UBS YES Strategy

SSEK Law Firm Wins More than $468,000 UBS YES Award for North Carolina Couple

Published on: September 8, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Third Yield Enhancement Strategy Investors Award for Seasoned Securities Fraud Law Firm

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) is thrilled to announce that on September 1, 2022, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel ordered UBS Financial Services (UBS) to pay $468,126 to two customers and their trust over losses they sustained in the firm’s UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy program. The award was a unanimous ruling by three FINRA arbitrators. It was a full recovery for the investors, including more than $343,000 in compensatory damages, more than $100,000 in legal fees, and over $24,000 in costs.

On September 2, 2022, InvestmentNews reported on SSEK Law Firm’s win against UBS and interviewed our Managing Partner Sam Edwards. This is our firm’s third UBS YES loss attorneys’ arbitration award that we’ve won for investors who were never fully apprised of the risks involved in the firm’s options overlay strategy, experiencing securities fraud. Our securities attorneys’ earlier wins were a $400K Yield Enhancement Strategy award on behalf of Maryland investors and another award on behalf of a Texas investor.

UBS YES Customers of Houston Broker William Huthnance Are Pursuing $1.8M in Damages

Published on: August 23, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Investors Allege Unsuitability and Misrepresentations

Our UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy (UBS YES) investment loss attorneys are speaking with customers of UBS Financial Services broker William Word Huthnance in Houston, Texas. Huthnance, who has worked for 20 years in the industry, is accused of allegedly unsuitably recommending the firm’s risky iron condor strategy to customers while purportedly making misrepresentations and omissions to them.

Already, one claimant reached a $580K settlement over their UBS YES losses, as well as losses involving purportedly unsuitably recommended hedge funds, structured notes, and private equity fund recommendations.

UBS To Pay $25M To Settle SEC Charges Involving Its Yield Enhancement Strategy

Published on: July 26, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Firm Accused of Inadequate Training And Poor Supervision of Brokers That Sold YES

UBS Financial Services has consented to pay about $25M to settle US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges related to the firm’s Yield Enhancement Strategy (YES). The regulator contends that the broker-dealer, which marketed and sold $2B of UBS YES to about 600 high-net-worth individual investors between February 2016 and February 2017, allegedly failed to adequately train its financial advisors in and supervise this complex iron condor strategy.

This purportedly included the firm knowing about— documenting—the “possibility of significant risk” but not notifying many of its brokers and clients about this.

UBS Must Pay Over $2.5M to Yield Enhancement Strategy Investors

Published on: July 13, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Two FINRA Arbitration Panels Order Firm To Pay UBS YES Customers for Their Losses

In separate UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy (UBS YES) investor cases, two Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panels have awarded UBS Financial Services customers $1.18M and $1.4M, respectively. These are the latest awards against the broker-dealer, whose high-net-worth investors have lost significant sums of money in the firm’s proprietary, complex options trading strategy.

Due to the most recent rulings, the broken dealer will have to pay UBS YES customers more than $7.6M in 2022. In May, two investors were awarded $3.9M. Various other UBS YES customers were awarded $1.2M in March, and In February 2022, a claimant and two of his family trusts were also awarded $1.875M.

Trusts of Late Investor Awarded $1.875M in UBS YES Case

Published on: March 8, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

FINRA Arbitration Ruling Grants Largest UBS YES Award to Date

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has awarded a deceased investor’s family trusts $1.857M in their securities case against UBS Financial. The broker-dealer had involved the late Irving Siegel’s QTIP Trust and generation-skipping transfer trust in its UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy. This is the largest award to claimants over UBS YES losses to date.

Siegel passed away in 2013. He left the trusts for his family. The trusts accused the broker-dealer of misrepresentation, negligence, and fraud in their investor claim. A FINRA arbitration panel in Boca Raton, Florida, awarded Siegel’s QTIP trust $1.171M and his generation-skipping trust $517K. The rest of the award was for prejudgment interest and other fees.

UBS YES Clients of Broker William Cerf Want $16.5M in Damages

Published on: January 18, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

UBS Financial Services is Also a Defendant in New Class Action Lawsuit

If you are a UBS Financial Services customer who invested in the firm’s Yield Enhancement Strategy (UBS YES) at the recommendation of New York financial advisor, William Montgomery Cerf, you are not alone.

According to BrokerCheck, William Cerf is named in six pending customer disputes. The claimants are collectively requesting $16.5M in damages. He is also one among many UBS brokers who marketed and sold UBS YES as a low-risk way to generate modest income. This options overlay strategy has ended up costing wealthy investors millions of dollars.

Customers of UBS Broker Roderick Von Lipsey Report UBS YES Losses

Published on: January 7, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Claimants Are Seeking Over $4M in Damages Over UBS YES Strategy

If you suffered investment losses while working with UBS Financial Services broker and investment advisor Roderick K. Von Lipsey, you may have grounds for filing a FINRA arbitration claim to recover damages.

In the last 2.5 years, between September 2019 and January 2022, the Washington DC financial advisor has been named in four pending customer disputes over alleged losses sustained in the UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy (UBS YES).

More Customers Say UBS Broker Brian Donaldson Unsuitably Recommended Yield Enhancement Strategy

Published on: October 15, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

YES Strategy Investors Suffer Losses, Say Risks Were Misrepresented

Another Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim has been filed against UBS Financial for losses sustained in its Yield Enhancement Strategy. The claimants contend that their financial advisors at the broker-dealer unsuitably recommended this iron condor strategy that was misrepresented to them as low risk.

The investors say that they worked with UBS brokers Brian Jay Donaldson and Frank Frederick Baldwin. According to BrokerCheck, this is Baldwin’s first customer dispute and Donaldson’s second. The first one involving Donaldson is also over UBS YES losses with that claimant seeking $600K in damages.

UBS to Pay More Than $1.1M in Two Yield Enhancement Strategy Cases

Published on: October 4, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

FINRA Arbitration Panels Award Damages To UBS YES Claimants

Two Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) panels have ordered UBS Wealth Management (UBS) to pay investors over $1.1 million for losses they sustained from the firm’s Yield Enhancement Strategy (YES).

This complex options trading strategy that promised investors stable, incremental returns has cost wealthy UBS customers significant losses. Many of them are now contending that misrepresentations and omissions were made about the degree of risk involved. Additionally, these investments were unsuitable for their investment accounts.

SSEK Law Firm Wins $400K UBS YES FINRA Arbitration Award For Investors

Published on: August 26, 2021 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

$400K UBS YES FINRA Arbitration Awarded to Investors in Baltimore, Maryland

In one of the first in-person arbitration in the last 18 months, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has awarded two investors $405K in their UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy claim against UBS Financial (UBS).

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) represented these UBS YES strategy investors in their FINRA arbitration case, which was heard in Baltimore, Maryland.