AdultVest, Inc. is an

investment management Investment management (sometimes referred to more generally as financial asset management) is the professional asset management of various Security (finance), securities, including shareholdings, Bond (finance), bonds, and other assets, such as r ...

company based in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It was founded in 2005 by former

hedge fund A hedge fund is a Pooling (resource management), pooled investment fund that holds Market liquidity, liquid assets and that makes use of complex trader (finance), trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and ...

specialist Francis Koenig as an institutional investment company focusing exclusively on

sex industry The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related se ...

-related investments. Only

accredited investor An accredited or sophisticated investor is an investor with a special status under financial regulation laws. The definition of an accredited investor (if any), and the consequences of being classified as such, vary between countries. Generally, ac ...

s may invest in the fund; it caters to investors willing to invest more than one million dollars. The firm is a former winner of the Hedge Fund Launch of the Year Award.

Accusation

In January 2009, ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' reported Koenig stating that AdultVest had made a 50% return. The ''

Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...

'' stated that they were "deeply skeptical" about Koenig's claim of a 50% return because when they asked him how the

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

had made the money, Koenig referred to "valuing assets like iPhone porn startups and unsold domain names".

Exoneration

According to

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

source, FINAlternatives, and the SEC's exoneration letter referenced in the article, Koenig was misquoted. The actual 50% claim was, instead, a 50% increase in the per unit buy-in price based on the fund's progress. The SEC reviewed the company and concluded that all funds were correctly accounted for, and the fraud case was closed in April 2010, with Koenig being exonerated in an official letter.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adultvest 2005 establishments in California Sex industry in the United States Financial services companies established in 2005 American companies established in 2005 Companies based in Beverly Hills, California Hedge fund firms in California Investment companies of the United States