Litigation funder Investor Claim Partner (ICP) has welcomed Federal Court orders requiring IOOF to disclose documents relevant to allegations of insider trading and front-running first alleged by Fairfax in June 2015.
Maurice Blackburn previously obtained similar documents, but the Victorian Supreme Court has made orders by consent restraining Maurice Blackburn from instituting or prosecuting its proposed class action against IOOF.
The Federal Court order will allow ACA Lawyers, funded by ICP and Litigation Lending Services (LLS), to review the documents before deciding whether to proceed with a shareholder claim against IOOF.
ACA principal Craig Allsopp said: "We consider there may be strong grounds to allege that IOOF misled investors and that, as a result, IOOF shares traded at substantially inflated prices for at least a year leading up to June 2015. We will know more once IOOF’s internal documents have been reviewed".
ICP chief executive John Walker said: "Investment managers and financial planners must earn and retain the trust of their clients. When this is lacking the share market rightly factors in a discount reflecting the associated risks for listed fund managers."
"The Royal Commission underway has highlighted the need for cultural and structural change in our vertically integrated funds management industry," said Stuart Price of LLS.
