How it started
History
The firm was founded as Och-Ziff in 1994 by Daniel Och with financial support from the Ziff family, founders of Ziff Davis Media. The company completed an initial public offering in 2007. The firm was one of the few hedge funds and private equity companies that completed IPOs before the 2008 financial crisis. Also in 2007, it became a founding member of the Hedge Fund Standards Board which sets a voluntary code of standards of best practice endorsed by its members.
In September 2016, the firm entered into settlement agreements with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ), ending a five-year investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for allegedly paying bribes to government officials in several African nations. As part of the deferred prosecution agreement that settled civil and criminal charges, the firm agreed to pay a $413 million fine. The African subsidiary of the firm also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy. Och was charged by the SEC with causing a books and record violation and paid $2.2m in disgorgement as part of the settlement. After the settlement, the company restructured its leadership. In March 2019, founder and then-Chairman Dan Och stepped down, and in September 2019, the firm rebranded as Sculptor Capital Management.
In January 2018, Michael Cohen, former head of Och Ziff's European operations, was charged with fraud relating to activities of the company in Africa. He was charged with ten counts of fraud including investment adviser fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud while employed by Och Ziff. The SEC sued Michael Cohen as part of their probe into Och Ziff, specifically relating to an Och Ziff bribery scheme in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad and Libya, to win business for the company.
On September 12, 2019, the company changed its name from Och-Ziff Capital Management to Sculptor Capital Management. On May 15, 2019, Cohen pled guilty to one count of making false statements to the DOJ and was sentenced to three months; the other charges against him by the DOJ were dismissed.
As of December 2021, the firm has $38.1 billion in assets under management.
From Wikipedia’s article on Sculptor Capital Management, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3