Investment manager Rodney Forrest pleads guilty to insider trading
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The news: Former investment manager Rodney Forrest has pleaded guilty to two counts of insider trading relating to shares in Platinum Asset Management while in possession of inside information relating to a takeover offer, following an investigation by the corporate regulator.
Forrest has also been charged with providing unlicensed financial advice.
The numbers: The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) alleges that Forrest acquired $2.6 million of Platinum shares while in possession of inside information and procured others to also acquire shares.
The context: Before Sydney’s Local Court on Tuesday, Forrest pleaded guilty to two counts of insider trading between August and September 2024.
ASIC also alleges that Forrest operated a financial services business without a licence between 4 January and 8 October 2024.
The case is the first to result from ASIC’s criminal investigation taskforce formed in late 2024 to target insider trading and is being prosecuted by the federal government's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. It has been listed for mention in the Federal Court on 5 September.
In October 2024, Rodney Forrest was up for consideration to become a director of fund manager Perpetual but did not receive the requisite shareholder votes at the annual general meeting.
Although Forrest had received support from some shareholders, he was not endorsed by Perpetual’s board.
The source: ASIC media release
