Archive for the “Schwab YieldPlus” Category

Yet another Schwab Yield Plus investor has emerged victorious in a case against Charles Schwab and the Schwab Yield Plus Fund Select Shares (SWYSX). On Dec. 7, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel awarded an investor from Huntington Beach, California, more than 100% of his net out-of-pocket losses - $19,400 - for his claims against Charles Schwab regarding Schwab Yield Plus Fund Select Shares.

The claimant was represented by the law firms of David P. Meyer & Associates Co., L.P.A.; Maddox, Hargett & Caruso, P.C.; Aidikoff, Uhl & Bakhtiari; and Page Perry, LLC.

The Schwab Yield Plus Funds have been at the center of ongoing litigation and claims by investors that Charles Schwab misrepresented the risks of the products, as well as failed to disclose important information regarding certain securities held by the funds.

Those securities included an overconcentration of high risk, speculative mortgage-backed securities. Ultimately, investors in the Schwab Yield Plus Funds lost 31.7% from June 2007 through June 2008, while other ultra short bond funds experienced little or no losses.

Thousands of Yield Plus investors have filed arbitration claims with FINRA in an attempt to recover their investment losses in the Yield Plus Funds. In each of the claims, the common theme involves allegations that Charles Schwab presented the Yield Plus Funds as similar to money market investments but with higher potential returns and only marginally higher risks.

In August, a federal court certified a Charles Schwab Yield Plus lawsuit as a class action lawsuit. With the ruling, the court imposed a Dec. 28 deadline for class members to decide whether they wish to opt out of the class action and pursue an individual arbitration claim with FINRA. This means Yield Plus investors who intend to opt out of the class action must ensure that their exclusion request is received by the Dec. 28 deadline. After that date, investors will be bound by the final results of the class action lawsuit.

For more information about opting out of the Charles Schwab Yield Plus class action lawsuit, please contact us at 800-505-5515.

Additional information is available at SubprimeLosses.com.

Our affiliation of lawyers is actively involved in advising individual and institutional investors in evaluating their legal options when confronted with subprime and other mortgage-related investment losses.

Schwab Yield Plus investors have approximately two weeks to opt out of a Schwab Yield Plus class action lawsuit involving the Schwab Yield Plus Fund Select Shares (SWYSX) and the Schwab Yield Plus Investor Shares (SWYPX). The deadline to opt out is Dec. 28, 2009.

San Francisco broker Charles Schwab marketed and sold the Yield Plus funds as a safe alternative to money market accounts, depicting the funds as a way to preserve capital while generating income at relatively low risk. Unfortunately for investors, those representations did not live up to their hype. Evidence shows that the Schwab Yield Plus funds contained more than 45% of toxic mortgage- and asset-backed securities, which exposed investors to the potential of more risk and greater financial losses.

More investors are filing individual arbitration claims with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as they try to recover their investment losses in the YieldPlus funds.  Among the allegations in their complaints: Charles Schwab misrepresented the Yield Plus products by failing to disclose the fact that the funds were over concentrated in risky mortgage-related holdings.             

Investors need to understand that they are considered part of a class action - and bound by the lawsuit’s final outcome - unless they formally request exclusion. For some Schwab Yield Plus investors who suffered significant financial losses in their Schwab Yield Plus investments, filing an individual claim with FINRA may present a better opportunity to recover more of their financial losses. Investors should consult with legal counsel to thoroughly review all of their options.

For additional information about opting out of the Schwab Yield Plus class action before the Dec. 28 deadline, please contact us at 866-827-6537. 

Our affiliation of lawyers is actively involved in advising individual and institutional investors in evaluating their legal options when confronted with subprime and other mortgage-related investment losses.

Schwab YieldPlus investors have approximately 30 days to opt out of a class action lawsuit involving the Schwab YieldPlus Fund Select Shares (SWYSX) and the Schwab YieldPlus Investor Shares (SWYPX). Investors who do not opt out by the deadline of Dec. 28, 2009, will be bound by the final outcome of the class action.

Investors are considered part of a class action unless they formally request exclusion. For individuals who suffered significant financial losses in their Schwab YieldPlus investments, this decision needs to be weighed carefully. Class action representation can often be an attractive legal option when individual financial losses are small. In other instances, however, filing an individual claim with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) may be more economically viable. Investors should consult with legal counsel to thoroughly review all of their options.

