MIAMI, Oct. 4, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The securities law firm of Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. (www.dkrpa.com) has teamed with former two-term governor of Puerto Rico, Carlos Romero Barceló, to represent UBS Financial Services Inc. of Puerto Rico ("UBS Puerto Rico") clients who lost money in UBS-affiliated closed-end bond funds. In May 2012, UBS Puerto Rico agreed to pay $26.6 million to settle SEC charges that it misrepresented and omitted material facts about its Puerto Rico closed-end bond funds. Moreover, many of the funds were leveraged and subjected investors to significant and unsuitable risk of loss. Investors who lost money may be able to recover their investment losses through binding FINRA arbitration claims against UBS Puerto Rico.
The funds at issue may include:
Puerto Rico Fixed Income Fund I, Inc.
Puerto Rico Fixed Income Fund II, Inc.
Puerto Rico Fixed Income Fund III, Inc.
Puerto Rico Fixed Income Fund IV, Inc.
Puerto Rico Fixed Income Fund V, Inc.
Puerto Rico Fixed Income Fund VI, Inc.
Puerto Rico Investors Tax-Free Fund, Inc.
Puerto Rico Investors Tax-Free Fund, Inc. III
Puerto Rico AAA Portfolio Bond Fund, Inc.
Puerto Rico AAA Portfolio Bond Fund II, Inc.
Puerto Rico AAA Portfolio Target Maturity Fund, Inc.
Tax Free Puerto Rico Target Maturity Fund Inc.
Puerto Rico Mortgage-Backed & Government Securities Fund, Inc.
Puerto Rico GNMA & US Government, Inc.
Among the SEC's allegations against UBS Puerto Rico is that UBS Puerto Rico liquidated its own fund holdings by undercutting pending customer sell orders, thereby placing its own financial interests ahead of the interests of its customers. UBS Puerto Rico apparently also failed to disclose that it was liquidating its own holdings while recommending that customers purchase the funds.
Some investors even were advised to borrow money to purchase the leveraged funds, in violation of UBS Puerto Rico's policies. "Using borrowed money to buy leveraged investments is a recipe for disaster," said Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. attorney Jeffrey B. Kaplan.
Investors have lost millions of dollars in these funds, and many investors have been forced to liquidate their fund holdings to meet margin calls.
If you lost money in any of these UBS-affiliated funds that you bought from UBS Puerto Rico, please contact attorney Jeffrey B. Kaplan at (888) 578-6255 or (305) 374-1920 or e-mail him at jkaplan@dkrpa.com. You also may visit the firm on the web at www.dkrpa.com.