Colling, Gilbert, Wright & Carter Securites Fraud

At least two FINRA arbitration claims alleging the SCHWAB YIELDPLUS was misrepresented as a money market type mutual fund without subprime mortgage exposure have resulted in Claimant Awards for damages.

In one recent arbitration, Claimant Jeffrey Nielson was awarded $542,340.00 for compensation for his losses. See FINRA case #07-03069. In that case the Claimant alleged negligence and violation of state securities laws in recommending the fund as an alternative to their current money market investment.

The attorneys at Colling, Gilbert, Wright & Carter have filed and are currently litigating dozens of claims on behalf of investors who were recommended the Schwab YieldPlus Fund as a money market alternative without adequate disclosure of the underlying fund holding or the risks associated with those holdings.

If you have lost money as a result of purchasing the Schwab YieldPlus Fund, contact our office today for a free case evaluation.

Colling Gilbert Wright & Carter is aggressively pursuing claims against a variety of brokerage firms and banks for misrepresentation and/or omissions in the sale of securities as well as stockbroker negligence and stockbroker fraud. Many of these firms and their products are currently or will be the subject of numerous class action lawsuits. Investors must carefully consider their options when pursuing claims for their investment related losses. There are definite benefits associated with filing an individual arbitration claim, as opposed to participating in a class action.

When participating in a class action lawsuit, investors typically only recover a very small percentage of their losses, usually pennies on the dollar. However, if you have experienced significant losses, it may be more advantageous for you to file an individual securities arbitration claim. Our securities litigation experience has revealed investors who file a securities arbitration claim typically obtain a better result then those investors choosing to participate in a class action lawsuit.

To discuss your options and get a free case evaluation, contact us at (866) 352-3476 or at www.stockmarketfraud.com. Thank you.

In this turbulent market environment, where 401K's and IRA portfolios have been cut nearly in half, angry investors are looking to place blame and recover their losses. However, just because a portfolio is down does not mean an investor necessarily has a claim for damages resulting from stockbroker fraud or stockbroker negligence.

When a brokerage account is established, the client and firm determine the parameters for the account, including the investment objectives and risk profile. Assuming the selected investment objective and risk profile are consistent with the clients financial situation, investment experience and needs, there is generally not a cause of action. However, if the broker fails to adhere to stated goals and objectives and losses occur in the account, the investor may have a claim for damages.

A client may also have a claim for damages if the broker or representative misrepresents or omits material information about the security or product during the sale. Under state and federal securities laws, if there is a misrepresentation or omission in the sale of a security, the purchaser is entitled to damages, including the amount of money paid for the security (less income received) plus statutory interest, costs and, in some instances, reasonable attorney's fees. Such are the allegations set forth in the hundreds of claims against Morgan Keegan and Charles Schwab related to the RMK Select Funds and the YieldPlus fund respectively. There may also have been misrepresentations in the sale of Lehman Brothers bonds, senior unsecured and exchange traded notes. There are allegations that many of the brokerage houses had advance knowledge of the deteriorating finances at Lehman yet pushed the firms risky debt on their clients under the guise of safe and secure investments. Also, some firms sold products marketed to investors as providing exposure to certain indexes with participation on the upside and protection on the downside only to learn the underlying securities were really unsecured Lehman debt. These Exchange Trade Notes or ETNs were marketed as secure investments to conservative investors. As the subsequent Lehman bankruptcy revealed, these products were anything but secure or safe. The firms selling this toxic debt include Charles Schwab, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Bank of America Securities, Wachovia Securities, Washington Mutual and Edward Jones.

If you have experienced stock market losses related to a failure by your broker to follow your predetermined goals and objectives or if you have purchased any of the RMK Morgan Keegan Funds, the Schwab YieldPlus fund or any Lehman Brothers bonds or notes, contact our office today for a free consultation. You may be entitled to compensation for your losses.

A sharp sell off in shares of Morgan Stanley suggested that the venerable investment house, spun out of the old JP Morgan & Co. in 1935, might suffer the same fate as Merrill Lynch which last month agreed to sell out to Bank of America. See our September 15, 2008 blog entry.

In today's trading, Morgan Stanley shares closed down 25.9% to $12.45 and has fallen a staggering 83% since June 2007. "Morgan Stanley is now facing the same type of credit woes that took down other brokerage giants including Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch.

If you have experienced investment losses related to the shares or product offered by any of these financial institutions, contact our office for a free case evaluation.

Although the stock market has been volatile all day and for the whole week really. Nothing could prepare investors for what happened beginning around 1:30 p.m., with the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 9,208.72. Over the next couple hours, the index fell over 600 points.

All 30 stocks in the Dow were lower. The best performer was IBM, down 1.7% to $89. Big Blue had been up for much of the day after reporting better-than-expected earnings late Wednesday. General Motors was the worst performer, losing almost a third of its share value on fears the company, which is heavily burdened with debt, will not survive the current credit crisis.

If there was any good news on the day, it was the falling price of oil. Crude oil prices fell in after-hours electronic trading to less then $85 a barrel. That was after crude closed in regular trading at $86 1/2, already down 2.7% on the day. Some analysts are predicting the price could break the $80 level in the not to distant future.

Observers believe the affects of the fed bailout will not come soon enough to stabilize the financial system and restore investor confidence in the markets. Investors however seem to believe it will take more time and some apparently were not willing to wait, choosing to sell into the already hemoraging securities markets.