Former Baseball Player Says Broker Cost Him $5M After Investing in Failed Private Placements

Five-time Major League baseball player Mike Sweeney is suing UBS Financial Services and his former broker, Ralph A. Jackson III, for $7.6 million over risky private placements that subsequently turned sour.

The suit alleges that the UBS broker invested half of Sweeney’s multimillion-dollar portfolio in a series of private placements.

As reported July 9 by Investment News, Sweeney was first introduced to Jackson in the late 1990s; at the time, Jackson was with Salomon Smith Barney. As an unsophisticated investor, Sweeney reportedly relied extensively on Jackson to invest his money conservatively, according to the claim.

In January 2002, after Jackson moved to UBS, Sweeney’s portfolio was 73% invested in municipal bonds, in addition to some large-cap stocks, according to the suit. Over the course of the next five years, however, Jackson put $6.85 million of his portfolio into 11 private-equity investments that were misrepresented as safe and suitable.

The investments ultimately lost nearly $5 million, the suit alleges. Sweeney further claims that Jackson moved another $2.7 million into two private-equity investments without his knowledge.

Jackson joined Morgan Stanley in 2008.