SEC targets Wall Street banks in Situational Awareness probe

Regulators are seeking exhaustive records regarding the fund's communications with lenders, specifically aiming to reconstruct the sequence of trades that preceded its sudden dissolution. This investigation marks a significant escalation in oversight regarding the firm, which was founded by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner.

While the probe remains in its nascent stages, the focus is on whether the fund’s risk management and interactions with banking partners adhered to market standards. Last month, Situational Awareness was forced to unwind the majority of its public equities portfolio following substantial losses in its tech holdings, eventually selling the bulk of its assets to Citadel. Neither the SEC nor Aschenbrenner’s firm have provided immediate comment on the subpoenas, and the investigation does not yet guarantee any formal disciplinary action.