Amerindo Investment Advisors
Encyclopedia
Amerindo Investment Advisors Inc. was an Investment services
firm, best known for making large profits during the Dot-com boom of the 1990s and 2000s.
The origins of the company date to the early 1980s, when Vilar and Tanaka founded two companies named "Amerindo" in England and Panama. The American branch, called "Amerindo Investment Advisors Inc." was founded in 1985.
The East Coast office was located in the 399 Park Avenue
in New York City
, the West Coast office, and "principal place of business" was located at One Embarcadero Center
in San Francisco, and the international office was in London
.
Vilar made an early and very successful investment in Yahoo!
, which once totaled 40% of the fund's investment portfolio. Vilar's financial strategy included investing in purchasing shares of companies shortly after their initial public offering
.
The company's "flagship" financial product, the "Amerindo Technology Fund," was known for investing in startup
high tech
and Dot-com
companies. Following many years of strong growth during the internet boom the fund came to a crash.
Vilar gained a lot of press for declaring the internet to be "bigger than the Industrial Revolution."
Separately, Amerindo investor Lily Cates, mother of actress Phoebe Cates
, invested $5 million in the "Amerindo Small Business Investment Company" venture, but most of her investment was rerouted to pay for Amerindo's business expenses, donated to various charities to which Vilar had made pledges that he couldn't afford, and to pay a settlement from a former client who was suing Amerindo about the GFRDA account. In September 2003, Vilar ordered an employee to copy Cates' signature onto a document that purported to authorize a $250,000 transfer, with most of that money going into Vilar's personal account. In 2005, Cates filed a complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding Vialr and Amerindo. During the investigation, Vilar lied to the SEC, claiming that Cates wasn't a client and that he did not own the Panamanian subsidiary.
In 2005, Vilar and Tanaka were convicted for organizing a series of transactions that defrauded their clients. After the 9 week trial, Vilar was convicted of two counts of securities fraud; two counts of wire fraud; four counts of money laundering; investment adviser fraud; mail fraud; making false statements; and participating in a conspiracy to commit securities fraud, investment adviser fraud; wire fraud, mail fraud; and money laundering and Tanaka was convicted of three of the twelve counts with which he was charged: securities fraud; investment adviser fraud; and conspiring to commit securities fraud; investment adviser fraud; wire fraud; mail fraud; and money laundering.
Investment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
firm, best known for making large profits during the Dot-com boom of the 1990s and 2000s.
The origins of the company date to the early 1980s, when Vilar and Tanaka founded two companies named "Amerindo" in England and Panama. The American branch, called "Amerindo Investment Advisors Inc." was founded in 1985.
The East Coast office was located in the 399 Park Avenue
399 Park Avenue
399 Park Avenue is a 41-story office building that is the world headquarters of Citigroup in New York City, United States.Citigroup's chairman and chief executive officer operate from the building's second floor...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the West Coast office, and "principal place of business" was located at One Embarcadero Center
One Embarcadero Center
One Embarcadero Center is an class-A office skyscraper in the Financial District of San Francisco, California. The building is part of the Embarcadero Center complex of six interconnected buildings and one off-site extension. The skyscraper, completed in 1971, stands tall with 45 stories without...
in San Francisco, and the international office was in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Vilar made an early and very successful investment in Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
, which once totaled 40% of the fund's investment portfolio. Vilar's financial strategy included investing in purchasing shares of companies shortly after their initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
.
The company's "flagship" financial product, the "Amerindo Technology Fund," was known for investing in startup
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
high tech
High tech
High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...
and Dot-com
Dot-com company
A dot-com company, or simply a dot-com , is a company that does most of its business on the Internet, usually through a website that uses the popular top-level domain, ".com" .While the term can refer to present-day companies, it is also used specifically to refer to companies with...
companies. Following many years of strong growth during the internet boom the fund came to a crash.
Vilar gained a lot of press for declaring the internet to be "bigger than the Industrial Revolution."
Fraudulent activities
Amerindo had advertised that its "Guaranteed Fixed Rate Deposit Account" (GFRDA) would be invested in "high quality, short-term deposits" that would produce a "fixed-rate of interest for a fixed-term." Instead, these funds were invested in risky dot com ventures, and the fund lost large sums after the 2000 dot-com bust, which meant that Amerindo couldn't repay the investors, costing investors millions of dollars.Separately, Amerindo investor Lily Cates, mother of actress Phoebe Cates
Phoebe Cates
Phoebe Cates is an American film actress, model, and entrepreneur known for her roles in several teen films, most notably Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Gremlins.-Early life:...
, invested $5 million in the "Amerindo Small Business Investment Company" venture, but most of her investment was rerouted to pay for Amerindo's business expenses, donated to various charities to which Vilar had made pledges that he couldn't afford, and to pay a settlement from a former client who was suing Amerindo about the GFRDA account. In September 2003, Vilar ordered an employee to copy Cates' signature onto a document that purported to authorize a $250,000 transfer, with most of that money going into Vilar's personal account. In 2005, Cates filed a complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding Vialr and Amerindo. During the investigation, Vilar lied to the SEC, claiming that Cates wasn't a client and that he did not own the Panamanian subsidiary.
In 2005, Vilar and Tanaka were convicted for organizing a series of transactions that defrauded their clients. After the 9 week trial, Vilar was convicted of two counts of securities fraud; two counts of wire fraud; four counts of money laundering; investment adviser fraud; mail fraud; making false statements; and participating in a conspiracy to commit securities fraud, investment adviser fraud; wire fraud, mail fraud; and money laundering and Tanaka was convicted of three of the twelve counts with which he was charged: securities fraud; investment adviser fraud; and conspiring to commit securities fraud; investment adviser fraud; wire fraud; mail fraud; and money laundering.