A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitrator awarded damages to Mr. Weigel as a result of losses sustained in the Schwab YieldPlus Fund. The panel awarded the Mr. Weigel $19,400 in a claim submitted under FINRA’s special “simplified” procedure for claims of $25,000 or less (exclusive of interest and costs). Mr. Weigel’s actual trading loss in Schwab YieldPlus Fund was $22,279 while his net out of pocket loss was $15,359. In a simplified claim, a single arbitrator decides the case based on the paper submissions of the parties without an in-person hearing.
Mr. Weigel’s legal team included the firms of Page Perry, of Atlanta, Ga.; Aidikoff, Uhl & Bakhtiari, of Beverly Hills, Calif.; Maddox, Hargett & Caruso, P.C., of Indianapolis, Ind. and New York, N.Y.; and David P. Meyer & Associates Co., L.P.A., of Columbus, Ohio.
Schwab is facing many similar arbitration claims across the country.
These arbitrations allege that Charles Schwab misrepresented the Schwab YieldPlus Fund as a safe alternative to money market funds, and misrepresented or omitted other important facts about the funds, such as the fact that the fund’s holdings were over-concentrated in toxic mortgage backed securities.
In addition, a California federal court recently certified the consolidated class action currently pending against Schwab. YieldPlus investors who wish to maintain individual arbitrations against Schwab must ensure that a properly filed Request for Exclusion is received by the class administrator no later than December 28, 2009.
“We continue to receive inquiries from investors who acquired the YieldPlus Fund as a result of Schwab’s misrepresentation of it as a low risk cash alternative investment,” said J. Boyd Page, a senior partner at Page Perry in Atlanta. “Our legal team continues to investigate and pursue investor arbitrations on behalf of investors who purchased the YieldPlus Fund,” he added.?? The brokers who sold the Schwab Yield Plus fund are not targets of investor claims.
More information is available at http://www.subprimelosses.com/charles-schwab.php .