PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- OppenheimerFunds and the state of Oregon reached a settlement Thursday over the company's management of the Oregon College Savings Plan.
Attorney General John Kroger and Treasurer Ben Westlund sued OppenheimerFunds for $36 million for falsely promoting a high-risk college investment plan as "conservative." They said plan managers turned it into a hedge-fund like investment that took extreme speculative risks.
The Core Bond Fund lost 35.5 percent in value in 2008. Meanwhile, similar funds in the same investment class lost, on average, about 5 percent for the year.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, OppenheimerFunds does not admit wrongdoing and agrees to pay Oregon $20 million.
The state says it will divide the money among roughly 45,000 accountholders.