When Schwab first advertised the Schwab YieldPlus Funds, they were characterized as a safe alternative to money market accounts, with the intent to preserve capital while generating income at relatively low risk. Ultimately, those representations did not pan out. Instead, evidence shows that the YieldPlus Funds contained more than 45% of toxic mortgage- and asset-backed securities.  As a result, investors were exposed to not only more risk but also the potential for more financial losses.

Many investors have filed arbitration claims with FINRA, alleging that Charles Schwab misrepresented the YieldPlus Funds and failed to disclose crucial details about their large and inappropriate concentration in mortgage-related holdings. As reported Oct. 14 by Investment News, Schwab stated in July that it had paid $21 million in the first half of the year to settle client complaints and arbitration claims related to YieldPlus investments.

For more information about the Dec. 28 deadline to opt out of the Charles Schwab class action or if you are an individual or institutional investor and have questions about your Schwab YieldPlus investments, please contact us at 866-827-6537.

Tell us about your situation with Schwab YieldPlus Funds by leaving a message in the Comment Box below or via the Contact Us form. We want to counsel you on your legal options.

The Schwab Yield Plus Funds - the Schwab Yield Plus Fund Select Shares (SWYSX) and the Schwab Yield Plus Investor Shares (SWYPX) - lost more than 40% of value due to over concentration in risky mortgage backed securities. Investors, meanwhile, were sold on the funds for their supposed conservative, money market-like nature. In the end, all Yield Plus investors found themselves subject to huge financial losses because of misrepresentations and mismanagement on the part of Charles Schwab.

Thousands of Yield Plus investors have filed arbitration claims with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). And, in the past two months, more investors have emerged victorious in their claims against San Francisco-based Charles Schwab. Most recently, a San Diego FINRA arbitration panel awarded an investor (Case No. 09-02173) more than $327,000 in a claim accusing Schwab of misrepresentation and material omissions.

In the past two months, seven cases that were handled by our experienced securities arbitration attorneys entered into a final hearing before FINRA. Each of these cases resulted in significant awards for investors. View the award decisions of these cases.

If you are an individual or institutional investor and have questions about your SchwabYieldPlus investments, Contact Us by using the form or by calling 866-827-6537. We can evaluate your situation to determine if you have a claim.

The number of Schwab Yield Plus arbitration claims is likely to grow in the weeks ahead. News of a pending deadline - Dec. 28, 2009 - to opt out of a federal class action involving the Schwab Yield Plus Funds Select Shares (SWYPX) and the Schwab Yield Plus Funds Investor Shares (SWYSX) means more investors are expected to file individual arbitration claims with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in an effort to recover their financial losses.

Following the collapse of the housing market in 2007, thousands of investors in the Schwab Yield Plus Funds found themselves in a financial nightmare. Many Yield Plus investors say the bond funds were described to them as low-risk, conservative financial products - safe investment alternatives that mirrored money-market funds and cash substitutes. Only later did investors learn the truth: The Yield Plus Funds held large concentrations of risky mortgage-backed securities.

As a result of those concentrations, many investors lost a major portion of their principal investment in the Yield Plus Funds.

A class action lawsuit involving the Schwab Yield Plus Funds is now pending in a California federal court. On Oct. 16, the court approved a notice to all Schwab Yield Plus investors regarding their rights to participate in the class action or, as an alternative, submit an opt-out request if they wish to file an independent arbitration claim with FINRA. The deadline for investors to file an opt-out request is Dec. 28, 2009.

Additional opt-out information can be viewed here.

If you are an individual or institutional investor and have questions about your Schwab Yield Plus investments or would like more information about opting out of the Schwab Yield Plus class action lawsuit, please contact us. We are actively advising investors regarding Schwab investment losses.

The Charles Schwab Yield Plus Funds - Schwab YieldPlus Fund Select Shares (SWYSX) and the Schwab YieldPlus Investor Shares (SWYPX) - may well be the lead players in the ultra-short bond fiasco of 2008, providing lessons learned on the dangers of taking risks with untested products linked to mortgage-backed securities. Today, in addition to facing hundreds of individual arbitration claims with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), San Francisco-based Charles Schwab is the target of a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 250,000 Schwab Yield Plus shareholders.

