UBS to Pay $4 Million to Yield Enhancement Strategy Customers

Francis Amsler and Marc Lobarde Were the UBS Financial Brokers of Record

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has awarded a Houston, Texas, couple $3.9 million in their claim against UBS Financial Services (UBS). The couple alleged losses from the firm’s Yield Enhancement Strategy (YES).

Now, UBS must pay these former YES investors almost $4 million to compensate the investors for their losses. This includes $2.9 million in compensatory damages and approximately $1 million in legal fees and other costs.

In their FINRA claim, the claimants alleged that UBS YES, the firm’s proprietary options overlay strategy, was misrepresented, unsuitable, and too risky given the couple’s risk tolerance and investing goals. They also accused UBS of negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, negligent supervision, breach of contract, fraud, and violations of the Texas Securities Act and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934.

The couple’s former UBS brokers, Marc Laborde and Francis Amsler are no longer with UBS, and they were not respondents in the case. Both Laborde and Amsler are currently registered representatives with Rockefeller Capital Management in Houston and operate locally as Amsler, Laborde, and Bowman.

While at UBS, Laborde, Amsler, and many other UBS financial advisors, are alleged to have zealously marketed UBS YES to clients. According to their BrokerCheck records, Laborde and Amsler are named in numerous pending customer disputes seeking damages over their Yield Enhancement Strategy-related losses.

Our UBS YES investment attorneys at Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) represent investors who suffered losses involving the firm’s risky options overlay strategy. SSEK Law Firm has successfully represented several other UBS YES investors.

These investors also lost money in this risky and misrepresented strategy. If you are a UBS YES investor who would like to explore your legal options, call SSEK Law Firm at (800) 259-9010 today.

UBS YES Has Caused Investors Over $1 Billion in Losses

UBS brokers allegedly aggressively marketed and sold this options overlay strategy to many high net worth and ultra-high net worth investors. UBS’ Yield Enhancement Strategy is also known as an iron condor strategy. UBS YES investors have consistently said they were told that this was a conservative investing strategy.

These investors were allegedly told that the Yield Enhancement Strategy would provide diversification and stable, incremental returns via low yields. However, that was simply false. UBS YES investors are now grappling with huge losses that they never anticipated were a possibility.

Meanwhile, UBS Financial and its registered representatives purportedly earned nearly $100 million yearly from selling the Yield Enhancement Strategy. Many UBS YES investors are saying they were never fully apprised of the true risks involved. To find out more, visit UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy.

Former UBS Brokers Are Each Involved in Numerous YES Claims

According to BrokerCheck, Marc Lobarde has nine pending customer disputes in which his former UBS YES clients are seeking over $4.5 million in damages. In one FINRA arbitration case, he was a broker of record but not a respondent. This case was concluded with an award of nearly $1.8 million for the claimants in March 2022.

Previous to working for UBS Financial from 2008 to 2020, Lobarde was a Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith registered representative. He has been a Rockefeller Financial broker since 2020.

Francis Xavier Amsler also has over $4.5 million in pending UBS YES claims, according to BrokerCheck. These may even be the same disputes involving Lobarde, including the UBS YES case in which a FINRA arbitration panel issued the nearly $1.8 million award. Other firms where Amsler was previously registered include Lehman Brothers and Solomon Brothers. He has worked for 27 years in the industry.

Seasoned UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy Law Firm

Contact SSEK Law Firm at (800) 259-9010 today to schedule your free, no-obligation case consultation. We have represented many high-net-worth, ultra-high-net-worth, and institutional investors in recouping their losses from the largest brokerage firms on Wall Street and across the country.