Ex-BlackRock Portfolio Manager Asked Film Company for Favors: SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged Randy Robertson, a former portfolio manager at BlackRock Advisors LLC, with failing to disclose a conflict of interest related to his relationship with a film distribution company in which the fund he managed for BlackRock invested millions of dollars.

To settle the charges, Robertson agreed to pay a $250,000 penalty.

Robertson, who was also a former co-portfolio manager for the BlackRock Multi-Sector Income Trust (BIT), a closed-end management investment company, failed to disclose a conflict of interest concerning the largest investment held by BIT, a lending facility in affiliates of Aviron Group LLC.

From 2015 through 2019, BIT invested in the aggregate of roughly $85 million in a secured lending facility to fund the print and advertising expenses associated with particular films Aviron distributed, the SEC order states.

According to the SEC, “Robertson played a primary role in identifying and selecting the Aviron Investment and a significant role in overseeing the Aviron Investment.”