The Yield Enhancement Strategy (YES) of UBS Financial has invited one more Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim for UBS Financial. This one has been filed by clients of Frank Frederick Baldwin and Brian Jay Donaldson. According to their BrokerCheck report, this opens the account of customer disputes for Baldwin while for Donaldson, though this is the second, it is, once again, over losses arising out of UBS YES. In the first case, $600,000 has been sought in damages.
Investors’ contention
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It has been claimed by the investors that their desire not taking on much risk had been clearly communicated to the brokers while seeking investment options for their savings.
Despite their communication, a strategy involving collateralizing their securities for a loan was recommended to them, and actively promoted, instead of just taking money from their savings accounts.
UBS YES was marketed to them as a low-risk strategy by Donaldson. Instead of the real risk being communicated, what they were told is that they could expect to get modest returns. Even when they raised a red flag when they saw the YES investment starting to bleed, the advice was that ‘staying the course’ would enable them to recoup their accumulated losses.
UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy (YES)
It is believed that over 6,500 brokers were involved in selling YES to clients. Several of them, even after being named in client claims, continue to work for UBS.
YES was an ‘iron condor’ strategy, that traded options based on borrowings raised by collateralizing existing holdings of the client. It was meant for wealthy customers, who would have the appetite for the additional risk while pursuing higher returns, as well as some experience, but ended up being widely sold and promoted.
The strategy was misrepresented as a low-risk strategy and as one not dependent on the market. UBS brokers, seeking profits, made large bets on the stock market, resulting in devastating losses for customers during the volatile market of the last 5 years.
Expert lawyers for support
FINRA arbitration attorneys at Haselkorn & Thibaut, P.A., have taken up cudgels on behalf of investors against the most powerful Wall Street firms, for losses incurred on account of broker fraud, misconduct, or negligence.
If you have lost money in UBS YES while working with a UBS broker, we recommend you get a seasoned securities attorney to represent you. Our UBS YES investment attorneys are pursuing FINRA arbitration cases against investors who suffered losses in this program. We have recently recovered $400,000 from UBS Financial through FINRA arbitration proceedings on behalf of two investors.
Call us nationwide at 1-800-856-3352, or reach us through our website, so that we can help you explore your legal options.
