Mark Walter, the billionaire CEO of Guggenheim Partners who recently added the Los Angeles Lakers to a sports portfolio that already included the Dodgers, is now facing a far less glamorous kind of attention. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating potential financial improprieties across his sprawling investment empire, which manages north of $362 billion in assets.

The probe, which reportedly began last year, has recently expanded in scope. The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched its own parallel inquiry into Guggenheim’s asset-management unit.

What prosecutors are actually looking at

The federal investigation centers on Guggenheim Partners’ money-management arm and two insurance companies tied to Walter: Delaware Life Insurance Co. and Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co. The probe has grown beyond its initial parameters to encompass additional transactions involving Walter personally.

On the SEC side, regulators are zeroing in on a specific piece of real estate: an $85 million Malibu property co-owned by Walter and an entity called ABS Capital Co. LLC. The commission is also examining several other transactions involving ABS Capital.

Guggenheim says it is fully cooperating with both investigations. No formal charges have been filed. No findings of wrongdoing have been made public.

This isn’t Guggenheim’s first encounter with SEC scrutiny. The commission previously conducted a year-long investigation into the firm that concluded in 2019 without any disciplinary action.

The empire under the microscope

Guggenheim Partners manages $362 billion in assets. Walter holds a controlling stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers. As of late 2025, he also acquired a majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers.

The investigations appear to be focused specifically on real estate transactions and insurance company dealings rather than on Guggenheim’s broader asset management operations or Walter’s sports investments. The current focus on specific deals suggests a more contained set of concerns, though the expanding scope of the federal probe is worth watching.

What this means for investors

The firm manages money on behalf of major institutional clients, including pension funds and endowments. Federal criminal probes carry a different kind of gravitational pull than SEC inquiries.

Guggenheim has been a notable voice in digital asset markets, with the firm’s then-CIO Scott Minerd making waves in previous years with bold Bitcoin price calls and the firm filing to allow its macro fund to invest in Bitcoin-related products.