Defendant Name: WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc.

Defendant Type: Subsidiary of Public Company
Public Company Parent: WisdomTree, Inc.
SIC Code: 6211
CUSIP: 97717P10

Initial Case Details

Legal Case Name In the Matter of WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc.
First Document Date 21-Oct-2024
Initial Filing Format Administrative Action
File Number 3-22268
Allegation Type Investment Advisers/Investment Companies

Violations Alleged

Other
• Section 206(2), 206(4) Advisers Act; Rules 206(4)-7, 206(4)-8 Advisers Act

Resolutions

First Resolution Date 21-Oct-2024
Headline Total Penalty and Disgorgement $4,000,000

Related Documents:

IA-6753 21-Oct-2024 Administrative Proceeding
rder Instituting Administrative and Cease-and-Desist Proceedings, Pursuant to Sections 203(e) and 203(k) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and Section 9(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions and a Cease-and-Desist Order
On October 21, 2024, the SEC instituted settled administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings against WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., stating: "From March 2020 until November 2022 (the “Relevant Period”), WisdomTree, a registered investment adviser to three exchange-traded funds (the “ESG Funds”) that it marketed as incorporating environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors, misstated to the ESG Funds’ board of trustees (“Board”) and investors that the ESG Funds would not invest in companies that were “involved in certain controversial products or activities,” including “fossil fuels” and “tobacco.” In reality, the ESG Funds invested in the securities of companies during the Relevant Period that were involved in such activities, including coal mining and the transportation of coal, natural gas extraction and distribution, and the retail sale of tobacco products."
2024-173 21-Oct-2024 Press Release--Administrative Proceeding
SEC Charges Advisory Firm WisdomTree with Failing to Adhere to Its Own Investment Criteria For ESG-Marketed Funds
On October 21, 2024, the SEC announced that it "charged New York-based investment adviser WisdomTree Asset Management Inc. with making misstatements and for compliance failures relating to the execution of an investment strategy that was marketed as incorporating environmental, social, and governance(ESG) factors."