action was settled on September 8 2009 Fairfield Greenwich neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing agreed to provide restitution to Massachusetts investors and paid a civil penalty Other Lawsuits and Investigations On April 13 2009 a Connecticut judge dissolved a temporary asset freeze from March 30 2009 and issued an order for Walter Noel to post property pledges of 10 million against his Greenwich home and 2 million against Jeffrey Tucker s Noel agreed to the attachment on his house ith no findings including no finding of liability or wrongdoing Andres Piedrahita s assets continue to remain temporarily frozen because he was never served with the complaint The principals are all involved in a lawsuit filed by the town of Fairfield s pension funds The pension fund case is Retirement Program for Employees of the Town of Fairfield v Madoff FBT CV 09 5023735 S Superior Court of Connecticut Bridgeport On May 18 2009 Irving Picard sued Fairfield Greenwich Group seeking the return of 3 2 billion during the period from 2002 Madoff s arrest in December 2008 1 2 billion was withdrawn in the final three months of the fraud Since 1995 the Fairfield funds invested about 4 5 billion with Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities LLC or BLMIS through 242 wire transfersThe funds are Fairfield Sentry Ltd Greenwich Sentry LP and Greenwich

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