The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that three funds managed by the Blackstone Group would pay approximately $39 million to settle a case over how the firm imposes fees, reports The New York Times.
The SEC said that Blackstone failed to adopt and implement reasonably designed policies and procedures and that it received discounts from legal firms that it worked with, but did not pass savings to investors.
Blackstone responded that the issue came from a lack or disclosures in marketing documents a decade ago, according to the article, and that the firm had changed policies before the SEC began its investigation.
The article says about $29 million of the settlement will be returned to investors in these funds, and the firm will also pay a $10 million civil penalty.
