- Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Aon Investments USA and former partner Claire Shaughnessy have reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after charges were made against them regarding misleading a client, the Pennsylvania public employees' pension fund. The settlement, announced on Thursday by the SEC, will see Aon pay over $1.5 million.
The SEC alleges that Aon provided inaccurate quarterly returns to the Pennsylvania Public Employees' Retirement System (PPERS) in June 2020, which differed from previously provided historical returns for the same period. When questioned about the discrepancy, Aon and Shaughnessy failed to conduct a proper investigation and gave explanations that were known to be inaccurate.
According to the SEC, Pennsylvania law requires certain public employees to contribute more to their pensions if the fund fails to meet a designated investment return rate. The incorrect return rate provided by Aon was just above the threshold triggering additional contributions, whereas the corrected rate was below it.
While neither admitting nor denying the SEC's findings, Aon has agreed to a settled order. As part of the settlement, they will pay a civil penalty of $1 million, as well as disgorgement and prejudgment interest totaling $542,187. In addition, Shaughnessy has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $30,000.
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