Australian Hedge Fund Probed by Regulator Over Trading Issue

(Bloomberg) -- Regal Funds Management, the hedge fund founded by Philip King, is being investigated by Australia's securities regulator.

The investigation is preliminary and is in relation to the trading of certain securities, a spokesperson for Sydney-based Regal said in an emailed statement. The fund is cooperating fully with the investigation.

“As an active participant in Australian equity markets, Regal is subject to scrutiny from regulatory bodies from time to time,” the spokesperson said. “Regal’s responsibility to its clients is paramount and it takes its obligations to comply with all laws and regulations very seriously.”

Trading in the firm’s listed Regal Investment Fund was halted Tuesday after the company said it was under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for an “undisclosed issue,” according to a stock exchange filing. The halt will be lifted once the fund’s responsible entity has details on the investigation and the alleged parties involved, according to the filing.

A spokesman for ASIC said the regulator isn’t able to discuss the matter at this stage.

--With assistance from Bei Hu.

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Burgess in Melbourne at mburgess46@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Edward Johnson at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net, Tony Jordan, Peter Vercoe

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