ADVERTISEMENT

Hedge Fund Traders Openly Rated Women Co-Workers, Suit Says

Hedge Fund Traders Openly Rated Women Co-Workers, Lawsuit Claims

(Bloomberg) -- New York hedge fund Advent Capital Management LLC subjected a former junior investment associate to “relentless, egregious discrimination” and then fired her for complaining about it to the firm’s top executives, she alleged in a lawsuit.

Male traders and portfolio managers at the firm ranked women on a 1-10 scale, called them demeaning names and classified them according to whether men would marry, kill or have sex with them, Courtney Robb said in her complaint, filed Monday in federal court in Manhattan. Robb said she was hired by Advent in August 2016 and fired in May 2017.

Robb said she complained to Advent’s former chief operating officer and was later fired after a closed-door meeting in which the firm’s president and chief investment officer, Tracy Maitland, excused the behavior as “locker room talk.”

“Just weeks after engaging in protected speech about discrimination to Maitland himself and the COO, Advent fired Ms. Robb without any explanation,” according to the complaint.

Minority-Owned Firm

Advent, which had assets under management of $8.5 billion as of April 30, said in a statement it is “a minority-owned firm which takes seriously its commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace” and takes “all employee concerns extremely seriously.”

Advent said it couldn’t comment specifically on pending litigation but that “we believe that the complaint does not fairly or accurately recount the facts of this matter. This is plaintiff’s third law firm in three years. Advent filed a lawsuit against plaintiff in 2017 that remains pending. Advent intends to vigorously defend against these claims. Advent is proud of its commitment to a culture free of harassment and being a strong advocate of civil rights organizations nationally.”

Robb said that when she was hired, Advent’s offices were in the same building as the Clinton Foundation, and employees of the firm were used to seeing Chelsea Clinton in the lobby and elevators. One portfolio manager even took a swipe at her, loudly proclaiming to the Advent trading floor that “on her best day, Chelsea Clinton is a 3,” according to Robb.

Advent sued Robb in December 2017, claiming she stole date from the firm with the “intent of causing harm to Advent’s business and reputation and to benefit herself or Advent’s competitors.” That suit is pending in state court in Manhattan.

Robb said in her suit that the Advent claim is meritless and was meant to retaliate against her for complaining about her treatment.

Robb’s lawsuit names Advent and Maitland as defendants and seeks an unspecified sum in damages.

The case is Robb v. Advent Capital Management LLC, 20-cv-3832, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.