UBS Financial’s financial advisor and managing director Roderick Von Lipsey, based in Washington, DC, who is also associated with the Private Wealth Management practice of the firm, has been named in four separate customer complaints filed between September 2019 and January 2022. All four cases pertaining to losses suffered by customers in the Yield Enhancement Strategy (YES) product of UBS.
Investors who lost money in the market too often think they are to blame nor how to recover their losses. We are often asked the question, “Can my financial advisor sue me?” Financial advisor malpractice can be caused by the improper sale to investors of investment products.
Recent cases have shown that many investors bought products they did not understand and that were not traded on exchanges. Investors have lost a significant amount of money due to poor advice or securities fraud by financial advisors.
Haselkorn & Thibaut assists investors across the country. We have offices in New York and North Carolina, Florida, Arizona, and Texas. Call us at 1-800-856-3352 or use our Contact Form to send us your name, email address, and telephone number. One of our experienced investment attorneys will contact you.
Roderick Von Lipsey’s profile and record
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Von Lipsey has been registered as a representative with UBS Financial from 2007 onwards. Before moving to UBS, he was associated with Goldman Sachs as a broker. Between the two he has a total of 21 years in the industry.
The four customer complaints he has been named in are:
2019 September
$1.4 million was requested in damages on grounds of unsuitable recommendation that led to holdings in the options overlay strategy of the firm.
2019 October
$500K sought in damages by the investor in UBS YES.
2020 July
$1.7 million sought in damages. The charges pertain to the UBS YES product and the unsuitable recommendations that led to the investment. The claim also includes losses arising from investments in master limited partnerships (MLPs).
2020 August
$446K sought by an investor in damages, based on allegations of misrepresentation and unsuitability, going back to 2017, and recommendations that led to their UBS YES investment.
Overview of the UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy (YES)
The Yield Enhancement Strategy created by UBS was an options overlay strategy and meant to earn a modest incremental income for wealthy customers of UBS while keeping their holdings safe. The strategy is known by the name of an ‘iron condor’ strategy in investment circles and involved four simultaneous put and call contracts, based on the collateral of the portfolio held by the customer.
Unfortunately, it appears that either on account of a lack of understanding or in pursuit of sales commissions, UBS brokers sold the product as a low-risk product to a much wider set of investors.
The investments in the product unraveled in the wake of the market turbulence. Losses incurred in the product are estimated at over a billion dollars.
On the flip side, the firm, along with the many advisors who earned sales commissions, appeared to have become richer by about a hundred million dollars every year.
UBS Financial continues to face FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) arbitration claims by impacted investors seeking recovery of losses. Several claims have been finalized and the firm ordered to pay compensation in many.
What can impacted investors do?
The investment fraud attorneys at Haslkorn & Thibaut have represented thousands of investors and helped them recover losses arising from unlawful actions of brokers and powerful Wall Street firms. They are working with clients, whether institutional investors, high net worth individuals, or retail investors, throughout the US in their bid to recover losses from the UBS YES product, arising from unsuitability in recommendations.
If you have suffered losses while working with UBS Financial or its broker Von Lipsey, or you are not sure, for a free case consultation you can reach us at 1-800-856-3352.
