OppenheimerFunds, Inc. is facing a number of class actions, investor claims and investigations by five states into losses associated with its bond funds. According to Morningstar, Inc. of Chicago, the funds lost 29% last year compared with a 7.9% average decline for bond mutual funds overall.
According to a recent article in Investment News by David Hoffman, the reason for the bad performance was big bets that OppenheimerFunds managers made on commercial-mortgage-backed bonds. The article quotes Burton Greenwald, a mutual fund consultant, who confirmed that “these guys were playing with fire, and they got burned.”
Class action lawsuits related to losses incurred in the Oppenheimer California Municipal Fund (OPCAX) and the Oppenheimer Champion Income Fund (OPCHX) claim that the risks associated with investments in the funds were not disclosed to investors. According to Hoffman’s article, attorneys general in Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon and Texas are also conducting investigations into losses related to Oppenheimer funds in the states’ Section 529 college savings plans.
Individual and institutional investors who believe they may have been mislead into purchasing Oppenheimer bond funds should be encouraged to consult attorneys with expertise in the matter to discuss their case and options.
Page Perry is an Atlanta-based law firm with over 125 years collective experience representing investors in securities-related litigation and arbitration. While past results are not indicative of future success, Page Perry’s attorneys have recovered over $1,000,000 for clients on more than 30 occasions, and have aided clients who have been the victims of financial adviser abuse, unsuitable recommendations, and scams. Page Perry’s attorneys are actively involved in counseling institutional and individual investors regarding their investment problems. For further information, please contact us.