UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Before the

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 

Release No. 93872 / December 29, 2021

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING

File No. 3-17614

In the Matter of

Laurence I. Balter d/b/a Oracle 

Investment Research,

Respondent.

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NOTICE OF PROPOSED PLAN OF 

DISTRIBUTION AND 

OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to Rule 1103 of the United States Securities and 

Exchange Commission’s (“Commission”) Rules on Fair Fund and Disgorgement Plans 

(“Commission’s Rules”), 17 C.F.R. § 201.1103, that the Division of Enforcement has submitted 

to the Commission a proposed plan of distribution (the “Proposed Plan”) for the distribution of 

monies paid in the above-captioned matter.

On May 26, 2017, the Commission issued an Order Making Findings and Imposing 

Remedial Sanctions and a Cease-and-Desist Order Pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act 

of 1933, Section 21C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Sections 203(f) and 203(k) of the 

Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and Sections 9(b) and 9(f) of the Investment Company Act of 

1940 (the “Order”)1against Laurence I. Balter d/b/a Oracle Investment Research (the 

“Respondent”). In the Order, the Commission found that that the Respondent, a former 

registered investment adviser to the Oracle Mutual Fund (the “Oracle Fund”), committed 

multiple breaches of fiduciary duty and violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal 

securities laws from January 2011 to April 2014: (a) he fraudulently allocated profitable trades 

to his own accounts to the detriment of several client accounts; (b) he falsely told his clients who 

invested in the Oracle Fund that they would not pay both advisory fees and management fees for 

the portions of their accounts invested in the Oracle Fund; and (c) he made trades for the Oracle 

Fund that deviated from two of its fundamental investment limitations. The Commission ordered

the Respondent to pay $489,921 in disgorgement, $10,079 in prejudgment interest, and a 

$50,000 civil money penalty, for a total of $550,000, to the Commission. The Commission also 

created a Fair Fund, pursuant to Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, so the 

penalty paid, along with the disgorgement and interest paid, can be distributed to harmed 

investors (the “Fair Fund”).

 

1

 Securities Act Rel. No. 10367 (May 26, 2017).
The Fair Fund includes the $550,000.00 paid by the Respondent. The assets of the Fair 

Fund are subject to the continuing jurisdiction and control of the Commission. The Fair Fund 

has been deposited in an interest-bearing account at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s 

Bureau of the Fiscal Service, and any interest accrued will be added to the Fair Fund.

OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT

Pursuant to this Notice, all interested persons are advised that they may obtain a copy of 

the Plan from the Commission’s public website at http://www.sec.gov/litigation/fairfundlist.htm. 

Interested persons may also obtain a written copy of the Proposed Plan by submitting a written 

request to David H. London, United States Securities and Exchange Commission, 33 Arch 

Street, 24th Floor, Boston, MA 02110. All persons who desire to comment on the Proposed Plan 

may submit their comments, in writing, no later than thirty (30) days from the date of this 

Notice:

1. to the Office of the Secretary, United States Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090;

2. by using the Commission’s Internet comment form 

(http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin.shtml); or

3. by sending an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov.

Comments submitted by email or via the Commission’s website should include “Administrative 

Proceeding File No. 3-17614” in the subject line. Comments received will be publicly available. 

Persons should submit only information they wish to make publicly available.

THE PROPOSED PLAN

The Net Available Fair Fund2is comprised of the $550,000.00 in disgorgement, 

prejudgment interest, and civil money penalties paid by the Respondent, plus interest and income 

earned thereon, less taxes, fees, and expenses. The Proposed Plan provides for the distribution of 

the Net Available Fair Fund to Payees based on their losses due to the misconduct of the 

Respondent as calculated by the methodology used in the Plan of Allocation in the Plan.

For the Commission, by the Division of Enforcement, pursuant to delegated authority.3

Vanessa A. Countryman

Secretary 

 

2

 All capitalized terms used herein but not defined shall have the same meanings ascribed to them in the Proposed 

Plan.

3

 17 C.F.R. § 200.30-4(a)(21)(iii).