Convict Loses Bid to Be Counselor

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday rejected the application of a killer who had hoped to run an investment counseling business from the Colorado penitentiary.

The SEC refused to register Herbert David Marant, who was convicted in 1981 of first-degree murder and conspiracy in the contract killing of his former wife.

“While not unmindful of Marant’s desire to build a future for himself while still in prison . . . the major concern is whether the record reflects that Marant can be trusted to adhere to the high standards of conduct required of an investment adviser,” said Warren E. Blair, the commission’s chief administrative law judge.

Marant filed the application Dec. 22 under the name Michael David Marant, seeking permission to counsel investors as the Light Investment Co. Marant disclosed his murder conviction, the SEC said, but he did conceal a few pertinent facts.

He gave his home address in Englewood, Colo., the SEC said, but he should have listed the Territorial Correctional Facility in Canon City. He failed also to give the name under which he was convicted and imprisoned.