Gartmore Group Ltd. (GRT.LN) has been fined $1.35 million by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a breach related to the short selling of a U.S. stock last year, representing yet another blow to the fund manager that has put itself up for sale.

The short selling occurred in advance of a public offering of BB&T Corp. (BBT), which Gartmore also subscribed to. A Securities Exchange Act rule prohibits participating in a secondary offering of equities when there also has been short selling of the stock within a restricted period.

The SEC said Gartmore made a $928,117 profit from the deal. The fine includes repaying that amount, a civil money penalty of $375,000 and prejudgment interest of $44,134, all payable to the U.S. Treasury.

Gartmore is currently evaluating its options, including a possible sale for the company, after one of its top portfolio managers left the company.

The departure of Roger Guy, who managed GBP3.5 billion of Gartmore's GBP20.9 billion assets, was the latest in a dramatic chain of events since the company floated in December.

In March, Gartmore suspended Guy's No. 2, Guillaume Rambourg, and later found he had improperly directed some of his trades to specific brokers.

Gartmore wasn't immediately available to comment. The company had previously disclosed the SEC investigation.

At 0823 GMT, Gartmore shares were up 2 pence, or 1.8%, at 102 pence.

-By Patricia Kowsmann, Dow Jones Newswires. Tel +44(0)207-842-9295, patricia.kowsmann@dowjones.com
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