Charles Schwab & Company has been hit with yet another arbitration award connected to its Schwab YieldPlus Fund. On May 29, 2009, a FINRA arbitration panel in Minneapolis, Minnesota, awarded more than $14,500 plus interest to Gary Wilhelm on claims of negligence and misrepresentation on the part of the San Francisco-based investor firm and the sale of the Schwab YieldPlus Fund.
According to the award (FINRA # 08-02118), Wilhelm invested a portion of his retirement IRA in the Schwab YieldPlus Fund based on recommendations by Charles Schwab that it was a “safer alternative to money market funds but with higher yields.” Despite assurances from Charles Schwab that the YieldPlus fund was low risk, it actually contained a high concentration of mortgage-backed securities. Following the onset of the mortgage loan crisis in 2007, the Schwab YieldPlus Fund plummeted in value and produced millions of dollars in losses for investors.
September 16th, 2009 at 6:57 am
Dear Sir or Madam:
Greetings. Found your site on the web.
I have lost some $40,000 in principal on Schwab’s Yield Plus Select, after being advised that it was the safest thing after a money market fund. (After learning my lesson in 2000-2001, I returned to being a very conservative investor. At present, essentially all of my savings are in money markets and CDs.) Might this be of interest to you?
For the record, last year I went through a FINRA arbitration, and won. So I’m aquainted with the process and not at all intimidated by it.
I currently reside in Holland (Amsterdam), but my Schwab account was begun in NY and later moved to a post office box in New Jersey. I return regularly to the US.
Thanks for your time and attention,
Stephen
December 10th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
I always was concerned in this subject and stock still am, thank you for putting this up.