[ by Howard Haykin ]

SAC Capital Advisors LP, the $14 billion hedge fund run by Steven A. Cohen, will hold a conference call on Wednesday for clients, according to an investor who asked not to be named because the information is private.  It's not known if Mr. Cohen will take part in the call.

SAC executives have reached out to the firm’s largest investors to calm concern about Cohen’s trading in Elan Corp.  and Wyeth LLC after prosecutors tied Mr. Cohen to a specific transaction at the center of an insider-trading investigation that was announced last week.

Mathew Martoma, a former SAC portfolio manager was arrested on 11/20/12, on charges he traded shares of Elan and Wyeth based on insider information.  Investors, who prefer to remain anonymous, are greatly concerned about those charges - more so than at any time in the past during previous government insider trading investigations.  On those occasions, prosecutors said that SAC Capital and Mr. Cohen, in particular, might be tied to the securities violations - however, no criminal complaints were ever filed against either the firm or its founder.

Sixth Investigation Involving SAC Employees.   As has been frequently mentioned, last week’s charges mark the 6th time a current or former SAC employee was linked to insider trading while working at the firm.  In this case, prosecutors say SAC reaped $276 million in illicit profits or averted losses when Martoma used inside information from a clinical trial to trade in shares of the two health-care companies in 2008.

Nevertheless, a SAC spokesperson said, "Mr. Cohen and SAC are confident that they have acted appropriately and will continue to cooperate with the government’s inquiry.”

The criminal case is ... U.S. v. Martoma, 12-MAG-2985; and the civil case is SEC v. CR Intrinsic Investors LLC, 12-8466, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

[Bloomberg, 11/27/12]