London-based fund company Castlestone Management, the subject of an investigation by the UK Financial Services Authority, is to shut its Dublin-based funds range, blaming “incorrect and misleading” media reports, among other things.

The firm, set up in 1996 by former Macquarie Bank USA president Angus Murray, said the move to close the funds was unrelated to the ongoing regulatory investigation, which involved staff from the authority entering the firm’s offices last month after a complaint about the company. Instead, it blamed “nervousness shown by investors in the current economic environment” and the costs of running these small funds for its decision.

Last month Castlestone said the authority’s investigation was “of a purely regulatory nature” and was not a criminal investigation, though it said it was unable to give details of the authority’s concerns. – (Reuters)