After months of uncertainty and delays, investors in Auction Rate Securities continue to receive conflicting news about their situation. While some investors may have access to funds in the near future, many have been severely damaged by this debacle and the delays. In settlements with regulators several firms were forced…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says it has set up an arbitration process designed to resolve claims involving auction-rate securities. Parties now have the option to have their claims reviewed by an arbitration panel with members that are not connected with any firm that may have recently sold the securities.…
Massachusetts plumbing and air conditioning supply company F.W. Webb Company is suing State Street Bank and Trust Company, State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), and CitiStreet. F.W. Webb is accusing the defendants of misrepresenting a bond fund as a low risk 401k-investment option, when in fact, the SSgA Yield Plus Fund…
Documents reveal that Bank of America told the state of California as early as late last year that there were problems brewing with the auction-rate securities market. The country’s largest retail banking firm, however, failed to warn smaller investors about potential trouble and continued selling the investments without providing any…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a complaint charging Brent S. Lemons, a former AG Edwards Inc. and Bank of America Investment Services Inc. stockbroker, with misappropriating over $1.3 million from at least three clients. He allegedly used the money to pay off his gambling debts. The Commission is…
Prudential Securities has been plagued by claims over its deferred compensation plan, known as MasterShare. A number of former representatives have filed claims and recovered damages. Started in 1999, MasterShare allowed Pru employees to deduct up to 25 percent of their gross pay to purchase discounted shares of a stock…
A recent Morningstar article outlines seven mutual fund horror stories. In addition to the Legg Mason Value Fund (symbol LMVTX) and Schwab YieldPlus Fund (symbol SWYPX) and the Regions Morgan Keegan funds, which are the subject of stories we have reported recently, several other hard-hit mutual funds are discussed. For…
Just as auction rate securities were sold by most investment firms as safe alternatives to money market funds which paid a higher rate, so also were a number of mutual funds. Packaged and sold as ultra-short term bond funds and a safe haven for funds which were to be secure…
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has filed a lawsuit against Fitch Inc., Moody’s Corp., and McGraw-Hill Companies. He is charging them with deliberately giving lower credit ratings to bonds issued by public entities, such as municipalities, in comparison to corporate and other kinds of debt. Blumenthal says that by purposely…
SSEK law firm, which specializes in investor claims, is investigating compliants over the liquidity and security of so-called “ultra-short term” bond funds. Because these funds were sold as cash alternatives, any loss of principal is not acceptable. Recently, investors have experienced subtantial losses on a number of these funds, including:…