Morgan Stanley told its employees it would no longer introduce potential clients to the hedge fund, the people said. The reason for the snub was never revealed and Morgan Stanley isn’t commenting. The bank’s asset management unit remained an investor in Visium’s main fund and Gottlieb spoke at the conference this year.

Lower Pay

Former and current employees say Gottlieb was frugal to a fault. For most of its history, Visium money managers were paid an annual bonus of 8 percent to 10 percent of the profits they generated from investments, these people said. While rivals paid 15 percent to 20 percent, the firm told clients leaner payouts kept investor fees low.

Gottlieb drove a hard bargain in his private life, too. A dispute over a prenuptial agreement held up his marriage to Alexandra Lumiere, Stefan’s sister, for more than a year and a half, through the birth of their first child and until she became pregnant with the second, according to New York court documents. On 12 occasions, court documents show, Gottlieb made an offer, Lumiere agreed, and Gottlieb countered -- with something less.

The final agreement, which Lumiere signed against her lawyer’s advice, provided her with an apartment until her kids turn 18, and $300,000 plus interest for each year of their marriage, which fell apart in 2012. Court papers showed Gottlieb’s net worth at $188 million as of 2013.

Even now, Gottlieb is watching the purse strings. In announcing the liquidation of the Balanced Fund, Gottlieb told investors he would hold back 3 percent to 5 percent of assets in part to pay potential legal costs from the government cases.

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