UBS Financial Services Broker Accused of Unsuitability

Investors Allege Unsuitability and Misrepresentations

Our UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy (UBS YES) investment loss attorneys are speaking with customers of UBS Financial Services broker William Word Huthnance in Houston, Texas. Huthnance, who has worked for 20 years in the industry, is accused of allegedly unsuitably recommending the firm’s risky iron condor strategy to customers while purportedly making misrepresentations and omissions to them.

Already, one claimant reached a $580K settlement over their UBS YES losses, as well as losses involving purportedly unsuitably recommended hedge funds, structured notes, and private equity fund recommendations.

In the other still pending customer disputes, Huthnance’s former customers are requesting $500K, $300K, and $1M, respectively. Another pending investor loss claim over UBS YES involves allegations from 2016. However, Huthnance’s central registration depository (CRD) does not list the amount of damages requested.

UBS Brokers Profited from Yield Enhancement Strategy While Investors Lost Over $1B

Unfortunately, William Huthnance and many other UBS brokers allegedly marketed the firm’s options overlay strategy to investors as a safe, conservative option when huge losses could and did result. Launched in 2015 by UBS Financial Services, the Yield Enhancement Strategy program was supposed to be a low-risk option to traditional investing strategies allowing investors to make a modest income while protecting their existing portfolios.

Wealthy investors with a net worth of $5M or more got on board, unaware that they were exposing themselves to the possibility of huge losses in extreme market volatility. By 2018, UBS YES had raised about $6B from investors. Unfortunately, at the end of that year, due to significant market turbulence, they lost almost $700M.

To date, UBS YES losses have exceeded over $1B. Many UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy investors have suffered 20% losses on their investments. Meanwhile, UBS Financial Services and its brokers earned almost $100M/year from the sales.

In June 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached an agreement in which UBS agreed to pay $25M to settle investor fraud charges related to its Yield Enhancement Strategy Program. The regulator found that the broker-dealer failed to properly train its registered representatives about the risks involved, which contributed to investors not being fully apprised of them.

Skilled UBS YES Investor Recovery Attorneys

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com) represents Yield Enhancement Strategy investors in Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration against UBS. In August 2021, our UBS YES investment losses lawyers won a $405K arbitration award against UBS Financial Services on behalf of two Maryland investors. The broker-dealer also has paid other UBS YES investors for their investment losses.

Headquartered in Texas, our Houston UBS YES investment loss law firm would be happy to help you determine whether you have grounds for a claim against UBS Financial Services broker William Huthnance and the firm. Previous brokerage firms where he used to be registered include Credit Suisse Securities and Morgan Stanley & Co.

This is not the type of investor claim you want to take on without skilled FINRA attorneys representing you and fighting for investor recovery.

In Houston, call SSEK Law Firm at (713) 227-2400. Throughout the US, call (800) 259-9010 today to get in touch with our skilled investment attorneys.