U.S. hedge fund advisor pleads guilty to child porn charges

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prominent hedge fund advisor Ezra Zask pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in a New York court on Wednesday, avoiding jail time for the charges. The founder of hedge fund consulting firm SFC Associates and author of numerous books on investing was arrested in his Manhattan apartment in July of last year after police, acting on a search warrant, found numerous illegal videos and images on his computer, the New York City police department said. Zask entered the guilty plea in front of New York Supreme Court Judge Larry Stephen and is scheduled to be sentenced in March. "The agreed upon sentence is one of probation," Zask's lawyer Alan Futerfas said. Zask formed SFC Associates in 1991 after he founded a fund managing more than $1 billion for institutional and individual investors, according to the company website. SFC Associates senior principal Jean-Baptiste Carelus did not respond to a request for comment. The firm advises clients on asset allocation and risk management and Zask has served as an expert witness in dozens of banking industry cases. His resume also includes several university teaching positions and degrees from Princeton and Columbia. (Reporting by Mica Rosenberg; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)