MIAMI, Dec. 15, 2008 (GLOBE 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 has filed several more FINRA arbitration claims against Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. on behalf of investors who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars 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 (Symbol:SWYSX) and the Schwab YieldPlus - Investor Shares (Symbol:SWYPX). Both funds are from the ultra-short bond fund category.
The arbitration claims allege that Charles Schwab misrepresented the risks of the YieldPlus 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. Among other things, the YieldPlus funds apparently were over-concentrated in risky mortgage-backed that contained subprime loans and in securities from the banking and finance sector.
Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein continues to investigate the funds and expects to file additional cases on behalf of other investors. To date, FINRA arbitrators have decided in favor of two different YieldPlus cases in favor of investors who filed FINRA arbitration claims against Charles Schwab. One investor was $542,340, which was approximately 81% of the claimed damages. Another smaller case resulted in an award in favor of the investor of $18,425, which was the entirety of the claimed damages.
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 http://mailto:jkaplan@dkrpa.com for a free case evaluation. You also may visit the firm on the web at http://www.dkrpa.com/ or http://www.investmentfraud-lawyer.com/.
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CONTACT: Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. (888) 578-6255