Miah had the authority to trade on behalf of hedge funds and long-onlys. Between January 2010 and October 2012, he exploited weaknesses in the trading systems and controls at Aviva Investors in order to delay the booking and allocation of trades, the FCA said.
This meant he could assess the performance of a trade during the day and allocate the more successful trades to hedge funds that paid performance fees, while weaker trades were allocated to long-only funds that paid lower or no performance fees, a practice known as ‘cherry picking’.
The FCA said Miah had been motivated by a desire to prove his trading ability to his colleagues and increase his chances of promotion. The regulator added that the culture in Aviva Investors’ fixed income business was heavily focused on performance and promotions tended to be based on reported investment performance.
The FCA has already fined Aviva Investors £17.6 million for the breach.
Mark Steward, director of enforcement at the FCA said: “Mr Miah abused the trust given to him by his clients in a very clear and deliberate way. It is vital that Approved Persons operate with honesty and integrity at all times. Mr Miah did not.
“We have taken into account that Mr Miah admitted his misconduct at a very early stage to both Aviva Investors and the FCA and showed remorse for his actions.”
The FCA said that given Miah’s early admission of guilt, subsequent co-operation and expressions of remorse mean that it is minded to revoke his ban from performing any regulated activity after five years on his application.
