A Saturday article in the Wall Street Journal mentioned three three mutual fund firms as clients of Broadband Research LLC, a Portland-based firm run by John Kinnucan. The article reported that the FBI had asked Kinnucan to "wear a wire" in conversations with clients. Kinnucan said he rejected the request and instead emailed his roughly 20 hedge fund and mutual fund clients telling them of the FBI's visit and intent.

That article named two mutual fund advisors -- Janus Capital [see profile] and MFS Investments [see profile] -- as Kinnucan clients. It also identified mutual fund subadvisor Wellington Management as a client.

Kinnucan is a former executive at Crabbe Huson whose San Francisco Bay Area consulting business puts institutional investors in touch with experts on various companies to assist in investment research.

Monday's article seems to clear the three firms of any implication of wrongdoing.

In it, the paper reports that traders at just one hedge fund client, Steve Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors, are the target of the FBI's request of Kinnucan that he tape calls. Cohen was not one of those traders, the paper reported.

The second article also downplayed the probe's scale, reporting that "the investigations could lead to some charges by year's end." 

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