SSEK Investigates UBS YES Strategy Claims

UBS YES Strategy Losses May Be Grounds For A Claim

Our investment fraud lawyers at Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm) are continuing to offer free, no-obligation case consultations to investors that lost money in the UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy (YES). SSEK Law Firm represents clients throughout the United States.

Investor fraud claims over UBS YES Strategy losses continue to grow. Among the allegations against UBS are that its brokers made unsuitable recommendations of this complex strategy and misrepresented its risks to many customers, causing at least $60M in losses, with some reports saying that this figure could be much higher.

Iron Condor Strategy

The UBS YES Strategy employs an options overlay strategy that is also known as an iron condor strategy. An investor’s assets become collateral in a margin account that is used to execute the strategy, which involves a trader using four options that have different strike prices but the same expiration dates.

Strategically buying and selling SPX option spreads is essential. Typically, traders will set up two spreads and at the same time sell puts and calls to make money while buying to hedge risks and keep losses at a minimum. If the price manages to remain between the spreads’ breakeven points, an investor will make money. That said, abrupt price changes can exceed these breakeven points, causing losses.

Now, UBS customers are contending that misrepresentations were made, seeing as many of them thought that this strategy was low risk and that they could expect “incremental returns” as well as profit from low asset yields.

While both may have been true when the market was stable, by the end of 2018, volatility was such that the CBOE Volatility Index hit its highest level in years. UBS YES Strategy investors went on to sustain huge losses, many in the six figures or greater.

SSEK Law Firm has been hard at work going after the stockbrokers that sold this sophisticated trading strategy to investors. Among these are UBS brokers Christopher Tolman, Mathew Buchsbaum, Scott Rosenberg as well as others. The three of them, specifically are already the subject of numerous YES Strategy claims that were filed via FINRA arbitration.

Buchsbaum and Rosenberg are accused of heading up the broker-dealer’s efforts to get other brokers to recommend this strategy to customers.

In addition to making allegations of unsuitability, misrepresentations, omissions and excessive trading, there are UBS customers that are now finding out that these investments were never suitable for their portfolios, investment goals or risk tolerance levels to begin with.

Even some high net worth, sophisticated investors are saying that had they known the risks involved, they would have never chosen the UBS YES Strategy.

Other Brokerage Firms Sold YES Strategies

UBS is not the only firm to market the YES Strategy. Other broker-dealers whose brokers also marketed the YES Strategy to customers include Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse. If you are one of these investors, our YES Strategy lawyers would be happy to offer you a free case assessment too.

UBS YES Strategy Law Firm

For 30 years, SSEK Law Firm has helped investors to recover many millions of dollars from the largest firms on Wall Street. Contact our UBS YES Strategy attorneys so that we can help you explore your legal options.