BOCA RATON, Fla., June 22, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Securities Arbitration Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes, P.A. ("K&T") (http://www.nasd-law.com) announced today that Regions Financial Corp.'s (NYSE:RF) brokerage unit Morgan Keegan was ordered by regulators to pay $200 million to investors to settle claims relating to sales of the Regions Morgan Keegan ("RMK") Bond Funds. It is estimated that over 35,000 investors lost roughly $1.5 billion in the RMK Bond Funds. The settlement was reached with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA"), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and five state regulators. RMK Fund Manager James C. Kelsoe also agreed to pay a $500,000 penalty and was barred from the securities industry. K&T applauds the efforts of the regulators in working to bring about this result.
K&T will continue to prosecute cases against Morgan Keegan in the FINRA Arbitration Forum on behalf of aggrieved investors. In light of this settlement, K&T has recently been retained by Morgan Keegan customers to file additional securities arbitration claims on their behalf. Investors should consider whether they should file an individual securities arbitration claim as an avenue to recover their losses.
According to FINRA's original Complaint, Morgan Keegan "market[ed] and [sold the RMK Bond Funds] to investors using false and misleading sales materials – costing investors well over $1 billion." Also, FINRA's Complaint alleged that "the misleading sales materials, combined with the firm's misleading and deficient internal guidance and failure to train its brokers about the risks, led Morgan Keegan's brokers to make material misrepresentations to investors."
The RMK Bond Funds include the RMK High Income Fund n/k/a Helios High Income Fund (NYSE:HIH), RMK Advantage Income Fund n/k/a Helios Advantage Income Fund (NYSE:HAV), RMK Multi-Sector High Income Fund n/k/a Helios Multi-Sector High Income Fund (NYSE:HMH), RMK Strategic Income Fund n/k/a Helios Strategic Income Fund (NYSE:HSA), RMK Select High Income Fund and RMK Select Intermediate Fund.
Retail and institutional investors who have sustained investment losses in the RMK Bond Funds can contact K&T to explore their legal rights and options. The attorneys at K&T are dedicated to pursuing claims on behalf of investors who have suffered investment losses. K&T, an experienced, qualified and nationally recognized securities litigation law firm, practices exclusively in the field of securities arbitration and litigation. It continues its representation of investors throughout the world in securities arbitration and litigation matters against major Wall Street brokerage firms.
If you wish to discuss this announcement or have investment losses of $100,000 or more in the RMK Bond Funds, please contact Steven D. Toskes, Esquire or Jahan K. Manasseh, Esquire of Klayman & Toskes, P.A., at 888-997-9956 or visit us on the web at http://www.nasd-law.com