More bad news came last week for Schwab courtesy of a Wells Notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which says it may bring civil enforcement action against the company and several of its affiliates and executives because of possible securities law violations related to the Schwab Yield Plus Funds.

Originally billed as a cousin of money market funds in terms of risks and rewards, the Schwab Yield Plus Funds held large concentrations of risky and mostly illiquid mortgage backed securities. Ultimately, those investments exposed investors to the risk of substantial losses of principal.

Arbitration claims and lawsuits have since ensued, with allegations that Schwab’s investment advisers, officers and directors issued untrue statements about the diversification and risk of the Yield Plus Funds and misled investors about how the offerings provided “higher yields on your cash with only marginally higher risk.”

As reported Oct. 21 by Morningstar, Schwab YieldPlus (SWYSX) has gone from $13 billion in assets to its current figure of roughly $210 million. While many shareholders exited the fund, thousands of others remained, losing a cumulative 44% of their investment since mid-2007.

On Oct. 14, Forbes magazine reported that Schwab had paid $21 million in the first half of the year to settle client complaints and arbitration claims related to the Yield Plus investments.

Tell us about your situation with Schwab YieldPlus Funds by leaving a message in the Comment Box below or via the Contact Us form. We want to advise you on your legal options.

Schwab Yield Plus lawsuit - That’s likely to become a common phrase as lawsuits heat up following last week’s news that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned Charles Schwab Corp. it may face a regulatory lawsuit over its handling of the Schwab Yield Plus Funds.

Already, Schwab is at the center of hundreds of arbitration claims filed by Schwab Yield Plus (SWYPX and SWYSX) investors after the funds lost much of their value in late 2007 amid the housing market crash. According to the claims, investors allege that Schwab misled them about the characteristics of the funds, as well as failed to disclose their true nature of the risks, including the toxic mortgage securities the funds held.

In August, more than 250,000 Yield Plus shareholders brought a class action lawsuit against Charles Schwab over its Yield Plus Fund. At one point, the fund held more than $13 billion in assets. Ultimately, however, overexposure to mortgage-backed securities created huge losses, with investors calling in redemptions on their investments. In March 2008, the Yield Plus Fund reported $2.5 billion in assets. Today, it stands at $210 million.

With the class action lawsuit pending, Schwab Yield Plus Fund investors must decide whether to remain in the lawsuit and be bound by its results or formally opt out if they intend to pursue an individual arbitration claim with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Investors who elect to opt out of the class action have until Monday, Dec. 28, 2009, to submit exclusion requests. To do this, you must:

• Provide a written statement requesting exclusion from the Schwab Yield Plus class action lawsuit;
• Sign and date the request and include your mailing address; and
• Ensure the written request is received by the Notice Administrator no later than Dec. 28, 2009. The address to mail the opt-out request is: Schwab Corp. Secs. Litigation Exclusion, c/o Gilardi & Co. LLC, P.O. Box 808061, Petaluma, CA 94975-8061.

For information about opting out of the Schwab Yield Plus class action, or if you would like to discuss the facts and circumstances regarding your Schwab Yield investments, contact us at 800.505.5515.

To date, six Schwab Yield Plus cases that entered into a final hearing before FINRA arbitration panels and were handled by our experienced team of securities arbitration attorneys resulted in significant awards for all investors. You can view these cases and the award decisions here.

Tell us about your situation with Schwab YieldPlus Funds by leaving a message in the Comment Box below or via the Contact Us form. We want to advise you on your legal options.

Schwab Yield Plus investors have until Dec. 28, 2009, to submit a Schwab Opt-Out request. After that date, investors will automatically remain in the Charles Schwab YieldPlus class action lawsuit involving the Schwab Yield Plus Fund Select Shares (SWYSX) and the Schwab Yield Plus Investor Shares (SWYPX). Depending on an investor’s financial losses and circumstances, opting out of the class action and filing an individual arbitration claim with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) could be a more viable option.

