SEC bars California adviser for bilking pro athletes

Former financial adviser Ash Narayan agreed to be barred from associating with brokerage or advisory firms to settle regulators' allegations that he secretly received nearly $2 million from companies that he invested his professional athlete clients in for at least five years. Mr. Narayan, 51, also placed clients in unsuitable private investments and misrepresented himself as a certified public accountant, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in its complaint filed in May. (More: Serving famous athletes and entertainers poses unique challenges for advisers) Mr. Narayan, who was managing director of the Irvine, Calif., office of RGT Wealth Advisors, a Dallas firm with about $4.3 billion in assets under management, was temporarily suspended by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards in October, pending investigation of the allegations. In February, RGT Wealth Advisors terminated Mr. Narayan, who had worked there since 1997, according to the SEC complaint. The alleged fraud took place between 2010 and early 2016, a period where he directed $33 million to a company he was heavily involved with and knew was in poor financial condition. “RGT appreciates the continuing efforts of the Securities and Exchange Commission and supports its decision to bar him from working in the industry,” the company said in a statement. Mr. Narayan, who neither admitted nor denied the allegations in agreeing to the industry bar, could not be reached for comment. His lawyer Howard Privette of Greenberg Gross did not immediately return a call for comment on Friday.