SSEK Bond Loss Lawyers

Easterly ROCMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund (RMJAX) Loses Almost Half Its Value in a Single Day

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Is Investigating Janney Montgomery Scott and Other Brokerage Firms That Sold This High-Yield Municipal Bond Fund 

Last month, Easterly ROCMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund investors suffered serious losses after the Fund’s total net assets plunged nearly 50%. Between $50M and $100M may have been lost, which may shock investors when they read their July statements.

At the end of March, ROCMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund (RMJAX, RHHIX and RMHVX) had $232 million in Net assets. By June 23^rd that was down to $25.1 million. The Easterly HY Muni Fund’s Net Asset Value (NAV), which was $6.36 at the start of June, went down to $3.09. The fund’s performance year-to-date is -57.34%.

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Bond Loss Lawyers (investorlawyers.com) are looking into claims of losses involving investors who were marketed and sold this municipal junk bond fund by Janney Montgomery Scott and other broker-dealers. Contact us today to request your free case consultation.

The Inherent Risks of the ROCMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund

Easterly Asset Management acquired PSP High Income Municipal Bond Mutual Fund and the PS Short-Term Municipal Fund last year. The Funds’ names were changed to Easterly ROC Muni High Yield and Easterly Roc Muni Short Duration. It was the Easterly ROCMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund that ended up experiencing the massive losses.

According to a report, more than half of the fund was in 144A private transactions, which involved a lot of privately played illiquid securities. Just below 84% of Easterly’s portfolio included credits rated D to BB-plus, which are commonly referred to as “junk” bonds when they have such a low rating. These are risky investments and unsuitable for many investors.

It is being reported that on or about June 13^th, Easterly RocMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund liquidated a large portion of these typically illiquid investments in a “fire sale” that resulted in the fund losing almost half of its value in a single day.

This is an extremely uncommon event and it is still unclear what triggered the managers at Easterly RocMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund to sell these illiquid bonds into the market in such a short time period.  Many investors are just now receiving their brokerage account statements and learning of the massive losses.

Easterly RocMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund is a municipal junk bond fund and is highly speculative. Our bond fund loss attorneys are looking into possible claims of unsuitable investment recommendations, failure in due diligence, misrepresentations and omissions of the risks, negligence, excessive concentration, and other claims related to the marketing and sale of this fund by brokers and investment advisers.

Additionally, we are investigating a class action to be filed against Easterly RocMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund, Easterly Funds and others as a result of their management of the fund and possible violations of their legal obligations.

How Can Our Bond Loss Lawyers Help?

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Bond Loss Lawyers have been representing investors against broker-dealers and investment advisers for decades. We are keenly aware of the fiduciary breaches that lead to financial advisors placing their clients into overly risky investments that end up causing serious portfolio losses.

This is just one of the reasons brokerage firms must conduct the necessary due diligence to ensure not just viability but suitability before promoting any investment to a customer.

If you sustained serious losses in the Easterly ROCMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund, we may be able to determine if you have grounds for pursuing damages against your financial advisor or may be suitable for joining a potential class action. This is not the kind of investment loss recovery claim you want to make without trusted securities lawyers on your side.

More than 90% of our clients have secured full or partial financial recovery through our dedication and skilled efforts. We have represented investors regarding thousands of matters, including highly complex claims against the largest Wall Street firms.

Your initial consultation with our Bond Loss Lawyers Team is a free, no-obligation case assessment.

Call (800) 259-9010.

Email sedwards@sseklaw.com