NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Investment firm Waddell & Reed responded Friday to a media report that it placed a large sell order for certain stock futures that regulators believe may have contributed to last week's brief-but-historic stock market crash.
In what has come to be known as the flash crash, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 1,000 points -- the biggest intra-day trading drop ever -- on May 6, briefly erasing $1 trillion in market value, before regaining much of the lost ground.
While the ultimate cause of the collapse remains unknown, regulators have focused their investigation on a sharp drop in the value of a stock future called the E-mini S&P 500, which investors use to bet on the future performance of stocks in the broad stock index.
Waddell, an asset management and financial planning company based in Overland Park, Kan., sold a large order of E-mini futures contracts during a 20-minute span that corresponded with the plunge, according to a document obtained by Reuters.
In a statement, Waddell said it was one of possibly 250 other investors trading the E-mini futures contract on the day in question.
"On May 6, as on many trading days, Waddell & Reed executed several trading strategies, including index futures contracts, as part of the normal operation of our flexible portfolio funds," the firm said in a statement.
Waddell added that such trades are used to protect investors from potential losses, adding that the firm is a "'bona fide hedger' and not someone intending to disrupt the markets."
"This is a longstanding and well-monitored practice in certain of our investment portfolios," said Waddell.
Waddell (WAD) shares fell 5% to $32.38 Friday.
Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said in congressional testimony Tuesday that regulators were focusing on one particular trader in the market for E-mini futures as part of the commission's investigation into the flash crash.
Gensler said the trader in question entered the market at around 2:32 p.m. ET on May 6 and finished trading by around 2:51 p.m. ET. He said this trader and others had executed hedging strategies of similar size previously.
A spokesman for the CFTC said the agency has no comment on the report. 
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.66% | 3.58% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 2.79% | 2.72% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 2.59% | 2.57% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.64% | 3.57% | |
| 15 yr refi | 2.79% | 2.72% |
Today's featured rates:
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 15,354.40 | 121.18 | 0.80% |
| Nasdaq | 3,498.97 | 33.73 | 0.97% |
| S&P 500 | 1,667.47 | 17.00 | 1.03% |
| Treasuries | 1.95 | 0.08 | 4.50% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 13.43 | 0.07 | 0.52% |
| Cisco Systems Inc | 24.24 | 0.35 | 1.48% |
| Microsoft Corp | 34.87 | 0.79 | 2.32% |
| Ford Motor Co | 15.08 | 0.44 | 3.01% |
| General Electric Co | 23.46 | 0.19 | 0.82% |
|
Glass employees speak openly on public concerns More |
Winklevoss Capital is dabbling in backing Bitcoin startups. More |
The Yahoo board reportedly has approved a deal to pay $1.1 billion in cash for the blogging site Tumblr. More |
Stars ranging from royalty to Playboy playmates have pitched for the weight-loss company over the years. See some of the most memorable Weight Watchers celebrity spokespeople. More |
Between ballooning student loans, credit cards and money owed to family members, graduates of the class of 2013 are facing an average $35,200 in debt, a Fidelity survey found. More |
.
