MIAMI, June 16, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The securities law firm of Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. (http://www.dkrpa.com or http://www.investmentfraud-lawyer.com) announced today that it filed a FINRA arbitration claim against Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. on behalf of a California investor who lost nearly $200,000 in the Schwab YieldPlus fund. The claim alleges causes of action for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, negligent misrepresentations and omissions, and fraud.
Charles Schwab offered two nearly identical YieldPlus funds, the Schwab YieldPlus - Select Shares (SWYSX) and the Schwab YieldPlus - Investor Shares (SWYPX). Both funds are from the ultra-short bond fund category.
The arbitration claim alleges that Charles Schwab misrepresented the risks of the funds and failed to disclose important information about the securities held in the funds. Specifically, Charles Schwab marketed the funds as "a safe alternative to money market funds" that would provide "higher potential returns than money market funds, with only marginally higher risk." Notwithstanding those representations, investors have lost approximately $1.3 billion in the YieldPlus funds, with a decrease of approximately 25% during the first quarter of 2008 alone. That performance is far worse than that of money market funds and other ultra-short bond funds during the same period. Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein believes that the losses were caused by mismanagement of the funds. Among other things, the YieldPlus funds apparently were over-concentrated in risky mortgage-backed securities that contained subprime loans.
Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein continues to investigate the funds and expects to file additional cases on behalf of other investors. The firm urges investors to consider pursuing an arbitration claim as opposed to participating in a class action. Investors who participate in class actions often recover only pennies on the dollar, whereas those filing arbitration claims may recover substantially more than that. Further, unlike a class action, an arbitration claim allows you to: (1) choose your own lawyer; (2) present the unique facts of your case to an arbitration panel; (3) control the decision whether to settle your case and for how much; and (4) secure a result within approximately twelve months, as opposed to potentially years with a class action.
Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. is an AV-Rated law firm that represents investors nationwide in stockbroker misconduct and investment fraud cases. The firm has represented investors against most major Wall Street brokerage firms in claims involving stocks, bonds, options, auction rate securities, hedge funds, and mutual funds. If you suffered YieldPlus losses, please contact Jeffrey Kaplan, Esq. of Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. at (888) 578-6255 or jkaplan@dkrpa.com for a free case evaluation. You also may visit the firm on the web at www.dkrpa.com or www.investmentfraud-lawyer.com.
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