Former portfolio manager pleads guilty
A former Vanguard Investments Australia portfolio manager has pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court of Victoria to misusing his position and benefiting by about $600,000.
Mark Hildebrandt placed a number of orders for Canadian S&P/TSX 60 Index Standard Futures contracts traded on the Bourse de Montreal in 2010 while he was employed at Vanguard.
He also placed many matching orders for the same financial product on his personal trading account.
The matching orders worked in such a way where Hildebrandt's personal orders would trade against the Vanguard orders at good prices, which meant he could make a considerable personal profit.
Hildebrandt first faced the Victorian Magistrates Court in 2012 on 60 Corporations Act charges. It was alleged he was employed at Vanguard to manage a number of registered schemes focused on international equities but placed orders from Canadian futures contracts on the Bourse de Montreal on 63 occasions.
A sentencing hearing will take place in the Supreme Court of Victoria on 7 and 8 May. The violations carry a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and/or a $220,000 fine.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is prosecuting the case.
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