AlphaMetrix Ousts CFO in Cash Crunch After Touting Due Diligence

AlphaMetrix Group LLC, marketed as a haven for investors from scammers such as Bernard Madoff, fired its chief financial officer and said it faces a cash shortfall at the corporate level.

The Chicago-based company’s businesses include a commodity pool operator, AlphaMetrix LLC, that lets customers invest in futures accounts managed by professional traders. Clients were told in an Oct. 10 letter that liabilities at the parent company “greatly exceed” liquid assets. The firm “has recently encountered significant cash flow issues and is working to strengthen its current financial position,” Aleks Kins, the chief executive officer, said in the letter. Customer assets remain on deposit with custodians and the firms where they were invested, it said in another statement.