To opt out of the Schwab Yield Plus class action lawsuit, investors must take the following steps by Dec. 28:

• Provide a written statement that says you are requesting exclusion from the Schwab Yield Plus class-action lawsuit;
• Sign and date your request, as well as provide your address; and
• Mail the above information by Dec. 28, 2009, to: 

Schwab Corp. Securities Litigation Exclusions

c/o Gilardi & Co. LLC

P.O. Box 808061

Petaluma, CA 94975-8061 

Requests for exclusion must be received by the claims administrator no later than Monday, Dec. 28, 2009. The Notice of Pendency of Class Action and additional information for investors who elect to opt out of the class action can be viewed and downloaded at http://www.hbsslawsecurities.com/YieldPlus. 

For more information about opting out of the Charles Schwab class action or if you are an individual or institutional investor and have questions about your Schwab Yield Plus investments, please contact us at 866-827-6537.

Tell us about your situation with Schwab YieldPlus by leaving a message in the Comment Box below or via  the Contact Us form. We want to counsel you on your options.

Recent news of a Wells Notice issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Charles Schwab could put pressure on the San Francisco-based brokerage to settle a class action lawsuit, as well as numerous arbitration claims filed by investors who experienced unexpected losses in the Schwab YieldPlus Funds.

Schwab announced in a recent regulatory filing that it had received the SEC’s Wells Notice, which warned of possible civil enforcement actions against Schwab Investments, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and the president of the YieldPlus Funds for alleged violations of securities laws in connection to the funds.

Companies that receive Well Notices are given a chance to respond to the SEC’s allegations before the commission decides whether to approve an enforcement action. The notice is not a formal allegation or finding of wrongdoing.

As reported Oct. 15 by Investment News, the Oct. 14 Wells Notice against Schwab heightens the probability that the company may likely need to settle its class action lawsuit over the YieldPlus Fund Select Shares and YieldPlus Investor Shares out of court.

Following the blow-up of the Schwab YieldPlus Funds, Charles Schwab has faced hundreds of arbitration claims by investors who lost money in the funds. Between Sept. 1 and Oct. 1, Schwab has lost seven out of 10 YieldPlus arbitration cases with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), according to the Investment News article.

Our affiliation of lawyers is actively involved in advising individual and institutional investors in evaluating their legal options when confronted Schwab YieldPlus investment losses. For information regarding how to opt out of the Charles Schwab class action or if you would like to discuss the facts and circumstances surrounding your Schwab YieldPlus investments, please leave a message in the comment box below or via  the Contact Us form. We want to counsel you on your legal options.

A U.S. District Court in San Francisco has issued a Notice of Pendency to all class members involved in the Charles Schwab YieldPlus litigation. Specifically, the notice includes details and information about the Charles Schwab YieldPlus class-action lawsuit, as well as instructions for investors who wish to opt out as a class member.

Individuals who elect to opt out must do so by contacting Gilardi & Co. LLC in writing by Monday, Dec. 28, 2009. All opt-out requests should be mailed to:

In re Schwab Corp. Secs. Litigation Exclusions

c/o Gilardi & Co. LLC

PO Box 808061

Petaluma, CA 94975-8061

In the recent Pendency Notice issued Oct. 12, three certified classes of investors are listed. They include: All persons or entities who acquired shares of the fund from Nov. 15, 2006, through March 17, 2008, and is traceable to a false and misleading registration statement and were damaged; all persons or entities who acquired shares of the fund from May 31, 2006, through March 17, 2008, and is traceable to a false and misleading prospectus for the fund; and all California resident investors who held shares of the YieldPlus Fund on Sept. 1, 2006.

All Schwab YieldPlus members who meet the above criteria will be included in the class action lawsuit unless they formally request exclusion (i.e., opt out of the class action) by Dec. 28, 2009.

The Schwab YieldPlus Pendency Notice can be viewed in its entirety at www.hbsslaw.com/schw. Investors also may contact the Notice Administrator directly at (888) 955-2703 for additional information about the Schwab YieldPlus Class Action.

If you suffered losses in the Schwab YieldPlus Funds and have questions regarding how to opt out of the class action and file your own individual arbitration claim with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), please contact us at 866-827-6537.

Tell us about your situation with Schwab YieldPlus by leaving a message in the Comment Box below or via  the Contact Us form. We want to counsel you on your options.