U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 23037 / July 3, 2014

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Bruce Alpert, Civil Action No. 08-CV-3868 (DAB) (Southern District of New York, Complaint filed April 24, 2008)

Final Judgment of Dismissal by Consent Entered in SEC Action Involving Market Timing

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today the resolution of an enforcement action filed by the Commission on April 24, 2008, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against defendant Bruce Alpert, Chief Operating Officer of Gabelli Funds LLC (Gabelli Funds). The court entered final judgment of dismissal by consent on June 19, 2014.

The Commission's complaint alleged that a hedge fund had been authorized to place market timing trades in the Gabelli Global Growth Fund (GGGF), a fund advised by Gabelli Funds, in exchange for an investment in a hedge fund advised by an affiliate of Gabelli Funds. The complaint also alleged that Alpert wrote a memorandum in September 2003 that was designed to assure investors that Gabelli Funds did not have a market timing problem. However, the memorandum gave the misleading impression that any failure to exclude market timers resulted from procedural limitations, not intentional conduct.

The Commission's announcement follows six years of litigation. On March 17, 2010, the District Court dismissed the Commission's complaint in part. On June 2, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the District Court's dismissal and reinstated the Commission's claims. On February 27, 2013, the United States Supreme Court reversed the Second Circuit in part and the case was remanded back to the District Court. The Commission has now agreed to dismiss its charges against Alpert.

For further information, see Lit. Release No. 20539 (April 24, 2008).