
REUTERS/Steve Marcus
The firm had been indicted in July.
Scannell writes that the plea basically means SAC is finished:
As a result of the guilty plea SAC will effectively shut as a firm managing other people's money and close the door on Mr Cohen's enviable success as a money manager. ... Nearly all of its $6bn from pension funds and wealthy individuals will be returned by the end of the year. It has said it will close its London office and has let go numerous employees.
The fate of fund founder Steve Cohen, who still faces civil charges, remains unknown, Scannell says, but the SEC still wants to ban him from the securities industry. The FBI is still investigating trades by Cohen and other SAC execs, she writes.
At its height, SAC had $15 billion assets under management, and Cohen was said to be worth $9.4 billion.