By Jenny Strasburg and Matthew Leising
Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Sentinel Management Group Inc., the Illinois-based firm that manages $1.6 billion, said it asked regulators for permission to freeze client withdrawals because credit-market turmoil made it impossible to trade.
The firm, based in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook, contacted the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for approval to halt redemptions ``until we can honor them in an orderly fashion,'' according to an Aug. 13 letter to clients.
The CFTC hadn't granted permission as of this morning, said an assistant to Eric Bloom, Sentinel's president and chief executive officer, who declined to be identified. Bloom didn't return calls for comment.
CFTC spokesman Dennis Holden declined to say whether the firm's request had been received.
``We are aware of the situation and we are monitoring it.''
The firm said it was a victim of panic by investors caused by the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market.
``Investor fear has overtaken reason and has induced a period in which most securities have simply ceased to trade,'' according to the client letter, which does not specify which funds are affected. ``We are concerned that we cannot meet any significant redemption requests without selling securities at deep discounts to their fair value and therefore causing unnecessary losses to our clients.''
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