Sharks are circling around the carefully-curated art collection of billionaire hedge fund owner Steven A Cohen.

Under investigation for alleged insider trading is Cohen's $14 billion SAC Capital Advisors LP. A former SAC portfolio manager has already been chraged by federal authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued the same man civilly, and has warned SAC.

At stake is a collection that Cohen, 56, began in 2001 of important Impressionist to contemporary works. He is known for his eye for the best and for paying top prices.

Among his noteworthy purchases are works by Van Gogh, Manet, de Kooning, Picasso, Cezanne, Warhol, Johns and Richter.

Cohen's bold buy of “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living,” an actual shark suspended in formaldehyde, by Damien Hirst, and Willem de Kooning’s “Woman III,” a $137 million purchase, are among his most known pieces.

Dealers say that provenance would not inflate prices should Cohen's art collection need to be sold, but his tendency to the buy the best wouldn't hurt.