08:52 AM EDT, 10/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Jefferies Financial Group's ( JEF ) investment management is "absolutely separate" from the controversial Point Bonita fund linked to the collapse of auto parts manufacturer First Brands, Jefferies President Brian Friedman said at the bank's investor day on Thursday.

The 2019 decision of Point Bonita's asset management team to engage with First Brands was not connected with anything on the investment banking side, Friedman said, according to a regulatory filing released on Friday.

"I'll just say this is us personally, we believe we were defrauded," Jefferies CEO Rich Handler said, adding that the environment is "good" in general based on his talks with investors and CEOs.

Jefferies' investments in First Brands effectively comprise $43 million of Point Bonita's accounts receivables purchased from First Brands, the executives said in an open letter published Sunday.